Capítulo 34: She Who Ran Away
It was a humble dwelling in the provinces of Aragon, where the cloudy sky was pouring down a heavy rain; in that place was a woman sitting by one of the second floor windows and beside her was a little girl of perhaps eight years of age who was leaning on her mother's lap.
The beautiful woman was sewing a sweater large enough for her daughter or herself to wear and, as she did so, the lady began to hum a chant unfamiliar to anyone but a member of her family.
Soon, the lyrics of that song could be heard coming out of her mouth.
~ We, being nothing, we want it all.
We know very little, but we become knowers of everything.
We are anxious for the future,
we wear ourselves out for an uncertain future,
But we are but the dust of the earth.
Searching for purpose, we have fainted;
We flee from the truth, but pretend to be of it.
We envy the triumph of others,
and we magnify ourselves in our successes.
What inheritance shall we leave to the next generation.
Is there any trace of nobility in our actions?
Day of wrath and anguish will be the last day,
we will all mourn in the end,
but after that passes, joy will come.
It only remains for us to be patient. ~
As she finished her song, the little girl next to her seemed to be somewhat upset.
- Mom... Why are you singing something so sad? I don't like the lyrics. - said the little girl as she played with the sweater her mother was knitting.
The woman only smiled slightly with a motherly look and, as she stood up, she told her daughter that she would wait there for her.
The girl sat where her mother had been and waited for about five minutes. When the woman returned, she brought with her a small, somewhat curious chest, as it seemed to have an emblem on the lock.
- ... What is it, mom? - asked the little girl innocently.
- In a month, you will be 9 years old. When that day comes, as a gift I will leave you the heritage of our family; a legacy of more than five generations.
Showing that chest in front of the little girl, the woman opened the chest revealing a beautiful ring engraved with the same emblem as the lock of the chest.
This jewel seemed to be of white gold made centuries ago, but very well cared for.
The little girl was impregnated with the shine that came from the ring, but then she wondered what the emblem on the ring was.
- Listen, Alicia; in our family it seems that only women are born and our ancestors were afraid of our future. After the first world war, this ring was made to remind us of our origin and it is given to the first born of each generation ... so don't tell your sister, she might not like the idea.
The little girl smiled and commented not to say anything.
- Although there is only one year difference between you, this will belong only to you by inheritance, but, when each of you know the meaning of this ring, I hope you don't fight over it ... I don't want the same thing to happen to you that happened to me. - commented the woman somewhat sadly.
- I understand. - said the girl trying to appear mature - ... but ... what does this ring mean?
- When you are 15, I will reveal to you the truth of this legacy. Until then, I ask you to be patient.
The girl began to grumble tenderly. Suddenly, the front door of the second floor could be heard being opened.
- Here we are! - said the voice of a man and a little girl who came with him as they entered the house.
Little Alicia was excited to hear those voices and ran to greet them, but, before leaving the room, her mother stressed again what she had told her before.
The little girl nodded and left the room.
The woman, who had an affable smile, as she prepared to receive her husband, turned to see that chest which she intended to hide again. At that moment, the woman's smile faded to a cold look.
In a room sufficiently spacious and furnished to be considered luxurious, there was a young brown-haired woman holding a white gold ring and an inscribed emblem, the letter E was what could be seen on the emblem adorned with embroidery.
The look on that young woman's face was one of sadness and nostalgia at the sight of that object.
"In the end, I couldn't ask her what this ring was ... What was the meaning of this inheritance ... I used to wonder why she gave it to me when I was a child .... Although the answer seems to be obvious now," the young woman wondered.
That ring was never shown to anyone, not even to the one she had been with for almost half a decade. Suddenly, footsteps were heard approaching the room; therefore, the girl put the object inside her suitcase.
The door was knocked softly.
- Come in. - said the woman.
The silhouette of a woman in her twenties appeared in the room; blonde hair and a somewhat astute look were the most noticeable features of the woman who had entered the room.
- Well? How are you?
- ... Fine, I think. - answered the young woman with a sad look.
The young blonde approached her and sat down on the bed next to the wall.
- Come on, Alicia; you can't be like this all the time. Look at the effort I made to come here.
The young woman remained silent as if trying to reflect.
- Changing the subject, how are your plans going? Are you planning to leave soon?
