The veil of heritage

Chapter 7 - The reunion

Maël's point of view

I'd been waiting in the manager's office for a quarter of an hour, and the fatigue of the weekend move had completely worn me out. Why was the manager so insistent on meeting me? All I wanted was to get my schedule back and leave without disturbing anyone. But the manager had insisted on this meeting.

Finally, a young woman came out of the manager's office and made her way towards me. I was astonished that she held such an important position at such a young age.

- Hi, are you Maël? Pleased to meet you, my name's Luna.

The white-haired young woman smiled at me, and I stood up to shake her hand politely in return.

- Pleased to meet you, Luna, nice name

I see she's starting to blush, maybe she's shy, she looks at me, I try to take my hand away but I can't she understands and pulls her hand away so quickly that she stumbles backwards I grab her by the arm so she doesn't lose her balance. I ask her if she's all right, and she simply nods in agreement. Before she could say anything, a lady intervened.

- Mr. Maël Garcia?

- Yes, ma'am?

- Come, Madame la directrice will be here shortly. You can wait for her in her office.

I nodded and turned to the young woman who was still there. I removed my hand from her arm, which seemed to disturb her. I then continued towards the manager's office.

As I entered, I observed the room, which was calm and warm, filled with a familiar energy. The lady accompanying me indicated a chair for me to sit down. I took a seat and she asked me to wait here. While I waited, I looked around the office, which was impeccably tidy and clean.

Suddenly, the door opened and a woman entered. I greeted her:

- Hello Aunt Lydia

I called her that before she could say a word. She walked silently over to her desk, sat down and looked at me. At first glance, she hadn't changed much, but I noticed a slight fatigue on her face. She, who had always taken care of her appearance to look eternally young, seemed to have aged. I wondered who this woman in the director's chair was.

- How did you recognize me?" she asked.

I simply pointed to the photo frame on the desk. A photo of her at my age, surrounded by her group of friends. She'd often told me about these friends and the incredible adventures they'd shared. They were like family to her, and my mother had been one of them.

She smiled at me, and I could see the fatigue in her eyes.

- How have you been all this time? she asked.

- Well, I'm trying to cope and move on.

I returned her smile, a smile tinged with sadness. She watched me intently, as if trying to pierce my thoughts. A strange energy emanated from her, and it disturbed me.

- I hope the move went well. When I heard the news, I did everything I could to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

- I know, and I thank you for that.

- It's the least I could do

- I didn't know you'd become a director. Didn't you used to work in law?

- After my mother retired, I had to take over her role. And frankly, I don't mind.

- And as a result, you've had no time to take care of yourself.

She looked at me shocked, as if I'd offended her. Then she pulled a mirror out of her drawer to check her appearance.