Ipê Branco

"Only the hand that erases can write the true thing."

Prim woke up feeling the weight of the light blue blanket over her body. She stretched, lifting her arms in the air and yawning. The morning sunrays penetrating the small room reminded her that everything was fine. Rick was fine.

Getting out of bed, she looked around and saw a mirror on the wall. Looking at her reflection, she caressed her natural skin. The green patterns decorating her body never stopped her from feeling in awe. Her connection to her mother and Gaia always something that filled her being with pride. On the left side, a beautiful pale-yellow dress hung on a nail. A note attached to it: 'Shower and then food, gorgeous!' Two smiling faces drawn beside the sentence.

Prim giggled and went further into the house to find the bathroom. She searched for the others, but no one was present. On the walls, old and new pictures of the place's owners. In one of them, an old couple sat on a ragged couch with children surrounding them. The smiles on their faces made Prim caress the wooden frame and ponder if one day she would have a small house filled with children too. Filled with Rick and her children.

From the far future, she heard the giggle of babies and the laughter of a whole family. She smiled, and the house's flowers bloomed and lived. The place was filled with their natural smells.

She took a quick shower and left to search for the others. She walked out of the door and soon was greeted with children playing on the street. They ran towards her and poked her skin. She talked and played with them in her broken Spanish until she saw Harley beckoning her from the corner. Showering the kids with flowers and seeds, she said her goodbyes.

"Took you long enough." Harley looked at her. Her brows knitted in worry. The woman grabbed Prim and hugged her in a tight squeeze. "Don't scare me like that, beautiful. You were sleeping for almost two days."

"I'm sorry. I never meant to scare you."

Harley parted and looked at Prim with incredibly soft eyes. "I know, beautiful." She lifted her pinky, and they laced it chuckling. "Come. I'll take you to the others."

"Thank you. So, what happened?"

They walked for three blocks, and Harley told Prim how they had defeated Starro and could blackmail Waller into getting rid of her and her missions,with Rick included in the mix. She wiggled her eyebrows at Prim and had a big mischivious grin on her lips.

She also explained that Sol and her friends had taken over the government and implemented a democracy. They stopped in front of a blue house decorated with a carefully kept garden in the front. "Go on," Harley spoke with a huge grin on her lips. "He's waiting for you." She winked and disappeared behind the house.

Prim's heart beat fast when she walked inside. From up the stairs, a gleeful laughter reached her ears. She placed her hand on the handrail and listened to ensure she wouldn't interrupt the conversation. While she waited silently for a sign to proceed and not waning to overhear something she might regret, she heard Rick's voice congratulating a woman who she soon discovered was Sol.

She really didn't want to, but her mind flashed her eyes with images of the two together, and she clenched her jaw. Squeezing the cold handrail until her knuckles turned white, she took deep and slow breaths to calm down. Walking up the steps, she made sure to have a smile on her face. Her hand rose in the air to knock on the semi-closed door when it opened, and she came face to face with the woman.

"I'm glad you're awake!" Sol had a stunning smile on her face. "Are you feeling better? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, thank you. Although I would like to thank the house owners for having me."

"You're welcome. The house is mine." She rolled her eyes playfully. "My parents, actually. I couldn't let the people who helped save my country out on the streets. Did you have a good rest?"