- ... Yes, in three days I'll be leaving ...
Acting a little shy, Alicia sat down on the bed next to the other young woman.
- Lois, I thank you for everything you've done ... I really didn't want to worry you, but I had no choice.
- Yes, yes, I understand... you know, I was surprised when I got your call from the police station in Madrid... although your record should be confidential, it seems that someone doesn't want to see you happy... do you have any idea who it could be?
- ... No ... not at the moment, no.
While the two young women were talking, the establishment where they were staying displayed a sign at the entrance that said Grupo Valdelomar.
Some heavy trucks were coming and going from that place; workers and operators with their forklifts could be seen moving around the parking lot and warehouses. That place was quite large compared to the place located in Luesia.
- You know, this reminds me of the first time we met ... the expression on your face is the same as that time. - commented Lois looking at the ceiling.
Alicia staring at the floor, began to recall events from a past she wanted to forget, but they came naturally to her mind.
"Yes ... that time ..."
That day was a rainy and dark day in the city of Luesia; passersby could be observed walking from one side to the other, each one going his own way. Outside a store, a group of young people who looked to be about 12 years old were gathered.
Their clothes were dirty and ragged, and their faces looked as if they were askew. The group consisted of four boys and two girls. Suddenly, another boy appeared carrying a paper bag which he gave to the others.
- Now how are we supposed to turn it on? - said one of the children.
- I don't know. I've done my part, now you figure it out.
While the passersby ignored what these youngsters were doing, they were sharing the contents of the bag that had been brought in, which was actually some kind of drug. Apparently these children were orphans or, at least, homeless; the heavy rain certainly prevented them from harming themselves with that substance and, therefore, they decided to go to a more private place.
Even if they looked like that or had those drug packets, no person, no police that could pass by, would say anything about it. Those kids were just seen as a nuisance.
- Wow, what a heavy rain... maybe we had to go out by car. - commented a blonde-haired girl who was passing by.
- Miss, do you want us to buy an umbrella? I don't think raincoats will be enough. - said an older man accompanying her in a sarcastic tone.
- ...
- Leave it, Thomas. Now we must get back to the house soon, we don't want Lois to get sick. - commented a white-haired man who seemed to hide in his clothes a kind of long stick as if it were the size of a sword.
- Okay, but there doesn't seem to be any transportation going directly to the premises at the moment.
- I know of a shortcut; when I arrived with Eric, the two of us went for a walk all over the place. - commented the young girl.
- You mean you forced him..." commented the man in black with laughter in his mouth.
- Hey, stop making fun of your boss! - said tenderly the girl who wanted to look annoyed.
While the two bodyguards tried to hide their laughter, the girl turned to look around where she could notice a group of children who with their looks dead in excess by the consumption of drugs were getting up to leave that place.
However, Lois' gaze remained somewhat interested in one of the two girls who had a dead face, but seemed somehow a little healthier than the rest.
The sight only lasted a few seconds until that group left the place being avoided by everyone around them.
- You must not be surprised at this, miss. You must learn that the world is not a pleasant place. You had the fortune of being born in a good family, unlike those children who perhaps did not have the same luck or perhaps lost it along the way. - commented Hayato sympathetic to what was going on.
- Yes... I know. - replied the girl in a monotonous tone.
About half an hour had passed; that group of children were in an alley where there was only trash and garbage, but, at least, the rain was limited from entering.
The flame of a lighter was what illuminated the place and each child began to light the cigars they had made, although it was a little difficult, since the rain had soaked them.
Everyone except for a boy and a girl rushed to be part of this act; the smell was evident, but only that group was there and, between laughter and words, one of them spoke.
- We are assholes, nothing has gone right for us. We couldn't sell even a third of the merchandise. Now, when they find out, they'll come after us. - said the boy who seemed to be the oldest of them all.
- It's not our fault, the blues have been holding ground and I don't want to go to jail," answered another young man.
- At least Veronica was able to bring wool. I think she knows how to sell. - commented another, "But what about Alicia?
The girl was left being watched by the rest, as each one tried to blame the other. They were certainly children.
- It doesn't matter now... we must think about what we'll tell her tomorrow. - said the eldest of them.
- I can't think when we're like this, at least let us have some fun with Alicia. - suggested one of the boys.
