A park janitor meets a lonely little girl who says she is waiting for her mom. He is surprised when he sees her again the next day, still sitting on the same bench, and calls the police.
Albert Fairchild was the custodian of a lovely old Victorian park in the middle of the city, and his time was spent making sure it was a little corner of heaven, a place where lovers met, and people went to get in touch with nature or for a little peace of mind.
He loved his job. Every day he wandered through the park, raking the paths, emptying the bins, and making sure everything was perfect, and twice a week, the city gardeners came around to take care of the lawns, trees, and plants.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
One afternoon, Albert saw a little girl sitting quietly at one of the park’s picnic tables, coloring in a picture book. She was surely no more than four or five, but she was all alone! Albert looked around, but he couldn’t see her parents. Something had to be wrong…
Albert approached the little girl and greeted her. “Hello there, little miss. What are you doing out here all on your own? Trying to catch the fairies?”
The little girl looked up at Albert. “You’re a stranger, and I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” she said.
“No, you are not,” Albert agreed. “But you’ll see I’m not asking you to go anywhere with me, and I’m not offering you candy. I just want to know where your mom is and why you’re alone.”
“I’m waiting for mom,” the child said. “She had a job interview across the road, and she asked me to wait here for her. Mom said not to talk to strangers and not to go anywhere. I have my juice and a snack, and she will be back very soon!”
Nothing is impossible, so keep going until you accomplish what you want.
Albert frowned. It wasn’t exactly safe to leave a child in a public park, but he knew that sometimes single moms with no resources or family had to do the best they could — and it sounded as if this mom was unemployed and desperate to boot.
“What’s your name, little miss?” Albert asked.
The girl giggled. “My name is Margaret,” she said.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“That’s a HUGE name!” exclaimed Albert. “It’s three times as big as you are!”
“My mom calls me Meg,” she confessed, laughing. “And I DON’T believe in fairies!”
Albert gasped and clutched at his heart. “I’m shocked, little miss Meg!” he laughed. “I believe in fairies. In fact, I see them all the time! I have to chase them away from the fountains ’cause they insist on taking showers and breaking the rainbows!”
Meg was grinning. “That’s a LIE!” she giggled. “That’s BAD!”
“Well,” Albert said. “I have a lot of work to do, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you, making sure the fairies don’t pull your pigtails. If you need me, Meg, just holler, and I’ll come running, OK?”
Albert walked away, but he kept glancing back over his shoulder. He wished he had a little person just like Meg in his life, a little granddaughter, but he knew it was not to be.
He could not help but pause his work and silently cry as the little girl reminded him of his own granddaughter and the fateful tragedy that toppled his life.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
Five years ago, Albert was a cop who loved his duty more than anything else. At home, he was a loving and caring husband, a doting father, and an adorable grandfather. “But if it had not been for that day…” Albert reminisced about the fateful day.
It was a pleasant Sunday in May that year. Albert’s family was leaving on a much-awaited dream vacation by the sea in the neighboring city. He had taken a week off to enjoy himself with his family. Albert still remembered his granddaughter Emily running back inside to bring her teddy bear, Chelsea.
“How happy she was that morning!” he thought. Her laughter still haunted him because he never got to see her again. Albert wanted to drive and wouldn’t leave the driver’s seat even when his son-in-law, Josh, persuaded and pleaded.
“It’s your day, dad! I will drive. You need to rest and enjoy this trip,” he told Albert, who refused to get down from his minivan. Albert would’ve never moved out if it were not for a sudden call from the station.
“I’m on my way,” he spoke. “I got to go. I got an important lead for an investigation. You guys get going. I’ll catch up tomorrow evening!” he told his family. They were disappointed, especially little Emily. She wanted to sing songs and play with Albert.
“Sweetie, grandpa will be there tomorrow. It’s just a day!”
Albert and Emily blew endless flying kisses as the minivan sped past the gate. Albert left for work immediately, and it was almost time to return home in the evening when he got a call from the city station.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
An hour later, he was taken to the morgue in the city hospital. His heart dropped when four stretchers were wheeled out, the last was Emily’s. His whole world was destroyed in a car crash.
“The minivan lost control and rammed into a truck,” officers told him, patting his shoulder. In a wink, Albert had lost his family, and there was no coming back. No more laughter. No more vacations. And no more loud cries of a little girl shouting, ‘Grandpa! I’m home!’
