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2.

The boy is still in the street wondering, long after her father and sister had entered. He would have stayed longer, but her mother called him. When he reached the porch his mother was smiling, she had a blanket pull over the shoulders, and her brown luminous eyes reminded him of caramel, sweet. He hugged her, and found himself thinking that her mother didn’t smell like it used to. She smelled of medicines, and hospitals and cleaning products. Looking closer the boy appreciated that her skin looked grayish and her eyes swollen and sad. It was not his mom. His mom was always happy; her eyes had always a mischievous twinkle, which was said he had inherited. She smelled to jasmine and vanilla and her dark hair was always shiny and tickled the boy’s face when she leaned to kiss him.

It was Morpheus, his father always said. He had fallen in love with her and wanted to take her to his palace, but he had to make her sleep forever. His mother was a fighter and was resistant to let go of them. That was what his father always told him. The boy loved her even more for this.

His father appears as he lets go of her mother. He has hot chocolate in some cups, and gives one to his mother while he tells him that there’s more for him inside, and that he can take it if he keeps an eye on his sister. As the boy climbs the steps to the door enthusiastically, he turns to see their parents hug and for some reason that makes him sad. He understands why Morpheus fell in love with her, but, can’t he see she’s happy with them?

Five months had passed since that lost day.

Today is Sunday and the boy is sitting in the kitchen, waiting for someone to appear through the door smelling of cakes and recent made bread, ready to make some pancakes and natural orange juice or some hot chocolate.

It’s his mother he’s waiting for. He knows that she’s not going to cross the door with a smile ready to do a special Sunday morning with him, and only him. Morpheus had taken her, but he still waits.

Looking back, it had been a long time since he had a special Sunday morning with him. Since Morpheus had fallen in love with her, and that was long ago. Why was he there then?

“Mom has not abandoned us, she loves us, she will come back, and she’ll make Morpheus understand that she has a family”

The boy tried to convince himself about this, but, when his father found him there, in the kitchen, waiting for her. A lonely five year old boy sitting in a chair, looking hopefully to the door, and he started to cry, he understood.

“She’s not coming back”

The boy started to cry and began to slam his little fists against the table. His father told him to stop, and in the upper floor you could hear his sister cry. He didn’t stop, and when his father began screaming at him, the boy banged louder and began to scream too.

His father grabbed him, and made him look at him; he started to say things the boy didn’t understand or didn’t want to. He could only feel the pain of treason and hear his blood rushing in his temple and ears.

“She lied to us!” The boy screamed “She didn’t love us! She went with Morpheus, when she promised she wouldn’t!” The boy threw himself to the floor “SHE PROMISED!” he screamed louder than thunder “She promised, she promised, SHE PROMISED!” He banged the floor to the rhythm of his words until it was too much pain and he stopped. He looked up, realizing his father hadn’t spoken to him, and he found himself alone in the kitchen floor. He could no longer hear his sister cries, or the blood ringing in his head. It was silent.