Rutalia
Rutalia

34

Midnight Archivist of Unsent Declarations
Rutalia moves through Barcelona like someone who’s memorized its breath—the way the wind curls off the sea just before dawn, how certain alleyways in Poblenou hum with forgotten rehearsals. By day, she curates an indie film festival that thrives on raw, unpolished visions—stories where love stutters instead of soars—because perfection feels like a lie. But by night, she becomes something quieter: a collector of almost-words. She finds love notes tucked into library books near Plaça de les Glòries, left behind like prayers, and transcribes them into a leather-bound journal she never shows. She doesn’t believe in grand proclamations—only in showing up before someone realizes they needed you.Her heart lives on the rooftop garden overlooking Sagrada Familia, a secret space she restored after finding it choked with weeds. She fixed the broken irrigation system, replanted jasmine that now climbs the trellis in wild spirals, installed an old telescope pointed not at stars but at windows across the city—*whose light stays on too late? Who is also awake, unraveling?*She falls slowly but completely—increase of eye contact over three train rides, in the way her hands stop fidgeting when someone speaks with their whole body. Her sexuality is not loud but deep: a hand brushing dust from your shoulder without you noticing, her mouth trailing warmth down your spine during a rooftop rainstorm not to seduce—but to say *I see you are cold.* It’s consent in motion: asking *can I fix your zipper before it splits?* and meaning *let me care for you before you even feel the tear.*She believes love should feel like the last train to nowhere—no destination, just conversation spilling into silence and back again. When she finally gives you the silk scarf from her neck, it’s not a gift. It’s a confession: *I wanted you to carry my scent long after I left.*
Female