One Road, Six Ways

ONE ROAD, SIX WAYS - Part 20

Lorna was shocked from what she heard at the other end of the line. Her face became pale and exclaimed, "My God!"

Lorna then looked at Luisa and said, "Your mother!"

"My mother?" Luisa was surprised.

"She's in our house. She wanted to talk to you!" Lorna said and handed the telephone to Luisa. Luisa take the telephone and greeted her mother. While Carla and Thelma askingly looked Lorna but Lorna said no words.

"Hello, Inay?" the mother of Luisa did not answered. Luisa just heard her mother crying. "Why are you crying? Something wrong?"

"Luisa, something happened to your father!" Norma, the mother of Luisa told to her daughter that something happened to her husband Tomas, the father of Luisa.

"What happened to him, nothing serious I guess?" Luisa became worried.

"He had an accident! And...and, Luisa your father died!" Norma at the other end of the line wept painfully as she told her daughter that Tomas had an accident. While on the street, collecting empty bottles, Tomas was hit by a big truck and was instantly dead.  Luisa was shocked. She hardly could not believed what she heard. Luisa's hand trembled and tears began rolling on her cheeks.

Carla and Thelma again looked at Lorna, Lorna heaved a sigh and said to the two girls. "Luisa's father died!" 

"Luisa, I am lost. You are not here and your father now was gone. I don't know what to do." Norma continued weeping.

"Inay, please composed yourself. I cannot come home because I have to finish my contract. I will send money to you." Luisa said to her mother as she tried her best in controlling her emotions. "I guess we cannot talk long, calling long distance  is very expensive. I will send money as soon as possible and I will write a letter. Inay, please be strong and do my greetings to the children. Bye!"

And when Luisa put down the telephone on its cradle, she suddenly screamed. The three, Carla, Thelma and Lorna came to her, hugged her and tried to comfort her. Luisa wept very painfully. Her father died and will be buried and she could not come home. Her screamed was so loud that Gunther heard it and from the basement he again returned upstairs .

"What happened? Who screamed?" Gunther asked.

"Gunther, very sad news. Luisa's father died!" Lorna answered Gunther.

"Sorry, Gunther! Luisa did not screamed to disturb you." it was Carla who apologized to Gunther.

"Don't apologize! I understand! Luisa, my condolences!" 

For a while, as the three girls tried to comfort Luisa who just continued weeping, Gunther understood he could do nothing so he came back to the basement to his studio.

"Luisa you have to accept it. Every one of us have our time and it's your father's time to go, you can't do nothing about it." Carla said to Luisa.

"Carla, so sudden! I am very sad that my father died. I am very sad I cannot come to his funeral! I am very sad I have to cut short talking to my mother on the telephone because I am thinking about the costs! I am sad because I promised my mother I will send money while I have no money to send to her! Oh, God, why did you let this happened? Why?" Luisa just cannot stopped weeping. The happy go lucky Luisa was really grieving.

The three girls also felt the pain Luisa projected and they too have their tears.

"You can send money to your mother. You have to send money to her, she badly needed it." Carla said at the same time wiped with her hands the tears in her eyes.

"I still have the envelope Paula gave to me." Thelma said. "I will give to you the 100 Swiss Franc!"

"Me too, I will also gave my 100 Swiss Franc to you!" Carla too will give her 100 Swiss Franc to Luisa.