Albert could not forgive himself. “I should have driven that minivan. I shouldn’t have allowed Josh to drive it,” he thought and cried over a million times. But nothing was going to change.
“Jose, I should’ve canceled that trip. I should’ve never let them go,” he cried to his best friend at the funeral, placing Emily’s teddy bear, Chelsea, on her grave.
Days, months, and five years passed. These questions still haunted Albert, but it didn’t matter to him. He knew he had lost his family forever. They were not going to come back; it was the ugly truth he had learned to embrace over time.
Albert could not focus on his work. The cop job he loved became a constant reminder of his tragic life. He quit it and started taking care of the park. He just wanted to stay away from everything that reminded him of his loss.
A gush of wind snapped Albert to the present as he wiped away his tears. The evening sun irritated his teary eyes as he looked around for the little girl. “Where is she??” he exclaimed when he saw Meg was not in her place.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
Albert hastily looked around the park for the girl. But she was not there. “Maybe her mother took her,” he thought. Convinced Meg had gone home, Albert finished raking the lawn and went home.
But the following morning, when he returned to the park, he saw Meg again, sitting in the same spot, wearing the same dress, and holding her teddy. Albert was stunned.
“Hey, there, little miss!” he greeted the girl. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Mommy didn’t come,” she disappointedly said. “She never came for me.”
“What?? Where did you go last evening, then? And where did you sleep?”
“Home,” Meg replied, resting her teary face on her teddy. She refused to look up at Albert. She was least interested in talking to him and kept looking around to see if her mother had come to take her.
“What happened to her mother?” Albert wondered.
“Hey, there, I’m a former policeman. You can trust me, alright?” he said. “I’m afraid your mother got lost in this huge city. Can you take me to your home? We will find your mother, alright?”
But Meg wouldn’t move. Her strong belief her mother would come for her didn’t let her move from that bench.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
“Meg, listen, I know you are frightened. But there’s nothing to be afraid of. You can trust me, okay? What’s your mother’s name?”
When Meg told Albert her mother’s name, she had difficulty pronouncing the surname. Albert asked Meg to repeat the word several times because he knew he could not search for her mother without knowing the surname. He needed her full name to probe everywhere, including online databases. After hearing Meg out repeatedly, Albert guessed her mom’s surname could be ‘D’Cruz.’
“Listen, we need to go to your home. Do you want to see your mother?”
“Yes, I want to see mommy,” Meg replied, finally looking at Albert.
“Then take me to your house.”
Moments later, Meg led Albert to a tarp tent under a secluded bridge not far from the park’s entrance. “This is my home,” she pointed.
Albert partially understood Meg and her mother were homeless. He inspected the tarp tent that barely had an old mattress and a camping stove with a pot smelling of stale porridge. There were a few old clothes of Meg’s in the tent, but no photos or pictures. At first glance, he thought Meg’s mother could’ve abandoned her. But something still didn’t add up to him.
“How long have you been living here?” he asked the girl.
“Few weeks,” replied Meg. “We once had a big house. But big, angry men in uniform shouted at my mommy for not giving money. Mommy cried, and even I cried. They threw our things out, and mommy brought me here.”
Albert once again checked the tent for clues but apparently found nothing that could help him find Meg’s mother. “Do you have your mother’s photo?”
“No, I had one, but it’s with mommy.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
Albert was puzzled about what to do next. “I cannot leave the girl alone here,” he thought, and before he could fathom anything, Meg asked him to take her back to the park.
“Mommy told me to wait there and not go anywhere. If she comes, she will scold me. Please take me to the park.”
Albert did not know what to do and agreed. Meg and he returned to the park, and he sat her down on the bench. Albert knew Meg would have starved the whole night, so he gave her his lunch.
“Mommy told me not to eat from strangers,” Meg refused, but her eyes and nose couldn’t deny the delicious aroma of the pie in Albert’s lunch box.
“Ummm, that tastes delicious. Sweet. Ummm,” Albert ate a spoonful in front of Meg. “If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it fully. I can finish the whole pie in two minutes. You sure you don’t want it?!”
Meg grabbed the lunchbox and started devouring the pie. Albert was pleased his trick worked and went on with his work while Meg waited for her mother.
Hours passed, and it was close to sundown, but her mom never came. Meg burst into tears, and Albert’s heart wouldn’t allow him to leave her alone again.
