"Why are you all alone, Niñita?" He asked the little crying girl curled up on the pavement.
"My mommy left me. Daddy chased her away." Home issues. He guessed. The girl still remained in her little ball form sniffling and shivering. She did not look older than 7, his heart broke watching her like that.
"Did he chase you away too, princessa?" He said sitting next to her as her sniffles reduced.
"What? No." The girl peeped from her little ball and he caught a glimpse of her large brown eyes. "I was looking for my mummy."
"Oh." He blinked. He wondered what a child would be doing so late at night. Was her dad not worried? "It's getting late, let me take you back home and we'll look for her tomorrow?" He suggested in the nicest tone possible and she reluctantly nooded and stood up.
"Thank you." She muttered and avoided eye contact.
She never found her mother.
~~~
"Tobias! Tobias!!" The now 8 year old charged towards the him who was casually sunbathing. "Look what I found!" She grinned, putting her incomplete sets of teeth on display to her best friend.
"Eniola, it's just sand!" He exclaimed and laughed, watching the wet sand seep through the spaces between her fingers.
"But it's white! It's so pretty!" She yelled louder than him frowning as the amount in her hand reduced drastically.
"Well, if you say so. Then yes, Ennie, your sand is very pretty." He smiled at her excitement as her brown eyes gleamed brightly against her brown skin.
"I do, Tobias! You must have it." She announced and he felt his smile waver a bit. What did she expect him to do with the sand. With WET sand.
"Well, gracias princessa." He hesitantly put his hands out to her and watched as she dropped lumps of dirt into them.
~~~
"Tobi?!" The wild haired birthday girl waved wildly to her Tobi, he was talking to a very pretty lady behind the camera man. "I want you in the picture with me!" She yelled and he laughed and excused himself.
"Por supuesto, princessa." He immediately came to her kneeling to match her height. She was always a bit too short for her age, it made the boys at school be mean to her but he was always there to protect her. He was her protege and Salvador as he had translated it for her before. She liked the last one better.
"This is the best birthday ever, Tobi." She said pulling him by his neck into the puffy shoulder pads of her princess ball gown she insisted on getting and that her dad had reluctantly paid for. Everyone had thought it was too much but Tobi wanted her to get what made her happy and the dress made her very happy.
"Only the best for you, princessa." He answered pulling away from her just in time to hear the camera click.
~~~
"Let's go to prom together Tobias." He heard her say as he engrossed himself in his office work. Faints squeaks emit from the tired office chair as she spun in it completely bored.
"Prom? Don't you think I'm too old for that, Ennie?" He chuckled, closing his spreadsheet and turning all his attention to her. She would always freak out if he gave her divided attention.
"Well, you're only 27. You're not too old and besides, the boys in my grade are stupid and some of them don't like 'black' girls. They said I wasn't pretty for them." She tried to say it freely but Tobias could easily sense the emotion that laced the last sentence.
"Did they say that, Ennie?" He asked seriously, dropping every trace of humour formerly present in his voice.
"They did." she nodded for a second then resumed spinning on the chair.
"I think I would pay them a visit. What are their names?" He asked, and she told him. It was no use arguing with him, they had gone through it a thousand times. She was used to having him as a bodyguard and he enjoyed protecting her... And intimidating people.
"So, would you go with me?"
"What colour would your dress be?"
~~~
"What do you mean 'leaving', Tobias?" She almost yelled. She hadn't had him all her life only for him to just vanish because he felt 'it was the right thing to do'.
"I have to and you don't need me anymore. You're an adult now. And I trust your judgement now, Princessa" He said double checking his clothes and documents.
"I just turned 18, Tobi! I still need you." She said sadly as she watched him tuck a framed picture of her first visit to the beach and the jar of sand she gifted him in his suitcase. "Don't leave me now, Tobias." She winced hearing her own voice crack.
"I'm sorry, Ennie-"
"But I am your Niñita! Your princessa." She felt the first tear drop wet her cheek and flung herself at his tall frame. "Don't leave me. You're my Salvador. Don't leave." She begged him, sobbing into his chest as she felt his hands tense around her little waist.
"I'll come back for you. I will come back." He whispered into her wild hair that always had a faint scent of cocobutter.
"Promise?" She pulled away and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Promise."
~~~
Heyyyyyy!
I'll be using this prologue chapter to put in memories of Tobias and Eniola.