Chapter Fifty-two

Aurora

I didn’t go home right away. I stopped at the square where I met Luke. Sitting on a bench already worn with time, I sat under the shade of a mango tree, feeling the wind hit my face and wiping away my tears. I asked God when the suffering of my life would end. As if losing my mother wasn’t bad enough, I had lost |Luke, Geane and now my job as well. I risked losing my home, my dignity. I had no one to help me, and I felt that I no longer had the strength to go on.

Likewise, I got home two hours later than usual, and Claudio was already there. Not only that, but I knew it was useless to tell him what Rebeca had done, because Claudio would defend her. But I said it anyway.

— Rebeca went to the ice cream parlor today. – he looked at me and I felt that his attention was focused on what I would say next – he made a scene, and I was fired.

— Were you fired? – it was clear that he would question my actions and not hers – for what reason?

— You don’t listen to what I say, do you, father