“Do you want to go home with me? We will come back tomorrow and wait for your mother, alright?” he asked Meg.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
Meg agreed and went home with Albert. “Yeah, I only know her name is Margaret. But I don’t have a clue about her mother. Could you please let me know? She said her mom has blonde hair, is tall, age must be around 24 or 25, I guess,” Albert informed his former colleagues in the department.
Meg could not spell her mother’s name accurately and gave vague descriptions of her appearance. But Albert could not say anything for sure. He made out a name and a surname using Meg’s broken spellings but was unsure if it was correct.
“When will mommy come?” Meg asked Albert.
“She will come soon, sweetie. Now go to that room and change your dress. You’ll find a lot of clothes in the little cupboard. I’ll make dinner meanwhile.”
Meg returned minutes later wearing Emily’s pajamas. She ran around Albert as he whisked the eggs and giggled to an old song playing on the gramophone. For the first time in five years, Albert never felt lonely.
Albert was on the phone the whole night as Meg slept in Emily’s room. He wanted to find her mother at any cost and was busy working at it with his friends.
“No, pal,” an officer called him late at night. “We even checked reports of murders of young women with similar descriptions and surnames, but no lead. There were no instances reported recently.”
Albert sighed, assured Meg’s mother was alive somewhere. While putting out the lights in Emily’s room, he saw Meg curled up and fast asleep on her bed.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
Albert was up until the wee hours, gathering contact details of hospitals in the city. He suddenly woke up when the morning rays irritated his sleepy eyes. He was exhausted and had slept off in his armchair.
“Oh my God, Meg??” he ran to check on her, thinking she would’ve gone to the park alone while he was dozing. “Jesus, thank goodness!” he sighed when he saw she was still fast asleep.
Albert then contacted every hospital in the city to find out about Meg’s mother. He even reached out to a friend in the morgue, but nothing helped. Nobody had heard about the woman with his description and surname.
Albert was puzzled about what to do next. “Cops will hardly try and carefully look for a homeless woman. And if I have to send her to a foster home, she’ll likely never see her mother again,” he thought. Then, Albert realized that the only reliable way to help Meg was to search for her mother on his own. It was not for nothing he was a cop for 30 years.
Albert brought Meg to the park every day and sat her in the exact spot her mother last left her. He asked his friends to watch over her while he searched for the missing woman. Albert knew he could not do all this while working, so he took a few days off.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
He first started visiting all the homeless shelters in the city and neighboring towns. “Her name is Candy D’Cruz… Do you know someone with that name?” he asked almost everyone he encountered.
He checked with all the offices that had a “We’re Hiring” sign to find out if Meg’s mother had, by chance, attended any interviews. He even checked in several refuges he knew of, but nothing turned up. Nobody had seen a woman with the name Candy D’Cruz.
Albert even searched on social media and showed Meg the photos of several women with similar names, but none of them was her mother. He checked every street and traffic camera near the park but could not find a clue.
A month passed, and Albert almost lost hope of finding Meg’s mother. All his attempts were fruitless. But Meg never gave up and refused to do anything other than visit the park daily, waiting for her mother from dawn to dusk.
“How will mommy find me if I’m not there,” she often argued with Albert. One morning, as they left for the park, it started raining.
“Sweetie, I’ll take you to the park tomorrow. You’ll catch a cold,” Albert told Meg, but she was stubborn.
“No, we’ll go and wait there. Mommy will come,” she said.
Albert could not convince her. They took a bus to the park as they could not walk in the rain. The route was longer and passed several stations. And while crossing one such station, Meg started shouting.
“There she is! There is mommy!”
Albert was startled. “Where??” he rose from his seat. He thought she’d confused somebody else for her mother but still asked the driver to stop the bus.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
Albert quickly helped Meg out of the bus and hastily looked around at all the women he noticed. “Where is she??” he asked her.
Meg tugged his arm to a billboard on a sidewalk and pointed, shouting, “There…That’s my mommy!”
“Where? Which one??” Albert asked her.
“There…the second from the left…She’s my mommy…She’s my mommy!!”
The words on the billboard read: “Do You Know Me? Please Call On This Number” next to the name “Cadence Delacruz.” He gasped in shock after learning Meg’s mother’s name was Cadence, not Candy.
“What is written there?” Meg interrupted.
