I reached both of my arms around my godfather, hugging him tightly as if I was telling him not to go. He did the same, caressing my hair and patting my back as the hug kept going.
The kid watched us from afar, confused by the whole situation. And she had every right to do so, after all, a few minutes ago I was trying to kill the person in front of me.
-Umm, Jacob?-the kid said as she tugged on my cape-What is going on?
When the kid touched me, I let go of my godfather. I wiped off the tears in my face with my cape and then coughed, introducing the man to the kid.
-Kid, meet Juan Carlos.-I said with a gentler tone than the one I used with the kid-He is the husband of my godmother Talya.
-Umm, nice to meet you…?-the kid said while raising her hand to my godfather.
He looked down at her and with a smile, squeezing her hand with both of his hands while saying "Encantado". As her hand got squeezed, she got on tip-toes and whispered to me, asking what he was saying.
-He's speaking spanish, it means "Nice to meet you".
-Wait, you speak spanish?!-she screamed in my ear.
The man in front of us laughed as he heard her question.
-Of course he does,-he said-everyone in his family made sure he'd speak it.
-Oh! That's why I didn't understand what he said when he stubbed his foot against a tree root yesterday!
-And what did he say exactly?-he asked her while raising an eyebrow.
I held the kid from behind, covering her mouth so she wouldn't speak anymore. I couldn't let him know that the kid heard me curse in front of her or he'd kill me.
I muffled her words with my hand, making sure that nothing could escape her mouth.
-Hehe… I don't think it's important…-I laughed awkwardly.
-Jacob…
-Yeah?
-Deja que hable.-he ordered me.
I let go of the kid, who immediately took a deep breath and slapped my face after being freed from my hands. The kid then approached me to ask me to translate what he just said.
-He told me to let you speak.
-Oh… tell him that I'm thankful to him then.
-"Him" speaks english too, you know?-my godfather leaned down and talked to her.
-Sorry…-the kid said while looking down, trembling.
-So, will you tell me what this dumbass said yesterday?
My hands began to shake after listening to his question. I looked at the kid as she started to speak, knowing that my fate was sealed.
-I don't really remember what he said, all I know it that it was something weird…
-Weird like what?-he asked-Do you remember how that word sounds?
-It was something with "C"... Or was it with a "K"?-she began to doubt, trying to remember what I said the day before-I think it's something like "Canyon"...
-¿"Coño"? Perhaps that's the word?
The kid listened to him and smiled right after he finished.
-Yeah! That one!
He quickly moved his head to face me, giving me a deadly look. He took one step close to me, threatening me with the height difference and then began to scold me.
-Jacob Mateo Yo-
-Hey, please don't use my full name…-I interrupted him, reminding him that I didn't like my full name too much.
-¡No me interrumpas carajito!-he told me as he flicked my forehead-Mira, Jacob, ¡No fui una mala influencia contigo solo para que fueras un mala influencia con una niña chiquita!
I shrank between my shoulders, looking to the ground in embarrassment.
-Perdón…-I apologized.
He shook his head from side to side, showing disappointment in me. He flicked my forehead again and then looked at the kid, talking to him while he leaned down to her height.
-I'm sorry about that…-he moved his hand, indicating that he wanted to continue talking but he wasn't able to-I'm sorry, but what's your name, little one?
-It's okay, sir…-she responded nervously-Jacob calls me "kid" because he doesn't know my name, so you can call me that too…
-Hmmm… So he doesn't know your name, huh? He must be a bad boyfriend then…
The embarrassment left my body as soon as I heard his words. Me and the kid looked at each other's eyes, horrified by his question. We then looked at him, giving him a grossed stare.
-Ew… Just ew…-I said as I looked at him.
-Why ew? You don't like her?-he asked behind a laugh.
-She's twelve!
-And you are…-he made a hand gesture again, indicating me to keep talking and finishing his sentence.
-I'm 16…
-See? It's not that much!-my godfather answered while laughing-Your grandma had a 10 years difference with your grandpa… Not to mention that Talya is 6 years older than me!
My face wrinkled as I heard him talk, taking the kid with me a few steps back.
-Padrino, grandma was 14 when she got married! And she had like 5 kids!-I slapped my face in disbelief of what he was saying-She is not a good example!
