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Entering the farm always felt like coming home.
Rosa followed the little worn down path to the front door of the house she grew up in. Roses grew on the side of the door and the sun was throwing her warm light onto the wood of the outdoor walls giving the whole place an almost fairy tale like atmosphere. Rosa ran her hand over the door. The green paint chipping, flakes of it falling to the ground. A testimony of the time spent facing the outside world.
-
The early morning sun was lighting up the kitchen as Fit heard a cry coming from outside. He blamed it on his sleep deprived brain, but it grew louder as he was about to take a sip of his freshly made coffee.
Did a stray cat find its way to the farm?
He put his mug down with a deep sigh, walking to their front door. Richas had just painted it for them a week ago, the paint was still shiny and unbothered by the sun.
Opening the door, looking down, Fit froze.
“PAC!”
Fit didn’t look up as he heard his boyfriend walk down the stairs, he had probably just woken up as he had let the brazilian sleep in.
His warm body was about to wrap itself around Fit and ask him what's up, as he saw the bundle to the Americans feet. The morning sun almost forming a halo around it.
A baby.
Maybe a few months old. Short black hair and chubby cheeks. Crying her soul out.
The two men stared at it in disbelief. Pac being the first to move again. Picking the little human up, cradling her in his arms. The screamin stopped at once, as she observed Pac with big dark eyes.
“Someone must have left her here!”
Fit stared at the small being, then he and Pac locked eyes.
Any protest he had dissolved into nothing at the soft look on his beloved face.
Pac’s lips wore a soft smile, adoration in his eyes that was usually only reserved for their sons.
“Fitch, we can’t leave her outside!”
Fit sighed as if he actually needed convincing, he reached out to stroke the girls cheek with his finger and a small laugh escaped her lips, “What should we call her?”
The two made eye contact again and the joy in Pac’s eyes was something Fit would never forget.
“Hmm, Let’s think about it! First we have to get her somewhere warm! We can make the storage room down here into her nursery”
Fit led Pac inside, “I don't even know what Babies eat, how are we supposed to figure out how to care for her?“
Pac petted the baby's hair, “We go to town later and ask for help, I'm sure someone knows.”
Fit worried his lip, “I don't know Pac, maybe we should just leave her with someone in town then. I was barely able to keep Ramon alive and he was already eight when I adopted him”
Pac took Fit’s hand, “But you got me now. And Ramon and Richas are old enough to help. Fitch, we'll figure it out!”
Fit knew his boyfriend had already made up his mind, but the thought of something so small and fragile in his care made his stomach turn, “Let's just take her in for now, go to town later and then go from there, I'm sure whoever takes her in will let us visit. We will be tios to one more kid around, that doesn't sound too bad.”
Pac didn't seem convinced but settled with the compromise, “We have to go tell Ramon and then Richas, oh and maybe she wants the dino plush I made, the boys said they are too old for it!”
Fit smiled at the excitement in Pac’s voice, who was already turning around to go upstairs, probably to wake Ramon and show him his new baby sister.
-
The front door let out a small whine as it was opened. Letting some light into the empty home.
The inside of the house was quiet. It had been most times she had visited in the last years, but today was different. Like a thick blanket laid over the entire building.
The sun threw its light through the window to her left, onto the edge of the yellow carpet her Pai had gotten at a yard sale. The undefined stain no one had ever dared to claim still in its place.
Walking up to it she could also see some paint spots that were unmistakable Richas’ doing.
She smiled as she wiped at the dried paint with her foot moving the carpet slightly, the usual quiet sound echoing through the room.
Her eyes traveled to the left up the wall and the unfinished mural on it.
-
Richas was thrilled his little sister was finally able to walk and do things. She wasn’t the best talker yet, but the eagerness to draw was definitely his doing.
He had placed her on the stairs with some crayons and was watching her scribble away.