“It’s an advertisement for lost people,” he told her.
“What is that? What does it mean??”
“It means we are going to find your mother!!” Albert carried Meg cheerfully as he called the number on the billboard.
“City hospital,” the attendant answered. “Yes, she was admitted here.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Getty Images
When they got to the hospital, they were told Meg’s mother had already left. “Mommy has gone? Where did she go?” Meg started to cry.
“Sweetie, hold on…One second,” Albert comforted her.
“How did she come here? What happened to her?” he asked the nurse.
“She was brought here with a severe head injury over a month ago. She’d suffered from a traumatic brain injury that caused amnesia,” the nurse said.
“Where is she? We want to see her,” Albert asked her.
“She needed expensive treatment. She was in a coma for a few weeks and could not recall anybody when she woke up. Nobody came to take her. We even advertised her name and picture, but nobody turned up. She was discharged last week and sent to a shelter for the homeless.”
Albert was afraid Meg would lose her mother again. He then rushed to the shelter with the girl.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash
Meg clutched Albert’s little finger as she looked around for her mother. Then she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her toward a bed in a corner.
“MOMMY!!” she cried and ran to her mother. “Mommy, where did you leave me and go?”
Cadence had a photo of them together and remembered Meg was her daughter as soon as she saw her and heard her call her mommy.
“I don’t know, sweetie,” she burst into tears.
Albert was speechless and moved at seeing Meg laughing and crying with her mother. “You need to come with me,” he interrupted.
“Where? And who are you?” Cadence asked.
“I’m Albert. I’m a janitor in the park. I found your daughter…” he paused. “I’ll explain everything later. You and Meg need to come home with me now.”
Albert took Cadence home and offered to stay in his house as long as she wanted. He spent all his savings on her treatment. It took several months before Cadence could recall some crucial moments of her life. Being around her daughter helped her to a great extent. Gradually, Cadence remembered everything, and Albert was curious to know how she had hurt herself.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
“My husband had mortgaged our house,” she recalled. “I was not able to pay the loan after he died in an accident. Our house was taken, and then I rented a small room with my daughter. I lost my job, and my landlord kicked us out for not paying rent.”
After she was stranded on the street, Cadence could not find a job almost immediately. She did not want her daughter to live in the shelter for the homeless, so they temporarily camped in the tarp tent under the bridge.
Albert felt sorry for Cadence and sighed with relief things ended well for her and Meg. “But how did you get hurt?” he asked her.
Cadence recalled that fateful day and broke down.
“I was going for a job interview. I left my daughter in the park because I thought leaving her alone in the tent would be unsafe. I told her to wait there until I came,” Cadence revealed.
“I remember I slipped and fell in the underpass. My head hit the edge of the staircase, and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I could not remember anything.”
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pixabay
“I’m glad you are safe, my dear. And I’m really happy Meg found you. She missed you so much,” Albert teared up.
Cadence and her daughter lived with Albert until she found a job. A few months later, she dated Frank, a widower with two children, and married him.
Cadence and Meg moved into their new house and were always thankful to Albert for his help. He was happy for them, although he knew he would miss Meg terribly.
Time passed, but Meg and her mother never forgot Albert. They became a part of his family and constantly visited him on the weekends, and every summer, they even vacationed together by the sea.
For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels
What can we learn from this story?
- Nothing is impossible, so keep going until you accomplish what you want. Despite having little to no leads in tracking down Meg’s mother, Albert never gave up. Ultimately, he reunited the lost little girl with her mother.
- Only light can drive out darkness; Only love can drive out sorrow. Albert was distraught after losing his family in an accident. His life was a dark hollow until he met little Meg in the park.
Tell us what you think, and share this story with your friends. It might inspire them and brighten their day.
Meu marido morreu no dia do nosso casamento – Se eu soubesse que ele nos enganou a todos
Pensei que estava vivendo meu sonho quando me casei com Damian, mas tudo virou um pesadelo antes da recepção. Acabei enterrando meu marido três dias depois do nosso casamento, apenas para ficar cara a cara com ele atrás do volante de um táxi.
Isso não é algo que eu possa contar às pessoas ao meu redor, então tenho que usar o anonimato da internet para isso. Podem me chamar de Paige. Tenho 28 anos e, há apenas alguns meses, eu era a noiva perfeita.
