Mare woke up at six. This had been her regular waking time for some time. She got up and left the house. She told the principal that she wasn't feeling her best yet and wanted to take advantage of another week off. The principal was very kind and agreed.
She started the day with a walk in the park. She liked going there because it was quiet and peaceful. Only in one part of the park could the cheerful laughter of children playing on the playground be heard from seven o'clock. For some reason, she decided to go there on this particular day. She had never liked the laughter of children and their smiling faces. Their squeals irritated her the most. She couldn't stand it, even though she had already spent about a month and a half with her class.
She walked between the rose-lined streets and stopped on one of the swings. She sat down on one and began to observe what was happening around her. "It's nothing but these brats and their exhausted parents," she thought with a sigh. Something, or rather someone, tore her from her thoughts. A little girl fell on her from behind. Mare leaned back too far and fell off the swing. She growled softly and looked back. Behind her sat a small, dirty girl with beautiful shoulder-length black hair.
"I'm sorry," the girl stammered in her incorrigible Italian. "I didn't mean to."
She almost burst into tears at those last words. Small tears welled up in her eyes.
"It was unintentional," she added.
Mare looked at her for a moment. Only now did she notice the wounded arms and barely healed bruises on her legs. The blue dress, on the other hand, looked completely normal, except for one large stain on the back. The devil looked into the little girl's eyes, terrified when she noticed that look. Her eyes were green, the same as Mikael's.
Mare seemed to shake off her anger at that moment. A smile appeared on her mischievous face, the first in a week.
"I'm not angry," she replied. "Come on, get up."
Mrs. Deed stood up and offered her her hands to help her up. The girl, however, refused. She stared intently at the unknown woman. She stood up herself and stared at the stranger with her large eyes.
"What's your name?" Mare asked.
"Melody," she squealed softly.
"A very pretty name," she said, still gazing at the little creature. She wondered now where her parents were and how old she might be, wandering around the park alone so early.
"Thank you," she replied politely, but even more quietly than before.
"Where are your parents?" Mare asked, a little worried.
"I don't have parents," she said ungrammatically. "Living in an orphanage."
"So what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be there now?
" "Maybe," she replied quietly.
"Then maybe I'll take you there, would you like?"
The girl nodded.
"So what do you want to do?"
"I'm sorry, I have to go."
Melody ran forward, jumped over the sandbox, and then took a shortcut to the market. She ran through it as fast as she could. She didn't want anyone to lead her to the orphanage. Without looking ahead for a moment, she ran into the street. She didn't see the car coming. She turned around, but she didn't see it again. She felt a strong tug. Someone took her in their arms, and they both fell to the other side of the road.
Melody slowly opened her eyes. She saw the woman she'd just been running from before her. The woman was unconscious. The girl wanted to run away again, but something told her to stay. She gently nudged the young woman's shoulder.
Mare woke up and looked at Melody. She slowly got up. She leaned on her left arm, as her right was completely torn. She hissed in pain, but to avoid worrying the girl, she smiled at her. People gathered around them and began asking if she was okay. Mare replied that she was fine and that there was no need to call an ambulance. She barely got up. Some men helped her. The ambulance arrived soon after. Despite her stubbornness, the devil had to go with them for basic tests. Melody went with her. The devil held her hand the entire time until they separated at the hospital.
Mare woke up in the afternoon. She stood up abruptly. She felt a sharp pain in her arm. It was all stitched up. She looked around the room. The little girl wasn't there. She wondered where she might be. She stood up and walked to the door. Her legs hurt too. She was limping on her left leg. She went out into the hallway and headed for the reception desk.
"Excuse me," she asked. "A little girl was brought in with me today. Do you know where she is?
" "Your name?
" "Marisa Deed," she replied quickly.
"Oh yes, he's in the room upstairs. Shall I take you there?
" "I can't do it alone, but thank you for your help.
" "What am I even talking about? And why am I looking for this brat anyway?"
She went to the elevator and went up to the next floor. In one of the rooms, she saw a small kindergarten, and Melody was inside. She smiled to herself and knocked on the glass. Melody looked in that direction and jumped for joy. She quickly ran out of the room and hugged Mare, something the devil wasn't prepared for at all.