-So you're saying that me and my wife are not a good example either?!-he said while taking a step closer.
-That's different! You guys met after you were like 30 or something!-I said while taking a couple more steps back with the kid.
He let out a sigh, shaking his head left to right after hearing my answer.
-It hurts me to see that you have never introduced me to any of your girls in the past.
-That's because I've never dated a girl!
-Oh, I see… You like boys, don't you?
I took a deep breath, reminding myself that he was my family and that I didn't have the right to do any harm to him.
-Yes, padrino, I like both boys and girls. But that doesn't mean I've dated a man before! I've been single ever since I was born!
The kid tugged at my cape, telling me to lower my head. She tiptoed and then whispered in my ear.
-Jacob, you've never dated someone?-she asked-You're really mean, but I think you're kinda cool.
My godfather emerged from behind us, listening to her question and then answering.
-That's what I'm saying! If he's this cool, then why isn't he pulling anyone?
I placed both of my hands in their faces and pushed them away from me. I already knew that my love life was bad, so I didn't need 2 people reminding me about it.
-Anyways…-I said as I changed the subject-What are you doing here? And why were you following us?
-Well, godparents have to take care of the child in case something happens to their parents, don't they? So your godmother and I have been traveling to your house during all this time just to see you.
-Oh… so you know about my dad…-I said in a sad tone.
-Huh? What about him? I was just gonna ask you why he isn't with you.
My heart skipped a beat when he reminded me of the death of my dad. My hand began to shake, so the kid held it in an attempt to calm me down.
-He's… well… not here anymore…-the kid answered in my place.
My godfather opened his eyes when he heard the kid's words. Just as I did when I found out, he couldn't give credit to something like that. Someone as strong as my dad could not be killed easily, so it was almost impossible to believe that.
He hugged me after hearing about it, asking me if I was really sure that it happened. I had no trouble telling the story to the kid because she used to be a stranger to me, but telling it to a family member was really, really difficult…
The kid walked around me and tugged on his jacket, moving her hand in a gesture that meant "Come here". He lowered his head to her height, allowing her to tell him the full story.
Once she was finished, he looked at me and hugged me tighter than he did before.
-Perdón por no haber estado ahí contigo…-he said while caressing my back.
Tears began to fall uncontrollably out of my eyes the moment I listened to his words. I tried to muffle my cries in his chest so the kid wouldn't see me in such a pathetic way, but after crying for a couple of minutes and realizing that I didn't stop, I stopped caring about her and cried hard on my godfather's clothes. At the sight of that, both the kid and him hugged me hard, trying to calm me down.
Many minutes passed and after a while, I calmed down. The man put his hand on my head and told me not to worry, claiming that "everything would be okay". I held his hand and squeezed, sighing and then trying to recover my breath.
-So…-I said after recovering completely-Where's Talya? Wasn't she travelling with you?
-About that…-he scratched the back of his neck.
I started to worry, hoping that nothing happened to her.
Then, out of nowhere, a familiar voice yelled from the tree above us.
-About that, Talya is here!
A woman descended gracefully from the trees, leaving a trail of falling leaves behind her. She jumped from branch to branch and eventually got to the ground beside us.
-Aww… Look at my little man! -the woman rushed to my side and hugged me, lifting me in the air while kissing my cheeks-You've grown up so much!
-Talya?-I asked with effort while being constricted by her arms-How long have you been around here?
-Just a couple of couple of couple of minutes.-she responded with a laugh-And do not try to say that it doesn't make sense or I'll squeeze you harder.
I laughed at her comment, freeing one of my arms from her hug and putting it around her. She put me down as she felt my one arm hug, kissing my forehead and giving me a final hug before letting me go.
Talya then ran to the side of her husband, giving him a big hug and then pulling his ear.
-Ouch! Baby! Not in front of the kids!-he pleaded.
-I tell you to stick with me and what do you do? You get lost for days!
My godmother kept scolding him for a few minutes. During that, the kid talked to me to ask if that was normal, and at the sound of her voice, the woman stopped pulling her husband's ear and crouched to say hi to the kid.
-Aww… aren't you the cutest girl around?-she said while patting her head-What's your name? I think I didn't hear it before.