“És tu, sou eu”, she said while pointing at the stick figures she had drawn on the wall. ( That’s you, that’s me)
He grinned as he picked up his own crayon to start framing her work. He started at the sun she had drawn in the bottom corner, right above the lowest step, drawing lines swirling around his sister's masterpiece, as she drew a brown stick figure.
Her face scrunched up in concentration. It was adorable enough to make Richa's stop for a second to admire the toddler's passion for the art.
Multitasking between watching his sister and drawing for himself, made him realize the shadow appearing behind them too late.
The fake deep cough made him freeze, Rosa was still unbothered, lost in capturing Ramon’s likeness with scribbled lines.
Richas turned around slowly.
Towering above him stood Fit, arms crossed. His face drowned in shadow and a skeptical look pinching his brows together, barely able to hide the smile trying to curl his lips up.
“And what do you think you’re doing, Mr. Richarlyson ?"
Fit pronounced every syllable of his name with emphasis. Richas took a step back, his feet hitting the bottom stair.
“Rosa, sobe as escadas, ele não nos pode apanhar aos dois!”, he whispered over his shoulder, but Rosa was not listening, finally noticing her dad.
(Rosa, run up the stairs, he can’t catch us both!)
“Dad!! Look it me!”, she pointed at her drawing, and Richas tried not to smile at her excitement.
Fit’s face immediately softened, “It is! Good job, way better than your brother's drawing!”
Ricahs was about to protest, but Fit kept talking, “You know what!”, he picked her up, “How about you teach me how to draw and we show your brother who the real artist in the family is!”
Richas scoffed in fake protest, “Never, I will show you!”
Fit took some crayons, sitting Rosa down on his knee as he crouched down, “You wanna draw your Pai next? I see you have the three of you already!” Rosa nodded excitedly as she swung her legs back and forth.
Rosa drew both Pac and then Fit, while Richas continued his yellow doodles, it was almost relaxing to not think of some grand design and just highlighting his sister's work.
“You should add a heart between them!”, he commented as he inspected her work. Fit laughed at that as he handed her the red crayon.
She crawled off his lap as the job was done and started doodling on ground level, nothing Richas could decipher, but she was happy, so he was too. Fit sat down on the stairs and drew a rose in one of the swirls Richas made.
Eventually Pac called them outside to help set the table, but Fit stopped them before Richas could carry Rose outside, “Do you have some paint we can use?”
Not long after three handprints were pressed onto the wall, Richas helped Rosa write her name, but she could basically do it herself at this point, and together they left it to dry, but not before Richas promised to finish it some other day.
-
Rosa pressed her hand onto the handprint she had left. Her palm covering it completely.
Getting up she walked the worn down stairs up to the upper floor. The floorboards sighing under her weight as she looked at the pictures hung up on the wall, most of which she was still a baby in.
Upstairs was a hallway connecting three bedrooms and two baths.
Her oldest brother's room and her parents' old room they had to move out of as Pac’s legs gave out and the room Richas used whenever he stayed over.
Across the staircase was Ramons room. He moved out a long time ago, but their parents never truly cleaned it out. Rosa looked through the gap of the half open door, it was a mess just like she remembered, the broken wardrobe, that Pac meant to repair but never did and the scrapes on the wall from the accident that caused it’s breaking.
-
Ramon was sneaking through the house, trying to be as quiet as possible as he looked for any spot his sister could have hidden in.
Her small body fit in almost anything, and he quickly learned that he didn’t need to go easy on her, being good at hide and seek apparently ran in the family.
He was just about to enter his parents bedroom as he heard a crash from his own room accompanied by a small scream.
He was in the doorway seconds later, Rosa standing in his wardrobe, the door to it on the floor and her small hands clasped over her mouth.
She looked at him with tears welling up in her eyes.
He leapt to her side, “Rosa, are you hurt, are you okay? Let me see!”, she shook her head but still showed him her untouched arms, fat tears were now rolling down her face and Ramon quickly wiped them away, “Hey, Rosa, don’t cry, are you sure you're not hurt?”
She shook her head again, her lip shaking as her hands tried to articulate what she failed to say.
