I am a romantic at heart. I was lucky enough to find my true love; and, because of that, I may be biased in the belief of true love. Every media outlet has me second guessing that belief. From my favorite television shows, to the novels I read, the main character can never seem to find (and stay with) their one true love.

This was the case in the short story, “Hi, this is Conchita”, by Santiago Roncagliolo. This short story weaves together three scenarios of “love” gone horribly wrong. The reader, however, is not privy to the character’s background, we see them only for the moment they are in.

Conchita, the title character, is a phone sex operator. One of her callers ends up falling in love with her. Thinking they have a serious relationship, the caller ends one call stating, “we are married, now.” Conchita ends up leaving the business without explanation. The man is left to start a new relationship with another call girl. He falls for her too, and his story ends there.

Next, a character by the name of Jorge, working as a customer service operator in a billings department, ends up irritating another character: a hitman.

The hitman is hired to kill Jorge’s superior’s mistress. The hitman ends up falling for the mistress and accidently kills the wrong woman.

Jorge’s superior is unhappy at home, but, doesn’t want to leave his wife for the mistress. As the reader, you don’t know how their relationship started, or what makes him so unhappy.

I won’t get too much into the short story, but each of these character has a very dark relationship with love. They are greedy with it. They abuse it and misuse it. But maybe, just maybe no one has taught these characters to love. Maybe the author was trying to make a point about the ugliness in people. They say, art imitates life. So then is true love a fictional myth?

Hugs and Smiles,
Nicole