Love is Only Skin Deep
Galo Matin was a famous Spanish
doctor who has just moved to Quito, Ecuador. Dr. Matin was attempting to achieve a breakthrough in
bio-medical sciences by creating a synthetic skin through transgenisisplastic. He rented a beautiful apartment in the most
expensive area of the city - “the Gonzales Suarez Avenue.” The place was decorated with the finest
designs and details, but what astounded him was the amazing view of the
city. As he was sitting on his
balcony after dinner he thought to himself, “Wow $6,500 US dollar a months to
see this? It’s worth it!” As he
continued to relax he thought “I could pay the same amount in Madrid for the
same flat, but I would never have this view.” It is uncommon for a prestigious doctor to leave behind the
old continent and move to South America, but he had good reasons. Life in Spain was killing him, and he
just needed a new start. His past
experiences with women had left him with feeling sour and empty. This was a difficult thing to
understand, because he was obsessed with female beauty. He adored the feminine body and all its
features, but what he was obsessed with most was skin. Physically, he adore woman; yet
for some reason, he could not stand them.
He felt that in Europe, he knew them all, but in Ecuador, he hoped
things would be different. After a
couple of months in Quito, he opened his practice. One day, after a four-hour skin replacement surgery, he was
preparing to go home when his assistant Rosario said to him “Doctor, there is a
young woman whom wishes to see you,” To which he responded “Well tell her to
make an appointment!” as he muttered to himself about how Ecuadorians always
show up with out appointment and then expect to be seen by the doctor anyway. Rosario with a very condolence
voice said to him “I think that you should see her, she comes from the coast, which
is a long trip. She looks helpless.” Grumbling he responded, “Ok but you
need to stop this, no more walk-ins! Ok?” Galo went to his office and sulked until he heard a knock on
the door. “Come in” he said. The young lady walked into the office. From the moment he say her, Dr. Galo
understood why his assistant had insisted that he take on this patient. Her face was totally disfigured. Her name was Salvadora Ilad, with a
charming voice she said to him “Thank you so much for taking the time, I understand
you are a busy man, but as you can see, I’m desperate”. She told him her sad story of how she
went from being a normal girl to a monster. She described to him how she used to look before and asked
him what could be done to help her look normal again. She was sweet, and for some reason that can’t be explained,
he took pity on her. He explained to
her that this was going to be a long procedure and that he would do anything he
could to help her. However, he stressed that she need to understand that
perfection may never be achieved.
Salvadora understood this, and before she was ready to leave she handed
him a photograph “Doctor, this is me before my accident, you should have it to
see how I used to look”. He
studied the picture for a moment, and looked up at her changed face and said
“good, let’s see you on Monday”.
After she left, Galo sat in his office for hours looking at her picture,
awestruck by her beauty. Salvadora’s skin was radiant like a pear, her smile was bright,
and her voice was sweet in a way that he had never heard before. When he arrived home, he poured himself
a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and walked to the balcony to sit in his luxurious
rocking chair and admire the lights of the city. Again, his thoughts turned to Salvadora. He reached into the pocket of his jacket
with his right hand and gazed at the picture. At this moment on, she became his obsession. He worked day and night trying to
develop a synthetic skin. She
became his human test subject, his muse, and his reason in life. Year, after year he devoted his life to achieve beauty
perfection on her, her skin once burn now started to look better. Salvadora’s disfigured face now had
form, but it still did not look like she did before. After three years of treatment and multiples surgery he ask
her to moved to his house so he can take a better care of her, but the real
reason was because he could not live with out her anymore. She was to him as a muse is to a
painter. In the last two years
that Salvadora lived in Galo’s house, she was isolated so that only her aunt
was allowed to visit her once a week. Galo explained that the isolation was to help avoid all
sources of infection, but the truth was that he did not want to share her beauty
with anybody else. She wore a mold
over her face to give her the shape she needed. He was the only person allow to see her without the mold. One day, the cast was finally removed
from her face, and he allowed her to look at herself in a mirror for a couple
of minutes. Before this day, there
had been no mirrors in her room. For
two years she did not know how she looked until that night, when she finally
saw herself as beautiful being again. Taking the mirror back he said “You may think you looks beautiful
now, but I promise you my dear you will become the most beautiful woman and
this country and your skin will shine like no other.” In the last couple of years, Galo had been showering
Salvadora with all sorts of presents.
The ones he loved the most were a pair of diamond earrings, and an
emerald bracelet, but that was not enough for Galo. He asked the famous jewelry designer Ariana Garido to design
a sapphire necklace for Salvadora for her first dinner with him outside of her
room. The dress he bought for her
to wear for that night was a Carolina Herrera design, black a perfect fit for
her slim but curvy figure. The
dinner was catered by the Swisotel Quito, which employed the best chefs in the
country. Everything was ready for
dinner, and he was sitting in the couch waiting for her to be ready when he
heard her steps on the stairs. He
turned to look and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was his creation, his masterpiece. After dinner she got up give him a hug
and give him a kiss good night.
She retired to her room and he did the same. The maid will do dishes in the morning, he thought. That night he could not sleep - all he
could think of was of the moment when he saw her in the living room and she had
taken his breath away. His heart
started beating in a way it had never before, he could not move. He felt like he was in one of those
dream when something terrible is happening, but you cannot move. Her smile was all he could see, and
that night he prayed, he prayed to god and said “Dear God, she is the only
woman I want, she is perfect because I created her, all I want to do is marry
her.” After praying he feel asleep. The next morning he told her “You are
perfectly beautiful, now you can go.”
Salvadora responded “The dear lord put you in my way and if you want all
I want is to be with you.” She
walked toward him, kissed him firmly, yet lovingly, on the lips and said “I
love you.” In that moment, Galo
looked at her and with no hesitation said “Marry me.” A few weeks later, in a private ceremony in the Swiss Alps,
Galo and Salvadora proclaimed their love for each other at their wedding. The following year, the newlyweds they
were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, which they name Geneva, after the city
in which they proved that love is truly only skin deep.