Ramon took her hands gently, “Rosa, look at me!” her big watery eyes found his, “If you are not hurt then that is all what matters okay? Don’t worry about anything broken, those things can always be fixed!” She nodded while sniffing, the tears being dried and her small hands grasping her brother's shirt.
He hugged her tightly.
“Are you sure? I broke your wardrobe!”, she said with a small voice.
Ramon actually turned to look at the door laying in the middle of his room, the hinges bend.
It had fallen along the wall and looking up he could see the scratches left behind. He held his sister a bit tighter. Only to pull her away a bit to look her in the eyes. “Rosa, I will never be mad at you for breaking something accidentally, okay. I promise you that! And you know what?”
She looked at him confused as he grinned, “I like the wall better that way anyways!”
She grinned back. But a sad look over took Ramon for a second which he tried to hide away immediately. Rosa frowned at him, “What?”
He shook his head, but she stopped him with a hand to his cheek, “You said that I can always tell you when I am upset, you can too!”
Ramon was stunned by the sass of the child in front of him, and gave in, “It’s… Okay. I was just reminded that my first dad would have never reacted this way, and I am glad I can make sure you never experience that!”
“Fit?”
Ramon shook his head, “Someone else, he has been gone for a while, but sometimes i realized how bad it was. But I won't let anyone treat you like he treated me!”
Rosa grabbed his face with both of her hands, “And I will make sure he stays gone!”
Ramon tried his best not to cry, instead he hugged her again, at least she wouldn’t see the tears this way. But she knew. And she hugged him even harder because of it.
-
Rosa turned to the light coming in through the ceiling window leading out onto the roof.
Pac used to lay out on the roof with her and look at the stars even before her space obsession started.
She looked up at the blue sky, watching the clouds pass by.
-
Rosa snuggled a bit more into her Pais arm. The night air stroking her hair as they stared into the sky.
"Sabe Rosa, todos aqueles pontinhos lá encima são estrelas e planetas. Igual a Terra, onde nós estamos!"
( You know Rosa, all those little dots up there are stars and planets. Just like the earth we are on! )
She looked up, following where Pac was pointing, "Tem pessoas morando lá?"
( Do other people life there? )
He chuckled, "Talvez. Talvez exista um pai e uma filha em algum lugar por aí fazendo o mesmo que nós estamos fazendo agora!"
( Maybe. Maybe there is a dad and his daughter somewhere out there doing the same as we are right now! )
She smiled at that thought, "Podemos visitar eles um dia? Eu quero conhecer eles!"
( Can we visit them some day? I want to meet them!)
He let his arm fall back down, "Claro, um dia, tenho certeza! Você gostaria disso, Rosa?"
( Yeah, one day I’m sure! Would you like that Rosa! )
She shifted to fully lay on her back instead of pressed into her Pai’s side, "Eu posso visitar todos aqueles pontinhos no céu? Talvez eu possa falar com alguém lá! Você acha que eles gostam de brincar de esconde-esconde igual eu e o Ramon? Ou de pintar igual o Richas?"
( Can I go visit all those small dots in the sky? Maybe I can talk to the people up there! Do you think they like playing hide and seek like Ramon and me? Or Painting like Richas?)
"Ou são fofos igual seu pai?"
(Or being cute like your dad? )
Rosa giggled at that and slapped her Pais arm, "Você é nojento!" ( You’re gross!)
He laughed at his daughters antics.
They looked up again, Pac thinking for a bit before speaking up again, "Sabe de uma coisa, Rosa? Eu tenho certeza de que um dia você vai visitar as estrelas se você quiser! E se isso for muito assustador, tá tudo bem também. Eu e o seu pai vamos te apoiar no que der e vier! Eu quero que você saiba disso!"
( You know what Rosa? I am sure one day you will visit the stars if you want to! And if that’s too scary than that’s okay too. Me and your dad will support you either way okay! I want you to know that! )
She shifted closer to him again to shield herself from the cold air, "Eu sei, mas eu não tô com medo. Dad falou que se eu tiver, eu só preciso lembrar que eu sou mais corajosa que ele, e ele consegue fazer qualquer coisa, então eu consigo fazer muito mais!"