The boys seemed to agree, but only one of them tried to prevent it; it was the boy who seemed to hesitate to get high together with Alicia.
At once, they all tried to pin him down and, although no one had seen the face of that girl they wanted to harm, she was equally with a dead expression, but somewhat worried about the one who defended her.
However, her concern would do nothing to save him and, even worse, was when a sound was heard.
The only thing everyone could see was how that boy who was taken by the rest to hit him was hit by a bullet in the head. It was instant death.
The scream of the other girl, Veronica, was heard. All the children turned to look through the entrance of the alley to see a group of adult men whose appearances gave away that they were criminals.
- They found us! - shouted one of the children.
- Of course we found you! - exclaimed one of the men - I had already told the boss that using children was silly, now look at them ... smoking our stash. - The man shook his head disapprovingly.
- Let's get it over with, Henry. - said one who, despite his appearance, seemed to have some manners.
The kids were no fools, however, as they immediately ran towards them with some junk in hand that they could use as a shield.
After this a few more shots were heard; only after this, a couple of children could be seen coming out and the sound of two more shots hit one of them in the arm and the other in his leg.
However, the children tried to run away.
The two children ran in opposite directions, while, as seconds passed, the four men came out of the alley running after them.
Unexpectedly the streets seemed uninhabited, but the girl who escaped tried to look for help, but there was no one there. Suddenly, she heard the voices of those men cursing her as they approached her.
Entering through a narrow passageway, the girl tried to hide from them; the men behind her passed her by as if they had not noticed that their target had hidden.
The girl, hearing their cursing voices disappear with the sound of falling drops, sighed in relief. Minutes passed and the girl remained in that place where she was drenched by the rain, it seemed as if she had no strength.
"Mom... Dad..." thought the little girl inside her heart while crying showed on her face.
Sadly, her rest was shattered into pieces. To the side of her, she heard the sound as if a large garbage bag fell to the ground, as she looked to see what it was, she saw the other child who had been able to escape with a leg injury.
Turning her gaze behind her, she saw two somewhat exhausted men, but with fearsome smiles on their faces.
Alicia's face was full of fear and despair, but, as she closed her eyes, she thought to ease the pain of her death; however, it was not so, the two men took the child with other perverse intentions.
The girl was filled with terror as these men carried out their act.
It was then, that a desperate scream was heard.
- HELP! HELP PLEASE!
was what was heard; however, no one came to her aid and those angry men gagged her.
Soon everything would begin and, at the moment of taking her, Alicia saw the distorted face of the man who stood over her. It looked like the face of a demon.
At that moment, that face went blank, a bullet had gone through the face of that pervert, causing him to fall on the girl.
The other man looked in front of him and noticed the presence of a white-haired man and a blonde girl. However, neither of them seemed to be carrying a gun.
Alicia, who was lying on the wet floor, also saw their presence. At that moment, the other man tried to pull out a gun to end the lives of the two men in front of him. However, the sound of another shot was heard immediately.
Another shot to the head, but it could be seen that it had been from behind. The last man fell to the ground leaving blood smeared on the pavement.
- I really wanted to do it another way ... but for the girl, I made it quick and painless ... how lucky they were, so to speak. - commented the voice of Thomas who was on the other side of the narrow road.
Alice seemed to lose consciousness when suddenly she heard a voice.
- Rest, you don't have to worry anymore.
Hearing the childish voice, the girl tried to see who it was. A blonde-haired girl was all she saw before she fainted.
- You were really in a lot of trouble back then; illegal drug sales, document forgery and so on filled your record. - Lois commented after recalling everything that happened that day of their encounter.
The young woman got out of bed and headed for the door to leave; however, Alicia tried to thank her again for what she had done that day. However, an attendant knocked on the door before the woman could say anything.
- What's wrong? - Lois asked.
- Excuse me, miss, but someone has come looking for you.
- Who's looking for me?
- Uh ... not you, but Miss Alicia. - corrected the worker.
This left both women uncertain.
- Who is it? - asked Lois seriously.
- It's a man with long white hair ... someone who calls himself Vincent Veramente.
Alice didn't know who he was, although she had heard that name somewhere.
Lois, on the other hand, was dismayed to hear such a name.
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