Ecstatic at the sight, she took a step back, forgetting that she was on a bench. The fall echoed throughout the room. It had hurt a little. She was about to stand up when the door was suddenly opened.
—What happened?!— Before she could react she was already in her arms, hanging at an almost unreal height from her perspective. —Does it hurt? You know that you shouldn't climb on the stool, it's already the fifth time that has happened. Is it that you don't take your old man's words seriously?— and so he went on and on chattering, still without noticing that the little girl he was carrying saw him completely enraptured, absent from his words.
The perfectly sculpted face in front of her had taken her breath away.
—Theresse, are you listening to me?— seeing the daze on his adorable daughter's face, he asked angrily, pinching one of her chubby baby cheeks uncompensated.
—U're very handsome— she murmured as brought both little hands to the man's face, tracing his figure with them, which, paralyzed, let him do whatever she wanted. Once having verified that every part of his face was not fake. Fireworks flashed in her innocent gaze.
The young woman who had no interest in the opposite sex had suddenly felt completely stimulated by witnessing the subject's beautiful face. She had to admit that she was always demanding, aesthetically sensitive, and came to think that no real man would ever attract her. Yet here she had this wonderful specimen, exceeding all her expectations.
Finally, after having processed her daughter's words, the man trembled violently, scaring the youngest, who was unaware of her attempts to contain her joy.
—Trying to win me with compliments—, said the redhead, pinching her cheek a little harder, at the same time that a bright smile escaped from his lips.
Of course, like woman she enjoyed the beautiful face of a happy handsome man. But still, what was he doing? Mistreating her little face like this. She was used to having her cheeks pulled like cookie dough. After all, she always had the plump, red, kneadable cheeks that her family and friends always loved bothering. However, somehow her face felt even more tender and sensitive.
Her sky blue eyes begged for mercy.
Watching the tender girl in his arms looking aggravated and pitiful. He could not do more than sigh, then laugh slightly, touching the beautiful golden strands on the head of the minor.
—Thinking that the baby I raised with so much effort shows signs of being manipulative breaks my heart. You have to fear, you have to fear— the words shocked her for a moment, first a woman had appeared calling herself her mother, and now this man called herself her father. She wanted to say something, but was interrupted. —Hmm, it smells good. I'll forget this just because breakfast is ready, waiting for you sink your teeth into it, not because you're the most adorable baby in the world, you understand?— while saying that with a cheerful voice, he tickled the girl's belly, getting a few laughs. She did not like to be touched, much less tickled, but she felt safe in this person's arms, strangely, it was as if she had known him for a lifetime.
Outside the bedroom the house was not much different. Old dark green wallpaper on the walls, unwaxed wood on the floor. In its years that room, that house must have been a new image of elegance, which was adopted in the surrounding homes. However, that such a well-designed place was so neglected was a shame.
There was no dust in the place and it didn't look particularly dirty either. Soon her mind began to generate ideas. Wax, hard to come by. Good quality clothes and sheets, but worn. Walls without tearing, clean too, but affected by the years. Ancient stairs that creaked as if they were going to break at any second. The man had callused hands, obviously due to hard work, and the woman who served the dishes in front of them also, although they were only somewhat rough hands, if you saw her skin and her appearance it could indicate that she was not a lady used to manual work, those calluses were recent, not like the subject's.
Definitely that woman and the house had something in common, and it was that both had fallen from their pedestal. The house must have belonged to a wealthy family, just like the figure who now served the dishes. However, a carelessness had led them little by little to ruin, by her hands she could tell that barely a few months passed since she took on the housework, what brought them to the brink of bankruptcy?
On the table were soft white bread and eggs in the sun that smelled wonderful. Or maybe she was just hungry.
She watched the food expectantly, waiting for permission to begin. Her family prayed and thanked God every day for their food and sustenance, perhaps because it was fortunate that they had something to eat, and they were truly very grateful. Unconscious, she raised her arms, seeking to hold the hands of the other two people at the small round table. After realizing how much of what she was doing, she tried to back down. She did not expect that without hesitation they would take her hands and give thanks for the food as she wanted.
The food was good, she couldn't complain. She diligently took the knife, making a sandwich and happily eating it. Without noticing the curious looks the adults were giving him.
—Ish very good— the childish and soft voice was like a lullaby to her ears, very different from her usual dignified manner. I wanted to give the lady a compliment, however she ended up feeling in conflict with her current self. She was about to continue without waiting for an answer when the redhead spoke.
—Theresse —the man called with a low and deep voice that raised the hairs all over her body.
"That name again"
She didn't know why, but both people looked unusually tense. Looking at her strangely, had she done something inappropriate?
—Honey, you shouldn't play with sharp objects. It's dangerous— the beautiful woman spoke as she took the knife and took it away to the other corner of the table.
—That's right, you can't take the kitchen utensils, those aren't toys. You can hurt yourself.
—Yes yes, don't play with dangerous things.
—... I undershtand— I had seen her appearance in the mirror, she knew looked like a 5-year-old girl, but she was already at the age of being a college student. It was understandable, yes, however for the 19-year-old her this kind of overprotection was just ridiculous. —B-ut ...— she speak in the middle —I need to cut the brwead— she still held the sandwich in his hands, looking at the woman who called her mother as if she did not know what to do.
—Mommy can do that for you, baby you don't have to worry— all the love that her words exuded was reflected in her face that was more exquisite than that of any other woman I have seen. She was a bit embarrassed by all that show of affection from both of them, but she didn't want to differ.
That afternoon she spent in her bed, like the next day, and the day after that, and the other, and the other. In the morning she would get up to sit and watch passers-by through the window. In the afternoon she meditated on her bed. And at night the bitter and silent crying was drowned between the sheets ...
She already knew, but she still had to take it all in. Her family, her friends, the world she worked so hard for had vanished before her eyes. She looked into the past, her life was gone in a sigh. She had so many things to do, she was just going to start. She wanted to make up for it. Did you think she really wanted to study medicine? No, but it was the best way someone of her kind could fulfill her potential. Money, that was what they needed, and work was the only way to get it. Since she was a child, she has vowed to become a doctor. Just because she wanted to give her family what others had. She had become so focused on other things that she had lost the way of her heart. She didn't know what she wanted to do, she didn't have a goal that ... that would fill her heart, as long as her family was fine, as long as she could pay them, everything would be fine. But they weren't here.
"Theresse"
She forgot her name. These people, Iris, Theresse's mother, and Robert, her father. She had studied them, and the way things work weren't much different. That was when it was decided.
Perhaps she was no longer at home, or in her world, not even in the same body, but if there was one thing that she was not going to let her change, it was her dream, her ambition. She was going to take care of this family, her family.
Eventually she appropriated her name, Theresse.