( I know, but I’m not scared, Dad said if I ever am, I just have to remember that I am braver than him, and he can do anything, so I can do even more! )
It was clear that Pac coudn’t follow his daughters logic, but he smiled at her anyways, "É, seu pai tem razão, ele sempre tem."
( Yeah, you’re dad is right, he always is! )
They kept laying there until Rosa fell asleep.
-
She ran her fingers through the layer of dust settled on the furniture of the upper floor while walking to the window overlooking the courtyard.
The place her parents married in after years of their friends pestering them.
A happy day all things considered. Back then she hadn’t really realized the implications.
The fact that “In sickness and health” was already just sickness for her parents.
-
Her Pai had been in a wheelchair more days than he wasn’t, but Rosa didn't care.
He was still funny and taught her all about science and the stars.
She was instead more than thrilled as her parents told her their plans to finally marry and she happily started telling all of their friends.
She didn't get the sad looks some of them failed to hide.
The front yard was transformed into an aisle, chairs set up to hold their friends and a beautiful rose arch at the end framing the altar.
Rosa walked down first as the flower girl, carefully spreading the rose petals around.
Next was Fit being led down the Aisle by Ramon.
He was wearing a beautiful dark blue suit and a rose pinned to his side pocket, his prosthetic arm polished and his face beaming with excitement.
He grabbed Rosa's hand as he reached her and Ramon stepped to the other side of him as they all turned to watch the second groom walk towards his future husband.
Wearing a dark brown suit and a matching rose.
Richas was bearing most of his Pai’s weight. Pac had refused to use the wheelchair, insisting on walking instead.
Fit didn't seem bothered having to wait for his beloved. And after what felt like an eternity for Rosa he finally arrived next to them.
Richas handing him off into Fit’s hands, still hovering behind Pac to make sure he wouldn't fall. Rosa was pulled to the side by Ramon and the three Siblings stood next to each other as the Priest said his lines and both Fit and Pac recited their vows.
Rosa didn't really listen, she had been the test audience for both of them a few days prior. Instead she examined the guests eyes welling up with tears.
She jumped a bit at the applause erupting at her parents kissing. The ceremony was over with that and she could barely wait to devour the cake made in her parents honor.
Soon after she was sitting on the front steps to the house, observing everyone from a distance.
One of Ramons friends sat next to her, a girl she barely saw around much, but had a deep connection to her parents, “I have been waiting for this for so long. I'm glad they finally did it!”
Rosa side eyed her, “Yeah, it was about time. People should focus on that instead of pitying them!”
Sunny hummed thoughtful, “Yeah, but I think we would have wished they had married because they wanted to, not because they were scared time was running out!”
Rosa squinted at the sun in frustration, “Time isn't running out, my Pai is strong, and my dad and my brothers and me will do anything to help him. He will probably life past me!”
Sunny grinned at that, “Yeah,you're right, who's gonna be my driver if he just gives up, right?“
-
Sunny was invited to the funeral, Rosa hoped she could make it, she could need the optimism of the Hollywood star.
She back tracked the hallway to the window going out onto the backyard, opening it to let some of the summer air in. Taking a deep breath as she looked at the horizon.
She considered her next actions for a second before she sat down on the windowsill putting her foot outside onto the plant grid fixed to the wall, testing it’s stability.
-
“If it can hold me, it can hold you, okay. So follow my lead!”, Fit was already halfway out the window, slowly putting his weight on the grid meant to help plants grow along the wall of the house. His prosthetic needed a bit of time to grab the beams he wanted to, but once it was secure he let his other hand go to reach towards Rosa sitting on the windowsill.
“If you don't want to, that's fine, but if you do then I am here every step of the way!”
Rosa nodded, hyping herself up to follow her dad.
