Months later...
Lívia and her daughters, Helena and Bela, came to spend the weekend with me. We were sitting on the balcony, having coffee and cake.
"I'm sad because the story ended in a way I never expected," I said, disappointed. "He surrendered to the enemy once again."
"It's God who determines how the story ends," Lívia replied. "Your part in it is over. You did everything God asked of you—and then some. From here on, it's in God's hands. God is speaking as if your faith has become too small."
"God said my faith is too small?"
"No, not in so many words. It was the tone. He was saying that you're judging things through earthly eyes. You're not supposed to judge. God came to break protocols."
"I reject every spiritual bond I have with that man. I don't want any of it anymore."
"You should be thanking God for rescuing you from him. He's ridiculous."
"I saw him on Thursday..." I said quietly. "He hugged me. He admitted he hadn't been sleeping well and had been feeling depressed."
"You change completely when you talk about him. Your whole face changes. He's contaminated—don't let him hug you."
"The moment he hugged me, I felt awful. I still get sad when I think about how this story ended. I don't even know why I'm still talking about it."
"Neither do I," Lívia said. "He cared about you. He truly did."
"And he doesn't anymore?"
"He's been consumed by evil."
Lívia cut another slice of cake for Helena and poured herself more coffee. Luigi and Bela finished their snack, jumped up from the table, and ran off to watch cartoons.
"There's just one thing I never understood," I said. "Once, my mother took me to see a missionary so she could pray for me. She prophesied many things and got every single one right—except one. She told me he wanted a serious relationship and that it would be with me. But it never happened. The prophecy didn't come true. Why?"
"Because God changed the plan," Lívia answered. "That's what would have happened if he had stayed on God's path. But through his own free will, he returned to the enemy, and God changed His mind."
"That's it!" I exclaimed. "So many times we think the prophet got it wrong, when in reality it's God who changes His mind."
"He doesn't know how to conduct himself. He would have embarrassed you in front of your colleagues. People would have pitied you and talked behind your back. God doesn't want you exposed like that. He doesn't want you to suffer. That's why He changed the plan."
"It could have been different. He could have stayed with me, with God... but he chose another path."
"That choice was his free will, and God doesn't interfere with that."
"I understand."
"Auntie, look at this!" Helena said, laughing.
She showed me a joke she had found online. We laughed together.
"Look, Mom!"
Lívia laughed too.
I poured myself another cup of coffee, and we kept talking until dusk settled over the balcony.