A single drop of tear fell from his eye, and it was beautiful -- he was beautiful. It was as if the dark clouds that filled his world and blocked his sun had finally broken up, and that made me happy. Of all the wrong things I have done, at least, for once, I have done something right.
I wanted to go to him and give him the tightest embrace in the world to let him know he’s not alone -- that there will always be someone who will never misunderstand, misjudge or misuse him -- and that someone was me. But I resisted. I was afraid such an act will only cause him to become a stranger once more, and that was the last thing I wanted right now, because somewhere deep inside me, he was filling a void I never knew existed.
No more words followed after that precious moment, so I let go of his hand, and continued with what I was doing.
Victor and I finished cooking and everything turned out great. The mouthwatering aroma of fried chicken filled the dining room, and I sincerely cannot wait to eat. I’m pretty sure our guest was hungrier than I am because he haven’t had any meat for days, and judging from his muscular physique, he requires a steady intake of protein.
I excused myself to fetch Mark and Paul and told them it’s time for lunch. The barn was at the farther side of the farm, so before I headed out under the rain, I put my raincoat on.
My brothers were already wrapping up when I arrived. The roof was fixed and Paul was playing with Sally, our beautiful German Shepherd, as he waited for Mark to come down. As I approached him, I noticed how behaved our dog was when my brother patted her lower back. That could only mean she’s ready to mate, and we can have puppies once more.
Whatever got into me that day, whether it was the idea of puppies or not, it made me bright and sunny despite the rain. I was so happy that when I approached Paul, I gave him a hug, and in a baby voice I said, “My little brother is so big now!”
“Whoa!” Paul contested as he pulls from my arms. “What’s gotten into you? What was that?”
“It’s a hug! I’m your older sister. Am I not allowed to reminisce the days when you were but a wee little baby with chubby red cheeks and chubby short limbs? Look at you now! You’re so big, lean and tall, I barely see that baby anymore,” I reasoned.
He just stared at me with a straight face, but after a while, he said, “That was weird, sis. I’m just gonna pretend that didn’t happen,” then poured his attention back to Sally.
If I was in my normal state, I would have given him a light smack at the back of his head, but I wasn’t so I just giggled at his reaction. “By the way, lunch is ready.”
Paul brightened up, and said, “Now that. Is. Awesome!” then ran and rushed back to the house.
Mark just got down and he didn’t look too happy -- as always. “What’s he running for?” he asked.
“Lunch,” I said, still beaming. “It’s time to eat. Come on.”
“What are you so happy about?” he replied, brows knitted in suspicion.
His question really annoyed me. There were very few reasons to be happy about in this farm, and now that I was, why can’t he be just happy for me too? “What’s your problem? Am I not allowed to be happy?”
“It’s him, isn’t he?”
“What?” Although I sounded offended, I felt my cheeks flush at the thought of Victor.
“I knew it. Listen to me, Maria, don’t get too involved with him.”
“What the hell, Mark?”
“Maria, I am your brother, and it is my job to protect you from him. He’s not…”
“And who’s gonna protect me from you?” I cut him off. “All you did was strangle us with your protection, Mark. Paul and I aren’t kids anymore. We know what we want and we know what we’re doing.” Then I walked out on him and ran off towards the pouring rain.
“Maria!” he called back. “Maria!”
VII: Victor