Uma linda noiva | Fonte: Midjourney
Mas minha alma gêmea, a quem você pode chamar de Damian, morreu depois que dissemos “sim”. Dizem que a vida passa diante dos seus olhos quando você vai morrer, mas todo o nosso relacionamento passou diante dos meus quando o vi cair no chão.
Damian e eu nos conhecemos em um pequeno café onde eu trabalhava meio período. Ele era um daqueles clientes quietos e educados que sempre davam boas gorjetas e lia um livro enquanto tomava café.
Um homem com um livro em uma cafeteria | Fonte: Midjourney
Eu tinha uma queda por ele desde a primeira vez que o vi. Mas quando ele me chamou para sair, fiquei chocada. Ele era lindo, com suas maçãs do rosto marcadas, olhos castanhos quentes e uma confiança silenciosa.
Eu era apenas uma garota comum de uma família de classe média baixa, então não conseguia acreditar que ele estava interessado em mim. Mas ele estava, e desde o nosso primeiro encontro andando em um píer local, parecia que éramos feitos um para o outro.
Um casal em um píer | Fonte: Midjourney
Apenas um ano depois, estávamos de pé no altar, na frente dos nossos amigos mais próximos. Foi o dia mais feliz da minha vida. Damian não conseguia parar de sorrir para mim enquanto eu chorava ao ler meus votos. Estávamos prestes a começar o próximo capítulo incrível de nossas vidas juntos.
Mas esse sonho terminou abruptamente. Antes da recepção, enquanto tirava algumas fotos com amigos, Damian desmaiou de repente. No começo, pensei que ele estava brincando. Mas quando ele não se levantou, eu congelei.
Pessoas o cercaram, e alguém ligou para o 911. Os paramédicos trabalharam nele ali mesmo na pista de dança, mas nada do que fizeram funcionou.
Um homem no chão | Fonte: Midjourney
Eles o levaram às pressas para o hospital, e eu os segui atordoado. Um médico saiu horas depois, com o rosto sombrio, e me disse que Damian não sobreviveu. Eles disseram que foi um ataque cardíaco. Ele tinha apenas 32 anos. Como um homem saudável morre assim?
Mal consegui me segurar nos dias seguintes. Foi tudo um borrão até o funeral, quando a família dele apareceu. Eu só os tinha encontrado uma vez antes, e aquele encontro foi o suficiente.
Damian tinha me avisado sobre eles, mas não tinha me contado tudo. Seus pais adotivos eram esnobes e controladores. Mas um dos amigos de Damian, Adam, confessou para mim que eles também eram podres de ricos.
Duas pessoas conversando de perto | Fonte: Midjourney
“Damian não lhe contou sobre a riqueza de sua família porque não queria que isso afetasse a maneira como você o via”, disse ele em voz baixa.
Sinceramente, nunca soube, apesar de ele me dizer que tinha um negócio de sucesso. No entanto, fazia sentido. Também tinha que ser por isso que eles não aprovavam nosso relacionamento. Eu não era do tipo “certo” de família e Damian não os tinha convidado para o nosso casamento.
Mas agora eles estavam aqui e passaram o culto inteiro atirando punhais em mim com os olhos. Ouvi a mãe dele sussurrar para alguém: “Ela provavelmente estava atrás do dinheiro dele e causou a morte dele. Ligue para o nosso advogado.”
Um casal de idosos irritados | Fonte: Midjourney
Eu queria gritar que eu nem sabia que Damian tinha muito dinheiro, muito menos queria. Mas que bem isso faria? Eles já tinham se decidido sobre mim, e eu simplesmente não tinha energia para lutar com ninguém.
***
Três dias depois do funeral, eu não aguentava mais a tristeza e o vazio. Meu apartamento parecia sufocante, pois cada canto continha uma lembrança de Damian.
A tristeza era avassaladora e estava me dando pensamentos estranhos. Além disso, a família dele começou a me ligar. Eu nunca atendi, mas as mensagens de voz deles eram assustadoras.
Um telefone residencial | Fonte: Midjourney
Eu precisava sair, então joguei algumas roupas em uma mala pequena, peguei meu passaporte e chamei um táxi. Meu plano não estava totalmente formado. Eu só sabia que tinha que deixar a cidade ou o país. Talvez eu fosse para o México ou Aruba. Qualquer lugar que não fosse aqui.
