Candela

Holding her barbie doll, little Candela went into her mother’s room. She saw her fixing and folding some of their clothes. When her mother noticed her presence, she smiled at her while still focusing on those clothes she’s folding.

“What can I do to my darling, hmm?” she asked, humming.

Candela sat on the bed, just beside her mother. “Mom… can I play outside?” she inquired making her mother stunned for a couple of minutes.

“I won’t go far, promise,” she added while innocently blinking her eyes.

Her mother then pinched her tiny nose before kissing her on her forehead. She then lowered her face, just enough to leveled their head. “Don’t go too far, huh?” Candela instantly nodded.

She excitedly went out her mother’s room but before she could even step outside, her mother shouted again.

“Don’t go too far, Candela darling. And don’t talk to strangers… I’ll follow you later!” she heard her shouted

“Noted, Mommy!” she shouted back while hastily climbing down stairs with her doll on her left hand.

She just changed her shoe into boots so that her favorite red shoes won’t get dirt. She also wear a winter gloves before stepping outside. As soon as she stepped outside, snows falling from the skies welcomed her. As a simple kid, she played with the snows falling down. Catching some on her tiny hands and let it melt afterward.

It’s been a half year since she last played with the snows. The last time she played was when her father is still alive. It was a precious memories she surely treasured until she grow old, she will never forget about how happy she is while playing with her beloved father before. How she just wished that she could turn back the time. The time where her family is still complete, she, her mother and her father. The time when she could still played with her father until she get tired. The time when they are both clutching their stomachs while laughing hard on her father’s funny jokes.

How she just really wished.

“Let’s build a snowman, Ashley.”

Ashley is the name of her doll. Since they moved in their new house, her mother bought her a doll. At first, she doesn’t want the doll for she wants is her father to be back. But no matter how she cried for all night, he didn’t came back. That’s when she realized that a dead one wom’t go back again… her father is already dead and it’s impossible for him to be back on their side again.

When Candela already accepted the death of her father, they both have moved on. Sure that it’s impossible for the both of her and and her mother to forget her father but still, they need to freed their selves. It was hard… it is too hard for them to pick up those shattered pieces of them but eventually, they finally fixed it. They patched those broken pieces with another bunch of happy memories, happy moments that she and her mother created. And soon, her brother… Little Primo.

“Hello, little child!” Candela saw a pair of red boots in front of her. When she looked up, a woman, same as her mother’s age is smiling brightly at her.

She smiled back, showing her newly born teeth. “Hello!” she greeted back, waving her hand.

The woman bended down her knees so that she can leveled on her. “What’s your name, little child?” the woman asked.

“Candela,” she answered fast. “I am Candela, and you are?”

“Me?” the woman pointed out herself. “Call me… Mari, princess.” the woman said, slightly pinching her right cheeks. “Your so beautiful. You actually reminds me of my daughter,” the woman named Mari added.

Candela stared at the woman for a minute before focusing on building a snowman. “You have a daughter? Where is she? Can I played with her?” she fired away her questions without looking at her.

She heard tge woman slightly chuckled. “Unfortunately, you can’t played with her, princess.”

“Why?” she asked. “I thought you have your daughter?”

“Yeah, I have but she’s not with me.”

Candela stopped for a while, glancing at the woman who is staring back at her. “She’s not with you? Where is she then? On her father?” she asked again, completely forgetting her mother’s words.

‘Don’t talk to strangers.’

“My daughter took by someone. She took away my princess from me,” the woman said in the saddest tone.

That made Candela felt pity on the woman. As giving comfort, Candela leaned forward to the woman and caged her face on her tiny hands. “Don’t worry, soon you will be with her again. I’ll pray for that before I sleep this night.” Then she innocently kissed the woman on her cheeks.

She was about to talk to the woman again when her words vanished into the thin air as she heard her mother shouting for her name. When she turned around, her mother is already looking for her. She waved her hands on air to get her attention while shouting.

“I thought you go too far, darling,” her mother said, worried.

She shook her head. “No, I am just playing with snows since this is the first time I played again with it. And I forgot mother, I am talking to someone named Mari. She’s he–” When she twirled around to face Mari again, she is nowhere to be seen.

