Athelio was still asleep in his room, and I had decided to sleep on the couch downstairs. Undoubtedly, I still felt like a trespasser in his house. I woke up to Lucia knocking on the kitchen window, asking me to open the back door. Half asleep, I got up and went to the back door to unlock it.
"Good morning," she greeted me on entering the kitchen.
"Morning ma'am," I replied.
"Call me Lucia, I feel a whole lot younger when I'm called by my name," she told me cheerfully with a big smile.
I smiled back, silently observing movements as she settled herself in the kitchen. Her long silver hair draped her like a shawl clinging onto her as a child would.
The clock read 6:45 AM.
Athelio was a lucky man. He would wake up to his breakfast, lunch and dinner already being cooked by someone else. On top of that, Lucia's food was heavenly, as compared to what I ate in Villa Mimosa. It puzzled me, this level of luxury.
Anika and I would hardly get bowls of thin soup and raw vegetables, sometimes meat if we were lucky. Delilah never fed us completely, creating the hunger inside us to be a silent reminder of who we were to her.
"So, how did you happen to arrive at Athelio's house?" she asked, peeling an onion.
I thought for a bit before answering. "Well, he... invited me over, you could say."
Lucia continued to peel the onions before washing them. She didn't look at me. Finally, after putting the washed onions aside, she turned towards me.
"Is that so? I am old but I am not blind to scars and bruises," she said, glancing at my arms and to the place where Delilah had hit me on my face.
"Tell me," she continued, "where are you from?"
"Villa Mimosa," I answered quietly.
This lady seemed to know and grasp things just by looking at something or someone. It made me slightly uncomfortable when she mentioned the bruises but her tone reassured me that she was a gentle old woman. She didn't respond, but she knew she didn't need to, she knew that I had understood her receptiveness. I offered to help her but she politely declined and continued to work in silence until Athelio could be heard coming downstairs.
"Morning Lucia, what are you making me?" He asked cheerfully, grabbing an apple from the glass bowl and taking a bite.
"You'll soon see Athelio, it's been your favourite growing up," she answered.
He looked at me and smiled, "you're up early Camilla. Thank you again, for last night."
He was referring to me feeding Shasta, which I understood, but Lucia hadn't. I could see her eyes slightly widen, her mind thinking— certain realisations dawning upon her. Something told me she had concluded different things about Athelio and I.
Lucia took a pause from what she was doing and put her knife down and carelessly wiped her apron. After turning to him she said, "may I speak to you alone, Athelio?"
I quickly told Lucia and Athelio that I could leave the kitchen, for fear of making things seem more awkward or strange. Without further exchange of words, I left to go to the living room.
I could hear their voices from inside, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. It seemed to me as if there was a small argument happening, for what reasons I did not know. Athelio's voice was naturally gentle, so even when he argued his voice had a twinge of reasoning and gentleness. Lucia's voice expressed exasperation and concern, which made me wonder what on Earth they were arguing about.
YOU ARE READING
Alleviate
General Fiction"I started to find a sadness that governed the place where men came to fulfill their satisfaction, hidden behind the playful and happy smiles of the people here," he said. - As long as the never ending bruises and scars will keep forming on my frail...