Quando o táxi parou, subi no banco de trás e olhei pela janela. Mal notei o motorista enquanto me acomodava no couro e tentava respirar fundo.
“Aperte o cinto de segurança, por favor”, disse o motorista de repente.
Um homem dirigindo um táxi | Fonte: Midjourney
Eu congelei. Meu peito apertou, e meu coração começou a bater forte. Aquela voz era de Damian. Virei minha cabeça e foquei no espelho retrovisor. Aqueles olhos. Aqueles inconfundíveis olhos castanhos.
“Damian?” Eu resmunguei. “Mas…? Como? Como você está aqui? O quê?”
Minhas palavras não faziam sentido, mas, de repente, ele desviou o carro da estrada em direção à rodovia e estacionou em uma rua tranquila. Por um momento, ele não disse nada.
Um táxi perto de uma rodovia | Fonte: Midjourney
Eu podia ver suas mãos segurando o volante firmemente como se ele estivesse se preparando para algo. Então ele se virou e olhou direto para mim.
“Sinto muito, Paige”, ele disse suavemente, sem nenhum preâmbulo. “Sei que é muita coisa para assimilar. Vou explicar tudo. Por favor, não me odeie.”
Fiquei sentado com os olhos arregalados e a boca aberta durante toda a explicação de Damian. Era demais para acreditar.
Uma mulher no banco de trás parecendo chocada | Fonte: Midjourney
Primeiro, ele me contou sobre sua família. Eles o adotaram quando adolescente e usaram sua genialidade para expandir seu obscuro império empresarial, que estava fracassando espetacularmente antes dele. Eventualmente, ele se tornou o cérebro por trás de alguns de seus empreendimentos mais bem-sucedidos (e provavelmente ilegais).
Por um tempo, ele ficou feliz apenas por ter pais orgulhosos e poder contribuir para a família que lhe dera um lar quando ninguém mais o faria. Mas ele se cansou das coisas ilegais.
Um adolescente usando o computador enquanto uma mulher mais velha observa | Fonte: Midjourney
Damian sabia que era apenas uma questão de tempo até que fossem pegos, e ele não queria ficar sem nada. Então, ele começou um negócio legítimo e o transformou em um sucesso tão grande que decidiu não trabalhar mais com sua família.
Foi quando eles se voltaram contra ele. Eles queriam controlar esse empreendimento, mas Damian conseguiu adiar as ameaças até me conhecer. Bem, o negócio obscuro deles também estava fracassando sem ele.
Então, eles ameaçaram arruinar a mim e nossas vidas se Damian não lhes desse um pedaço do bolo.
Um velho gritando ao telefone | Fonte: Midjourney
“Eu não podia deixar que eles tocassem em você”, Damian disse, esfregando o rosto. “Eles teriam destruído você para chegar até mim. Então eu fiz a única coisa que eu conseguia pensar. Eu os fiz acreditar que eu estava morto.”
Ele continuou explicando como encenou tudo. Aparentemente, há um medicamento que pode diminuir tanto a frequência cardíaca que imita a morte. Com a ajuda de um consertador profissional que conhecia as pessoas certas para pagar, ele fingiu o colapso, o pronunciamento do hospital e até mesmo o funeral.
Dinheiro trocando de mãos | Fonte: Midjourney
Quando perguntei como ele escapou do túmulo, Damian riu e disse que ele não estava no caixão. Ele tinha que estar lá para o velório, mas o consertador fez com que seu pessoal o tirasse em algum momento sem que ninguém percebesse.
Eu não sabia o que dizer quando ele terminou. Eu estava em um filme de assalto do George Clooney?
“Eu sei que te machuquei”, ele disse enquanto seus olhos lacrimejavam. “Mas eu fiz isso por nós. Eu não podia deixá-los vencer.”
Minha boca se abriu, mas nada saiu, então ficamos naquele táxi, naquela estrada tranquila, por horas, sem falar nada, exceto por alguns sussurros: “Sinto muito”.
Um homem em um táxi parecendo triste | Fonte: Midjourney
Finalmente, quando a noite caiu, pedi que ele me levasse para casa.
Foi lá que a represa se desfez. Passei horas gritando enquanto ele tentava justificar suas ações. “VOCÊ ME DEIXOU PENSAR QUE VOCÊ ESTAVA MORTO!”, gritei.
“Sinto muito, querida!”
“NÃO ME CHAME DE BEBÊ!”
