Escapade

Chapter Eight: Love and Hate

Natalie ran across the gardens, her ponytails bouncing with every step. She loved being outside. It was hotter here than back home, but she loved it. She loved the city, the people, the water and the toys here. She also had more freedom. Now that her whole family moved from Spain, there were no more cops chasing them, no helicopters searching for Padre dangerously close to the warehouses they sometimes hid in, and no more fighting.

  Rafi and Mikey were free now too. Madre said that now that no one was chasing them anymore, they didn't need to train that much. That was good, because every time they came back from training they looked like they saw a ghost and they wouldn't talk or play with her for days. In fact, they wouldn't talk at all, to anybody after the training. They just stood there staring at nothing for long periods of time; their haunting eyes looking too old for their youthful age of twelve. She didn't know what they did in training but she didn't like it. 

 "Natalia," Madre said, her warm, glowing smile beaming at her from across the gardens. "Ven aquí!"

Natalie heeded her mother's call and ran to her, squealing in delight. Madre almost never had time for her, but now she was here, calling for her. Natalie almost tripped on her too-long corduroy overalls, but didn't because she knew Madre was watching her. When she reached her, Madre scooped her up, enveloping her in kisses as her silky chocolate hair brushed over Natalie's cheek. Natalie giggled, squirming in happiness from her mother's attention. She was a big girl, but not too big for her mother's kisses.

"What a beautiful little girl," a woman next to Madre cooed in English. Natalie stopped squirming in her mother's arms, peaking at the stranger as she realized she was not alone.  She knew English enough to know what the woman said, but was still wary. The woman was standing next to them, innocently smiling at them. She was olive skinned and had long wavy black hair, and she had an innocent-looking face.

Madre turned her beautiful smile to the woman, her honey-colored eyes crinkling. Natalie knew that smile meant that this person was special to Madre, because she only smiled that way with Padre and her. "Yes, this is my daughter, Natalie."

"I mean it when I say 'bellissima', Rosa. Truly adorable."

Natalie didn't understand what 'bellisima' was, but assumed that it was a good thing because Madre laughed. "Your son is, too. How old is he now?"

"Seven. Around the age of your kid, I think," the woman said. She looked down at her calves, where a small boy with large brown eyes was standing stoically by her jeans, and murmured something to him.

 He nodded and thrust his hand out to Natalie. "Hi. My name's Richie. What's yours?"

Natalie glanced at her Madre, trying to communicate to her that she didn't want to talk to anyone. She already had her half-brothers for friends and didn't need anybody else. But her mother was stubborn and nudged her forward. She looked at the boy shyly and said, "my name is Natalie."

The boy broke into a toothy smile. "Okay! From now on, you're gonna be my best friend!"

 Natalie didn't know that when she took the boy's hand, they were going to start down a painful, sorrowful path. She didn't know that they would be torn apart in a gang war started by their families. She didn't know that when they were old enough to understand, they would hate each other enough to try to kill each other.

She just didn't know.

******* 

But I wished I did.

I woke up from my dream - or memory or whatever that was. My face and pillow were drenched with tears. It was another one of those dreams I was having: the ones with the memories I locked up deep inside, so deep that I wouldn't remember them until they visited me in the dreams. All of those dreams and memories had something to do with my mother, and it didn't matter whether they were good or bad; they still made me cry.