Carefully she turned to face the wall, putting her feet into the grid while still holding onto the window frame. She could feel her dad's hand hover behind her back.
“Good job Rosa. You think you can keep going?”
She nodded as she took a tiny step to the side towards her dad, who was in turn moving down the wall, never going out of reach of his daughter. His constant compliments fueling her confidence.
They were already halfway down as she heard a cat. Turning towards it she was suddenly made painfully aware of the distance her small body had to the ground, a scream escaped her lips as she pulled herself towards the wall, a death grip on the beams of the grid.
Her dad's hand was at her back immediately.
“Don't worry, I'm here. Don't worry. Deep breaths.”
She couldn't stop looking down, the ground seemingly further away each passing moment.
“Rosa, hey, my little astronaut, didn't you tell me the ground is boring. Look up, there is nothing interesting happening down there!”
She slowly dragged her eyes away from the dirt, over to the bush framing the field, then the trees at the end of the golden waves and then finally the blue sky adored with fluffy white clouds.
“That's it, deep breath, you're doing great! “
She turned towards the wall again, slowly relaxing her death grip.
“Holy shit, good job Rosa! How about you tell me something about that new book your tio brought you while we keep going?”
She smiled at the swear slipping past her dad's lip, but was distracted by his request, “It's good but I know most of it already, also the chapter about the milky-way had a wrong information…”
She didn't realize how easily her dad manipulated her as she made her way down the wall, telling him all about the book. Jumping the last bit into her Dad's arm.
“Good job!! That was really impressive, you're so strong! Now, how about you show me the page you just talked about and fact check with your other books?”
She grinned up at him, “Okay, but can we do this again afterwards?”
-
The wall was overgrown and finding the right places to put her hands and feet would have been hard if it wasn't engraved into her brain. The leaves still tickled her skin.
The height didn't scare her anymore, but she still liked to recite the stars in the sky to distract her racing mind. Imagining her dad there listening.
Reaching the bottom, left her without her dad’s arms she could jump into. But she decided to not dwell on that.
She instead looked around the back yard, mainly overgrown as her parents had never been a big fan of the tidy garden culture.
She saw something white in the bush, walking over freeing an old garden chair from its planty prison while dodging some thorns gracing her skin.
-
The party was small, but Rosa had never been one to like big gatherings.
A table was set up in the backyard and cheap white plastic chairs around it for the small family to sit. Fit was inside preparing something while Richas told them about his recent art installation. Rosa listened intently as she tried to guess the wrapped presents sitting to the side.
“Rosa! Close your eyes!”, came the call from her dad peeking out the backdoor.
Ramon was happy to assist as he covered his sister's eyes before she could even react.
Richas and Pac gasped as Fit approached the table and Rosa tried to escape her brother's hold.
“Okay Ramon, she can look!”
The hands disappeared and in front of her was a cake, clearly decorated by her parents. Rainbow sprinkled on a pink cake, highlighted with glitter and chocolate letters writing
Happy Birthday Rosa .
Fit seemed very proud of himself and Pac gave his husband a peck to his cheek as a reward.
“It's beautiful Dad, I love it!”, she laughed along with her brothers as Richas stole a bit of frosting before Pac could swat his hand away.
“Fit said you needed one last silly cake before you're truly grown up!”, Pac explained as Rosa was given a knife to cut.
“Oh Pai, you know I will always be your little girl!”
Fit chuckled, “Yeah, but having a lil girl that is 10 and a lil girl that is 18 is different, ya’know!”
She rolled her eyes as she cut the first piece, handing it to Fit as a thank you for baking the cake.
“This is the thanks we get for giving her the first piece of cake since she was born, Richas!”, Ramon complained.
Rosa threw a cake crumb in his direction, “How old are you? I think you are the one to never grow up!”
They ate and soon unwrapped the presents.
They went on a stroll as the day slowly grew to an end, basking in the last rays of sunshine, only to be interrupted by a small noise coming from the side of the path.
Ramon was the fastest to check it out as Rosa was pushing Pac’s wheelchair and Richas was a bit behind talking to Fit.