Uma mulher gritando | Fonte: Midjourney
De manhã, eu estava todo chorando, e minha voz estava rouca, mas finalmente perguntei: “E agora?” Não era como se pudéssemos voltar a como as coisas eram. Ele deveria estar morto. Sua família poderia facilmente vê-lo aqui.
Damian então explicou sua ideia para o futuro. Ao fingir sua morte, ele garantiu que todos os seus bens legitimamente ganhos fossem transferidos para mim. Sua família não poderia tocá-los agora. Tudo o que eu precisava fazer agora era vender e dividir com ele.
Um computador mostrando extratos bancários digitalizados | Fonte: Midjourney
Mas logo ele estava se mudando para o exterior para sempre. Eu estava balançando a cabeça, ainda incrédula, quando ele me perguntou algo ultrajante.
“Eu sei que te machuquei terrivelmente, mas tem alguma possibilidade de você querer vir comigo?” ele perguntou.
Eu zombei e fiquei em silêncio por um longo tempo, mas finalmente respondi.
“Não posso simplesmente continuar de onde paramos, mesmo em outro país”, eu disse a ele. “Farei o que você precisar com os ativos e o dinheiro, mas você partiu meu coração. Não acho que posso confiar em você o suficiente para recomeçar. Preciso de espaço.”
Uma mulher sentada em um sofá | Fonte: Midjourney
Ele assentiu seriamente. “Eu entendo. Pegue todo o espaço e tempo que precisar. Tenho que sair mais tarde hoje. Mas não vou desistir de nós, Paige. Vou esperar o tempo que for preciso.”
Antes de Damian ir embora, ele me deixou suas informações de contato e prometeu entrar em contato quando pudesse.
Nas semanas seguintes, fiquei furiosa. Não respondi às mensagens dele. Mas comecei a providenciar a venda do negócio dele e a consolidação dos ativos. Isso trouxe alguns problemas com os pais dele, que queriam reivindicar o que Damian havia me deixado após sua “morte”.
Tive que vê-los várias vezes na presença de advogados, e eles eram pessoas assustadoras.
Casal de idosos irritados no escritório de um advogado | Fonte: Midjouney
Mas não havia nada que eles pudessem fazer legalmente para tirar algo de mim, e meus advogados não tinham medo deles. Então, os pais dele foram forçados a recuar, e eu estava livre para vender o que precisava.
Quando tudo foi dito e feito, comecei a ver o que Damian tinha feito como a escolha certa. Ele estava se protegendo e a mim deles. Foi imprudente e estúpido, mas também altruísta.
Semanas depois, percebi algo: eu ainda o amava. Apesar do que ele me fez passar, meu coração não tinha desistido. Peguei meu telefone e disquei o número dele.
Uma mulher na cama usando um telefone | Fonte: Midjourney
“Paige?”, ele respondeu, agradavelmente surpreso.
“Onde você está?”, perguntei. “Eu vou lá, mas nunca mais faça isso comigo.”
E foi isso. Agora, estou em outro país onde falam uma língua completamente diferente, mas a praia fica a 30 minutos de distância.
Eu tive que desistir de tudo, e valeu a pena. Damian e eu tivemos outro casamento e realmente conseguimos aproveitar dessa vez. Os pais dele nunca vão nos encontrar, e estamos vivendo nossa melhor vida.
Uma mulher na praia com um homem atrás dela | Fonte: Midjourney
Aqui vai outra história : eu estava a meio caminho da casa da minha sogra com uma lasanha recém-assada quando o telefonema frenético do meu advogado mudou tudo. “Volte para casa. AGORA”, ela gritou. O que eu encontrei naquela noite expôs os lados feios de duas das pessoas mais próximas da minha vida.
Este trabalho é inspirado em eventos e pessoas reais, mas foi ficcionalizado para fins criativos. Nomes, personagens e detalhes foram alterados para proteger a privacidade e melhorar a narrativa. Qualquer semelhança com pessoas reais, vivas ou mortas, ou eventos reais é mera coincidência e não intencional do autor.
O autor e a editora não fazem nenhuma reivindicação quanto à precisão dos eventos ou à representação dos personagens e não são responsáveis por nenhuma interpretação errônea. Esta história é fornecida “como está”, e quaisquer opiniões expressas são as dos personagens e não refletem as opiniões do autor ou da editora
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