Cassandra Vitale
I walked into the house, pacing the area, I was beyond disturbed, my mind distraught from the news I just heard from the orphanage home. I couldn't afford losing another one, I can't handle it. My eyes swelled up with tears, threatening to fall any minute. I sat at the stairs, my arm resting on my thigh, my hands holding my head.
I went down memory lane when I had started the orphanage home. It was a vision I always had ever since I was just a teenager and just when I was done with school I had plans to start the orphanage home.
As a teenager, coming back from school, I'd see kids my age sitting by the streets looking ragged and hungry. I'd always felt empathy for them and thought of countless ways to help them.
"Be kind !" Those were always my mother's words that I held dearly and it stuck with me everywhere and anywhere I went. No matter the race, tribe, color I always took my mother's words as a mantra in this cruel world.
The push I got when I started the orphanage home was a result of a friend I made as a teenager. She was a kid that lived on the streets. She barely had anything to eat or a shelter over her head. I always kept my lunch food to give to her after school was over and we would hang out for hours just having fun.
"When I grow up I wish to have an orphanage home to accommodate children who live on the streets" she said absentmindedly, jumping in between the little boxes we had drawn on the ground. A game popular amongst kids.
"An orphanage home?" I asked, looking at her keenly.
"Yes," she replied, flashing the most beautiful smile ever.
"Maria!" I called out, drawing her attention as she jumped out of the last box.
"Yes," she said, her gaze meeting mine.
"How do you intend to have an orphanage home? You barely have what to eat, you have no food and you don't have a shelter over your head. What do you intend to do?" I asked inquisitively, trying to figure out what was her drive to say such a thing.
"That I don't have anything to eat, or a roof over my head, that doesn't stop me from dreaming and that Cassandra is my dream. My only prayer is that I live long to fulfill those dreams" she said, smiling at me revealing her perfect dentition before averting her gaze.
I was fourteen at the time and I couldn't say I had a dream. I had stopped dreaming about the future when I lost my mother, I didn't see a reason to dream anymore. My mother would always say I was going to be someone great, someone who will change the narrative but I couldn't see how that was ever going to be possible and yet Maria having nothing to her name or possessions but yet she had big dreams. I really wanted to be like her and help her in any way possible. She was that good person, that shining light the world needed. Too bad the world couldn't see that beautiful light.
A week later after her declaration of building an orphanage home, I went as usual to hang out with her and give her some food to eat. I met her barely breathing, lying lifeless on the ground.
I rushed towards her, placing her head on my thigh.
"What happened Maria? Who did this to you?" I asked, scared to the bone that I would lose her to the cold hands of death yet again like I lost my mom.
"I…. Was….. raped…" she stuttered, coughing out blood.
"…. I was beaten….. by the street thugs…." She said, mid sentence coughing out more blood.
I brought out my water bottle and gave her water to drink, but she only spat it out with a ton of blood in the water. She was wincing in pain, her body was filled with bruises which I believe was as a result of the beatings from the street thugs. My eyes were filled with tears, I didn't know what to do as I watched her slowly losing her breath. The hospital was far away from the alley and the people passing by didn't care to stop and help.
My dad refused to help Maria or take her in based on some mindset he had about street people. He would always say they are wicked and dangerous and urged me to stay away from her but his warnings didn't stop me from visiting Maria in that alleyway. I didn't understand why he would always say that and he never cared to explain why.
I screamed out for help.
"Please, help me! Anyone! I beg of you, please!" I screamed out loud, as the tears which threatened to fall streamed down my eyes.
I watched the adults passed by just looking at us with disgust in their eyes like we were trash, no one, not one single soul in the world cared to stop and ask. The world truly was really a cruel one. I leaned in on her, placing my head on her chest, hearing her gasp for air as she muttered her last words.
"Thank you cass…" she coughed out a lump of blood.
"You've been a beacon of light in this cruel world." She whispered, still with a smile on her face.
The tears from my eyes wouldn't stop flowing, I Wiped it off with the back of my hand but it wouldn't stop pouring. Maria held a soft spot in my heart and it was too soon losing her.
"Cass," she called out, pulling me out of my train of thoughts.
"Yes," I replied, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"Promise me, you'll….. build the orphanage home. Promise me, you'll... fulfill my dream, promise me, that you'll continue to dream no matter what" she said, word for word.
She was dying and yet she was still thinking about orphans. She wasn't thinking about herself but rather about other children just like her.
"Promise me….. cass," she added, her gaze stern looking deep into my eyes expecting a response. I responded with a curt nod, as the tears continued streaming down my face. I was crying and yet Maria was smiling. What kind of person was she really?
"Our father, who art in heaven…." She struggled to say underneath her breath.
Maria was someone who was religious, she was someone who I never understood. She prayed to a God who never ever came to her rescue yet she believed in him. Anytime I had closed from school and came to see her, I'd always see her praying to God. Despite her challenges, she held on to God even till the last seconds of her final breath. She believed God used me as source of comfort for her.
"Maria?!" I called out, shaking her body.
I placed the side of my head to her heart so I could hear her heartbeat but I couldn't hear anything.
I cried out loudly, the only close friend i had was dead and she died in my hands. I swore to dream, I swore to fulfill Maria's dream no matter what.
A society that was controlled by mafia men in high positions, citizens of Shadowbrook had become puppeteers in the hands of these mafia men and never in a million years did I imagine getting married to one.
The weight of the world seemed to crush down on me as reality seeped back into my consciousness. Maria, my constant, confidante, was gone. The world, once filled with color, now appeared drained of life. The once familiar surroundings filled with lots of memories between Maria and I felt alien, hostile.
A sob escaped my lips, a raw, guttural sound that echoed in the dark alleyway. The world seemed to hold its breath, as If even the elements were mourning the loss. I placed her body on the floor, as I sank to the floor, my knees drawn up to my chest, the cold floor a stark contrast to the warmth I had just lost.
"Maria," I cried out loudly, holding her hand, her heart heavy with bitterness and anger.
The promise I made to her echoed in my mind. To fulfill her dream, to break the customs that bound the city. It was a daunting task, a mountain to climb, but it was also a beacon of hope in the darkness.
With a renewed determination, I rose up to my feet. Maria might be gone, but her spirit lived on within me. I would honor her memory by fighting the darkness that had claimed her life.
I would take in children that were abandoned by the Mafia men and raise them right. I would provide shelter and food for them. There wouldn't be an opportunity for thugs to treat them wrongly like they were trash I wasn't going to stand and let that happen, not while I'm still alive.
The road ahead was fraught with danger, but I was ready. After all, i had nothing left to lose. I looked at Maria's lifeless body one more time, placing my coat over her body and walked away.
I couldn't even bury her well. I left that dark alley with a heavy heart and a sadness that'll never leave me. It was a mark of a friendship that would last in the sands of time.