Ramon came back up with a small white furball in his arms.
Pac gasped, “É um gato, Fit! It's a cat!”
He made grabbing arms towards Ramon who carefully placed the small creature into Pac’s awaiting arms.
Richas and Ramon caught up with them and Fit had a hard time hiding his irritation, “Pac, my beloved, we don't have to take in every stray we find on the street!”
Pac looked at him offended, “Did you just call our daughter a stray?”
Rosa gasped offended as her dad started to stutter, her brothers dying of laughter.
“I did not say that, but Pac, we can't take in a cat!?”
Pac shrugged, “Fine, then it will just be my cat!”
Fit tried to say something but Pac was already pushing himself away, declaring the conversation as finished.
-
She fought through the bush towards the wheat field her parents used to tend to, a nearby family had taken over, but she still liked to watch the wind transform the golden stands into a flowing ocean.
The sun making it glow in an ethereal light.
-
She watched her Pai pet Madagascar on his lap, the white curled up cat, enjoying the afternoon sun and the continued petting from her owner.
She knew that Pac would like to do nothing more than help with the harvest, but he couldn't wear his leg longer than an hour and even that was spent in agonizing pain. She could imagen a younger version of her Pai, running through the field, getting up to shenanigans with her dad. A smile crept up on her face.
Something hit her on the back of the head.
“Não pode trocar de lugar com Pai, estás aqui para ajudar a lembrar-se! ”, Richas was standing behind her with a grin, looking down she saw the balled up corn he had thrown, her Dad interrupted her before she could get back at him.
( You can't switch places with Pai, you're here to help remember!)
“Young lady, don't fight on my field!”
She made a face at him, but returned to her work, ignoring her dads offended scoff.
A few hours later they were sitting on the lawn, and for the first time in her life, Rosa was the one to tell something interesting about her life. Explaining the Nasa recruiting process and the recent scientist she was able to meet and talk to.
It turned into her and Pac exchanging theories and Ramon, Richas and Fit playing a three way game of tic, tac, toe in the dirt.
_
She went back into the house, entering the living room through the back door.
The worn down sofa and armchair basking in the sun coming in through the windows.
She hated the weather for making everything look so happy and dream-like.
She sank down in front of the sofa, staring at the wall.
-
Her back was pressed to the sofa her dad was laying on. Her head the same height as his chest, his remaining arm combing through her hair.
The sun had gone down and the blanket that was thrown on top of her did a lousy job of keeping out the cold settling in her bones.
“You know me and Pac couldn't be prouder of you!”, Fit’s voice was soft, and Rosa could pretend it was because of the quiet atmosphere and not his draining energy.
“At least you got to experience my first space mission.”,she tried not to sound so sad, but seeing her Dad like this broke something inside her.
“Hey now, I will be there for the next one too, I will always be there Rosa!”
She smiled, even though he wouldn't be able to see it as her face was turned away to hide any stray tears, “I mean who knows, maybe you will fight through another few years!”
He chuckled low, but there was now humor behind it, “Yeah, maybe!”
“You once told me you could do anything, and because I am braver than you, I could do even more! So go and do anything!”
She could hear the smile as he spoke up again, “Guess I have always been a smart guy. You have achieved more than I could have ever imagined!”
Rosa tried to imagine her younger self learning where she was now.
“I’m sure you can do it dad, who is life to tell you when it's over!”
Fit chuckled again, “I don't know Rosa, if I am honest with you, I didn't expect to even live this long. I couldn't be happier with what we did with our life. And looking at the state of my body, today is a good day and I barely made it out of the bedroom, I don't know if I will make it through another bad day.”
She turned towards him, a sad smile playing on his lips, “If it's my time, then I am happy to call it a day!”
She was about to protest but he silenced her with a raise of his hand, “Let me be selfish one last time and go out on my own terms.”
She took a deep breath and smiled back at him, “Okay, okay.”, she took another deep breath, “You have taught me enough, you can rest! I will look after Ramon and Richas for you!”
He led out a genuine laugh, “You better, God knows those two can't look after themselves! Remember Rose, we will be right next to you in the stars!”
Rosa wasn't surprised by his wording but she couldn't help the need for confirmation, “We?”, her voice cracked.
Fit sighed, “I can't ask Pac to go on without me, he might, I don't know, but… “
She nodded, “I get it, thank you for everything dad!”
-
She wiped away the tears.
Getting up to get a glass of water from the kitchen, her gaze paused at the withered roses on the counter and the two empty wine glasses next to it.
The only signs of her parents' last day. She picked up one of the fallen petals to put into her pocket.
-
Pac was cleaning the kitchen, Fit had gone to bed, and she was about to leave them, returning to her place a few hours away to go back to work in the morning.
"Papai falou que talvez ele não consiga passar por outro dia ruim" , it was a low blow to start the conversation like this, but she couldn’t help her racing thoughts to repeat her dad's words.
(Dad said he might not make it through the next bad day)
Pac stilled, "É, eu sei. A gente falou muito sobre isso recentemente." (Yeah, I know. We talked a lot about it recently.)
She nodded, "Você vai... Ele disse que você poderia..." she couldn't say it, but her Pai understood. (Will you… He said that you might… )
He smiled at her sadly, "Eu tenho esperado por isso, se eu estou sendo sincero. As coisas não estão tão ruins desde aquilo com a minha perna, mas eu estou pronto pra desistir. Eu vivi uma boa vida, eu não poderia ter mais orgulho de você e seus irmãos. Lutar todo dia por 73 anos é cansativo."
(I have been waiting for it to be honest. Things haven't been bad since the thing with my leg, but I am ready to give up. I lived a good life, I couldn't be prouder of you and your brothers. Fighting every day for 73 years takes its toll.)
She nodded, she knew this wasn't her call. But it hurt, "Eu vou sentir sua falta!" (I will miss you!)
He grinned, that well known glimmer in his eyes returning, "Ora, eu vou estar com você em todos os momentos. Eu e o seu pai vamos te assombrar. Nós seremos os primeiros fantasmas no espaço e assustaremos todos os seus colegas!"
(Why, I will be there every step of the way. Me and your dad will haunt you. We will be the first ghosts in space and scare all your coworkers!)
She laughed, "É, e então eu vou ter que trocar de carreira e virar uma exorcista!"
(Yeah, and then I have to switch career paths and become an exorcist!)
She hugged him for the last time that night.
A few months passed, longer than she had expected.
But she knew as Ramon called her.
Passed away in their sleep.
She made one more stop before she would go help with the funeral preparations.
Entering the dark bedroom took more strength then she expected.
The blinds were drawn to keep the light out, they moved with the air coming in through the open windows.
She pulled one of the chairs up to the bed.
Laying her hand on it as if someone was still laying in it.
“Bom dia, Dad, Paì.
You said you would be there every step of the way, so you better be listening.
I am not sure what I want to tell you, but I guess the first thing would be to congratulate you on making it this far. I know both of you were fighting to breathe even before I was born so living past 70 is an impressive stunt.
Raising a child was probably easy in comparison.
All things considered you did a really good job. Not just with me, but Ramon and Richas too. I couldn’t have asked for better parents.
I hope I will make you proud. I hope you will be happy, wherever you are. I hope you are together and that Pai got to beat up Ramon’s first dad.
I get it, that you left, but I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt. Because it does. Not being able to call you if chemicals are acting up or my best friend gossiped about me behind my back. I mean who's gonna tell me how to properly disable a body now without the police being able to catch me.
I might pick up rock climbing again, I could build the first boulder gym on mars.
And Mr. Dino will still be there with me of course , even though i don't know who will be fixing him now.
I guess I just still need you. As I said, I will always be your lil girl, ya’know.
But this is goodbye, and life goes on. I'm glad you two found each other! Be there for each other even in death!
Boa noite!”