Windows To The Heart

Decline/Page 33

"No, Maria, this ends here."

"Please Lucas, don't say anything to them, if you don't want to take me with you... fine, but please just keep this between us, I don't want to make them angrier than they already are." 

"No," you say stubbornly, "you can't run forever, we're going to confront my parents, you ARE a part of this family, Maria, and I'm going to make sure they understand that"

Maria looks down to the ground, seeming to think over what you just said, a moment later she looks back up to you and says, "Fine, I trust you, Lucas, I hope you know what you're doing..."

You hug her, "Thank you for trusting me, we've got this, and together, I know we can get through to them," with that, she tightly embraces you. Eventually, you two let go of each other and wait for your parents to arrive home.

A few hours pass by and you hear a car pull up in the driveway, you and Maria quickly sit on the couch, you hear the keys turn to unlock the front door, and you brace yourself for what's about to come.

Your mom walks through the door and is the first to speak, "Lucas, it's about time you got up, your father and I thought you were going to sleep all day!"

You politely smile at her but quickly get to the point, "Mom, Dad, could you please sit down?"

They both look at each other with a worried expression but comply and sit opposite you and Maria in the living room.

"What is it son," your dad says, "is something wrong?"

You lightly chuckle, "Yeah, you could say that something is very wrong."

"Well get on with it then, what's on your mind?" your dad asks.

You quickly glance over to Maria, "Maria has told me some concerning stuff lately, she has overheard that you plan on selling her and that ever since I left, you guys haven't been treating her well."

Your dad immediately scoffs at hearing this, "Carlos!" your mom says harshly.

"What?!" your dad replies, she gives him a look that could kill and they both go silent.

"Do either of you have anything to say to that?" you question.

Your dad is the first to speak, "Lucas, she's a-", but he's quickly cut off by your mom, "What I think your father was going to say, is that she's a very important part of this family, and we love her very much."

"If you love her so much, then why do you want to get rid of her?" you retort.

Your mom starts again, "Your father and I have both noticed some changes in Maria over the past year, she seems more distracted, less disciplined, and we've overall seen a downgrade in her quality of work."

You're absolutely baffled by your mom's words, "H- how could you be so harsh?!"

Your dad quickly butts in, "Son, we originally bought Maria for you, sure, it was nice to have an extra hand around the house to help clean and such, but the real reason we got her was because you're an only child, we wanted you to have someone you could talk to and relate with, and Maria did her job perfectly. But you're a man now, Lucas, you've moved out and you're out on your own in the real world. You don't need Maria anymore."

"You guys are acting ridiculous!" you shout, "Maria is a living, breathing, being! She's not some nostalgic object from my childhood, she's sitting right here for God's sake!"

"Which is exactly why we're selling her," your mom says calmly, "she's obviously been very unhappy lately, and your father and I no longer have the time to take care of her."

"That doesn't mean you just get rid of her!", you cry out desperately.

"Lucas," your dad says, "I've been talking to a few people, and I think I've found her a really nice home, he's an older gentleman who recently lost his wife, and he just needs some help getting around and keeping his house clean, he has a big ranch with plenty of space, and he said when he told his grandchildren about Maria, they just couldn't wait to meet her!

You start to feel light-headed, "I... I don't even know what to say anymore..."

Your mom gets up and sits next to you, putting her arm around you, "Honey, I know this can be difficult, but Maria deserves to live in a better place, she's just not happy here anymore, you can see where we're coming from, right, are you starting to agree now?"

Agree with them. Page 34

Disagree with them. Page 35