"I'm sorry I'm causing so much trouble."
"Nothing happened, Melody. I'm glad you're okay.
" "I'm afraid you'll die..."
Mare didn't know what to say, she simply took the little girl's hand and followed her to the elevator. She thought Melody would resist, but she didn't. She followed her politely, step by step.
"What did you tell the doctors when they brought us here?" Mare asked.
"Tell me I'm your niece. Could I?"
The she-devil sighed and simply nodded that everything was fine.
"Let's go home now, okay?
" "No," the little one squealed. "I'm not going home!"
"Did I say your house? I don't want to go to the orphanage with you now, I'm tired," she said in a resigned tone.
"Will you take me with you? Forever?"
Mare was surprised by this reaction.
"What do you mean forever?
" "Maybe I could be your daughter?" she asked politely, trying to speak properly.
The she-devil choked on these words. She looked immediately at Melody. She was smiling from ear to ear, revealing her few teeth. She gasped. For the first time in her life, someone had truly managed to render her speechless. She walked silently all the way to her room. She closed the door behind her once they were both inside and quickly gathered all her things. She pulled her hair into a bun and put on a Texas jacket to cover her shoulders. Her legs were worse, with a few abrasions. She just closed her eyes and tugged on Melody's hand. Melody obediently followed her new guardian, though she didn't know where she was being led or why they were in such a hurry.
"What happened?
" "I'll explain later."
Melody nodded, and they took the elevator down briskly. A moment later, they were outside.
"I had to escape from the hospital, but you never do that, okay? And don't steal from me, it's stupid and dangerous.
" "Are you sick?
" "No, I'm not sick.
" "Then why are you running away?
" "Because they'd keep me there, making up some crazy illnesses, and I'm as healthy as a fiddle.
" "Yeah," Melody replied curtly, not wanting to bother with Italian grammar anymore.
"We'll be there soon, we'll just have to stop somewhere."
They entered a children's clothing store. Mare chose a couple of them. They spent about an hour and a half there. When they left, their bags were full of all sorts of dresses, pants, and other things. The little one was delighted, but also embarrassed when it turned out it was all for her.
"That's very kind of you," she replied quietly.
"Nice?" Mare asked herself, as if she were doing something she'd never dared to do in her life.
"So kind, and thank you very much.
" "You're welcome," she replied.
A few minutes later, they were in front of the house. It was only 2:00 p.m., so Mare hadn't expected anyone home, and indeed, there was. Mikael hadn't returned yet. "He probably thinks I'm following him again, but nothing."
"Settle down," she said to Melody. "You're going to run a bath in a minute, and I'll take a good look at those scratches on your hands. "
"But I'm fine," she denied immediately.
"My opinion is not questionable, okay?"
"Yes," the little one replied. "Because you're a devil?"
Mare stopped dead in her tracks.
"What did you say?"
"That you're a devil.
" "Do you see me... different?" she asked, deeply concerned.
"Yes, you have a long tail, wings, and those funny horns sticking out of your head. Are you a devil or not?
" "Yes, I am," Mare replied, completely resigned, though she was deeply concerned that the little one could see creatures like her. "I'll bring you something to eat in a moment."
"Okay," Melody said, sitting down on the sofa in the living room. "Are you doing bad things!?" she shouted so Mare could hear her.
"Yes," Mare replied as she arrived with a tray full of delicacies and two bowls of soup. "Let's eat something and then we'll take care of you. Do you agree to this arrangement?
" "Yes."
They spent the rest of the day in the bathroom and in the room next to the she-devil. Mare didn't know what she was doing, but she started arranging the little girl's clothes on a shelf. She learned from her that she was only six years old and didn't speak Italian well. It turned out she'd been in an orphanage for two years, and at five, she'd decided to get out because she hated the company there. She liked magical things like unicorns and pegasi. She also liked telling fairy tales, and as Mare later learned, they were quite good.
In the evening, Mare washed her and bandaged the little girl's hands. She put some ointment on her legs for now to help the bruises heal faster. Late that evening, they both went downstairs to the living room and watched TV. They didn't even realize when they fell asleep lying on the couch.
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz