CHAPTER 142

UNUSUAL CHILDHOOD

Dahlia had created a ritual of bringing breakfast to the two of them every day, and that morning was no different.

"Let's wake up, my darlings!" She entered the room speaking loudly and excitedly, and she wasn't alone this time. Linda was with her, carrying a tray of warm pancakes drenched in strawberry syrup.

Clara sat up in bed, swung her legs over the edge, and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes with her hands. She had slept at the edge of the bed, with one of Otávio's arms wrapped around her waist, and that was where Dahlia was looking.

To her, it was still strange how much her son had changed in such a short time. She couldn't remember a single instance in his entire life when he had slept next to someone. She always wanted him to have friends when he was younger, even as a little boy. She tried to throw birthday parties for him, but she gave up when the birthday boy himself didn't show up to his own party, when he refused to leave his room and his comic books