-Kat… My name's Kat, miss.-the kid said nervously.
I looked at the kid, trying not to laugh at the name. Kat? Like the animal? Or was it because of another reason?
-Wait…-my godfather recovered from his earlier scolding and talked-Is it "Kat" from "Katherine" or something? Or is it "Cat" like the animal? Believe me, I come from a place where people have weird names, so don't ask why I have the doubt about your name.
The kid felt overwhelmed by their questions and began trembling a bit. I patted her shoulder to tell her that everything was alright, so after taking a deep breath she responded.
-Apparently my dad named me Kat because of a female soldier in a videogame…
As soon as he heard that, my godfather began to think of all the possible characters that her name could be inspired by. He closed his eyes and started to pick all of the probable choices, and after a long selection, he finally asked the kid if the game her dad referred to was the one he thought of.
-Yeah! That's the one!-she answered eagerly.
-Hmm… Yeah, you kinda resemble her.-he said-The only differences are the height, the muscles, the scars and your hair color, but I can see why your father named you after her.
Me and Talya looked at each other awkwardly while they had their conversation. Talya then pulled her husband by the back of his jacket, telling him to stop making the kid uncomfortable. Juan Carlos apologized, standing up and shaking the kid's hand apologetically.
-So, what's the plan?-my godmother asked me while the kid was getting apologies by my godfather.
-The plan for what?
-Well, your plan. You know, like, what are you doing right now and what are you doing it for? You can't be outside like this if you don't have a plan.
-Oh, yeah, you're right…-I answered awkwardly.
-Uh huh… So, what's the plan? What are you going to do after this?
I took a deep breath and crouched to pick up the knife that I dropped when I was hugging my godfather.
-You see this?-I asked while putting the knife in front of her.
-That's one of your dad's knives, what about it?-my grandmother asked me.
-Before dying, he tasked me to search his best works and bury them with him…
-So that's your plan?-the married couple asked in unison-Looking for those and then burying them with him?
-Yeah… You wouldn't happen to know anything about those works, right?-I asked.
They looked at each other and then answered me.
-We only know about two of those works, and both of them are standing right in front of us.-Talya said while pointing at me.
I opened my cape and started to look at my knives. Was she talking about something else besides "The set of knives"? Was the cape part of his works? Or was she talking perhaps about the ring that her husband had on his hand?
-Is that ring part of what I'm looking for?-I asked while looking at Juan Carlos' hand.
-Nope.-he pointed the hand with the ring at me and then said-One of the works you're looking for is on you…
-And the other "work" is you.-Talya said.
Me? What was that supposed to mean?
-Your dad spent many years training you and raising you by himself so you could be the best man possible…-my godfather said.
-And even though you're still a little and cute kid, you really look like the type of man your dad would've wanted you to be.-Talya said while pinching my cheek.
I got taken aback by their words. What was I supposed to do after finding out that I was one of those great works I was supposed to find? Did that mean that I'd have to bury myself with my dad after finding the rest of the things he asked me to look for?
My hand grabbed the kid by her arm and then my head moved in the direction of the shopping cart, telling her that it was time for us to leave. I needed some time to think about what to do, but being with them would not help me to be objective about my decision.
-Padrinos, you said that your plan was to go to my house, didn't you?
They both nodded to my question.
-Do you remember how to get there?-I asked while lifting the kid and putting her inside the shopping cart.
-Of course!-they both answered.
-Then I guess this is where we part ways…-I said while hugging both of them.
My godfather flicked my forehead when he heard me.
-¡No! ¡Ni loco! ¡Te dije que habíamos venido para cuidarte!
-Listen to him Jacob, don't do something you might regret.-said his wife while caressing my head-Just stay with us so we can protect you.
I put on the hood of my cape and then smiled at them. I kissed Talya on the cheek and then gave them a big, final hug.
-Thank you, padrinos… However…-I crouched quickly and gave a low sweep to both of them with my leg-as you can see, I'm more than capable of surviving out there on my own!
I turned around and quickly ran to the shopping cart, pushing it and getting out of there quickly.
-I love you guys! Please take care of the house in my absence!-I yelled as I got away with the kid-Oh, shit! I almost forgot! ¡Bendición, padrinos!