Her brows became a straight line because of confusion. “She’s just here before you came, Mommy. I am actually talking to her,” she said, scratching her head.

“I told you, Candela… didn’t I? I told you… you don’t talk to strangers, right?” her mother scolded her.

“But… she’s not a stranger, Mommy. I know her name–”Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“You just met her, Candela. I don’t even know who’s Mari you are talking to.”

“She’s just here earlier,” she reasoned out while her eyes are still searching for the woman.

“Whatever.” Her mother grabbed her hand. “Let’s go back inside… it’s freezing here. You might caught cough.” her mosaid before dragging her back to their house.

*****

“What did I told you, Candela?” Her mother is now facing her while her arms are crossed around her chest. She’s throwing a piercing look on her as if it her eyes telling her how she is mad.

Candela pouted her lips, looking down on her fingers she’s playing with. “I’m sorry, Mommy… I forgot what you have said,” she said in a low voice.

Her mother just sighed heavily before caging her inside her arms. Candela on the other throw herself even more in her mother’s breast. Clutching on the hem of her shirt just like an innocent kid who is expressing her fondness.

“Next time, don’t do that again, huh? Don’t make me worried again.” Her mother guided her head to looked her up. “You know our situation, right? In our situation… we can’t just trust anyone. Remember what happened to your father, to your Auntie? Candela… it’s not I am forbidding you to get socialize with other. I am just protecting you, taking you away from danger that still hunting us. We are just running away from those enemies, Candela so please, remember what I’ve said.”

She nod like an obedient child.

“Good.” She patted her head. “Now, let me clean you. Let’s take a bath together and after that, we will eat our dinner. And what’s my princess wants in her dinner?” her mother then asked.

“Roasted chicken! A hot bowl of soup! And a slice of red velvet cake for a desert!” she beamed, both hands on air.

Her mother just nod at her while smiling. “Alright alright. Expect all foods in our dinner table. Now, let’s take a bath first. You can’t eat with the dirty hands, remember?” She nods as she holds on her mother’s hand.

*****

“Mother,” Candela called. It makes her mother leap her eyes to her from the book she’s reading.

She then placed the book on her lap and faced Candela afterwards. “What is it, darling? Are you hungry? Do you want some snacks?” her mother asked.

Candela instantly shook her head as an answer making her mother furrowed in confusion. “Then what is it?” she asked again.

Instead of answering her mother, Candela leaned forward. Putting her ears on top of het mother’s big tummy. She then smiled as she felt how her little brother inside her mother’s womb kicked. Candela giggled before she talked to the unborn baby inside.

“Hello, baby Primo! Did you hear me? I am your big sister, Candela,” she said, smiling.

“Baby… Primo is definitely listening to you.”

“You know what, Mommy… I am so excited to finally see him. I want to see my baby brother as soon as possible. Do you think, how long will he stayed in your womb?”

Her mother pinched her cheeks. “One month from now and you will finally see him, darling. All we need to is to wait–”

*Dingdong

A sudden doorbell interrupted their discussion, making her mother’s words to be cut. They both looked at the door. Since their door was made of a thick glass, they both saw a shadow of a woman standing outside.

“Wait for me here, darling. I’ll just opened the door. This must be important.” Her mother said before leaving her seat.

Candela watched her mother walked through the doorway and when she finally opened the door, there is a woman standing there that seems waiting for someone to open the door. Candela then saw that the woman handled something to her mother. Sort of a piece of red envelope. After the woman gave the envelope to her mother, she then left and her mother on the other hand closed the door while staring tight on the red envelope.

“Mom? What’s that?” she asked, also staring on the envelope her mother holding.

Instead of having the answer on her question, her mother just put the envelope into the nearest drawer and carried her.

“Mommy is going to take you on your bedroom for awhile, huh darling?”

Candela’s brows knotted, staring confused into her mother while they are climbing upstairs. “Is there any problem, Mommy?” she asked.

“Nothing, darling. I just need to do something’s very important. Play here for a while, I’ll bring you your snacks later,” her mother said before leaving her in her room.

When Candela is all alone on her room, she noticed that window is open. So, she drew near the window and was about to close it when she saw the same woman from yesterday. Standing in the road, just opposite her room’s window, waving at her with a smile on her lips.