Chapter 6 Be Good And Kind Ii

• - Just be you, Maria. And I know this will be enough to touch your grandfather's heart.
• I bit my lip, devastated by what I knew was happening. Yes, as much as she had always prepared me for that moment, I didn't know it would hurt so much.
• Mom hugged me tightly and at that moment I knew it was time to say goodbye, the moment I had rehearsed throughout my nine years.
• - I love you, Maria. And I always will. May God always be with you. – He gave me a kiss on the tip of my nose.
• Then my mother got up and rang the doorbell.
• - May I help? – I heard the voice coming from beyond, seeming to come from inside the wall.
• - Let Alexis know she arrived. – Mom spoke seriously and firmly.
• - A security guard is coming to pick you up. – The faceless voice warned.
• Mom went to the car and grabbed my bag of clothes and handed it to me. Then he arched my hair and put it to the side, then placed a black chain around my neck with two golden hearts attached to each other.
• - What is that? – I asked, touching the hearts that were shining brightly.
• - I wanted you to have a memory of me... - he smiled - The cord has no value ... But the pendant is gold.
• - He... He's very handsome! – I was amazed at how much the piece shined.
• - I saved a lot of money to buy it – he smiled – I'm glad you liked it. Whenever you feel alone, remember that I am with you... In your heart.
• - Thank you mom.
• We saw a car coming along the path inside the property and soon the gate opened automatically, scaring me.
• I immediately went behind her, scared. A young man came out of the car, wearing a black suit and white shirt. He even had a tie, things I only saw in movies.
• - I came to get the girl. – He spoke to my mother without even greeting her first.
• She gave me a kiss on the cheek and turned her back. I didn't let go of her hand, trying to stop her from leaving me. When I realized that he insisted on trying to free himself, without even looking at me, I started shouting:
• - No, mom! I don't want to stay! Do not leave me here!
• I ran and grabbed her, who was following her backwards. The man caught me easily, while I held on tightly to my mother's body, screaming. I struggled violently, using my feet and arms to try to free myself from him, who took me by force, passing through the gate towards the car.
• Screaming, I saw my mother get back into the taxi, in the back seat, and the car drove off. The last image that remained in my mind was of your eyes full of tears and a voiceless “I love you” that came from your lips.
• I resisted getting into the car. I have never felt so much fear and anger in my life. It wasn't fair for my mother to leave me there, with those people I didn't even know. I needed to explain to him that I didn't mind being poor for the rest of my life. I just wanted to be by her side.
• But that evil-looking man didn't care about my anguish. He simply pressed me against his body and put me in the car, in the back seat, saying to the driver:
• - Lock all the doors, please.
• I heard the sound of the doors locking and tried to open the one on my side, to no avail. I was trapped... Forever.
• I wiped away the tears and sat down, looking at the trees that all seemed to be exactly the same size. Would they also have the same number of leaves each? Among the long, thin, gray stems, there were leaves on the ground, all the same, dry, yellowish. And every way I looked, it was the same thing.
• The driver opened the window a crack, which lowered automatically. I touched the top and smelled the freshness and lightness coming into the car, as if my mother was cleaning the house. I closed my eyes and inhaled, letting the air enter my lungs.
• - They are eucalyptus. – I heard the male voice and immediately opened my eyes, seeing the driver explain, while smiling at me in the rearview mirror.
• - It smells like mint gum! – Laughs.
• - Do you know it's true? I never realized this. – He smiled too.
• I looked at the man sitting next to me, who didn't move, as if he were a robot. His eyes didn't even blink.
• Finally, the stone road ended and the car stopped in front of the house. The doors unlocked automatically and the man in the back seat, who had taken the strength from my mother's arms, got out and opened the door for me.
• I went down and watched the gigantic, two-story, white house, I was unsure where the end of it was, as it didn't seem to exist. It reminded me of the White House of the United States Government, with its four huge round pillars at the front, which supported a narrow balcony.
• There was only one entrance door, up two steps, sheltered by the balcony. Next to it, two gray windows, with open shutters and checkered glass. Above, three more windows, exactly the same. I looked from one side to the other and only saw the same windows... So many that I could barely count them.
• My mother had told me that it was not an orphanage, that it was my father's family home. But I doubted that it could be a place where a single family lived. It was impossible for just a few people to live in such a big place. To see each other during the day, would you arrange a meeting? What were all the rooms behind those many windows?
• Maybe Mom hadn't explained to me that the Hausers were a huge family! Or perhaps they were of noble blood and that's why the shape of some parts looked like a castle, as if there were small square towers on the roof, every four meters, both with checkered glass. Were they dungeons?
• The garden didn't have flowers but foliage... Very green. Climbing plants and those miniatures where in the movie Edward Scissorhands he let them grow so he could use his scissors to prune them into different shapes. There they made a path to the house. And there wasn't even a single leaf growing outside the cut limit.
• Of the trees there, most of them were dry. I was unsure if they were not dead.
• I walked a little until I found a small jasmine plant among the dull plants. I ran there and touched the white flowers that had petals that were as pleasant to the touch as if they were silk fabric. I always thought the smell of jasmine was like some kind of candy that I couldn't remember the name of. Because it made me want to eat that smell. It took me back to spring, when Mom and I would walk the streets near our house and look for little flying insects inside the flowers. She always carried a magnifying glass so I could see them up close. And I loved it when we did that.
• The man grabbed me tightly by the arm, making me jump over the miniature green bushes:
• - Let's go Girl! Don't be inconvenient.
• I reluctantly followed him, until he knocked on the door and a woman in a black dress answered. She was elderly and her white hair was tied in a bun on top of her head.
• - Welcome, little one! – she gave a gentle smile and took me from the hands of the robot man in black, taking me into the house.