Creating memories
I knock on Lorenzo's door and see Bruno, Matteo and Vicente looking at me as if they knew what I just did.
Lorenzo turns the computer screen and shows me the cameras in the cells.
“Do you want to explain?” he asks with a harsh tone.
“He gave me a location” I say and hand my phone to Bruno.
My cousin analyzes the address and types it into the computer.
The boys get together, but Vicente is the only one who keeps looking at me.
“What did you give in return?” he asks and I shake my head.
“I offered a deal, I said I would kill his son to end the torture” I say and everyone looks at me.
“And he believed it because it was you who said it, he knows that you are against this type of torture” concluded Vicente and I agree.
“He didn’t know that everyone was released, that they are safe” I say leaning on the sofa.
"Did you tell?" Lorenzo asks calmly.
“I thought it was right that he knew this before he died, that he knew we weren’t like him,” I say in a soft voice.
“Elena” Bruno says my name and I know this will be followed by an apology.
“What they did was out of desperation, he, like the other monsters I know, does it because they like it” I say firmly, I need you to understand that “None of us are like them”.
The boys understand what I mean, the forgiveness I'm asking and giving them.
My family are not monsters.
“No, we are not” Matteo agrees with me.
Lorenzo looks at me thoughtfully, but says nothing.
“I'll call the others, we need a plan of attack” Bruno says with the phone in his hand.
I leave the office as everyone starts working on the information I've gathered.
I enter the shooting range behind the base and stay there, putting into each shot a little of the trauma that Edgar caused me.
And when the last bullet finally hits its target, I leave with it the fear I once felt of this man.
We enter the house and it's already past eleven at night.
Giorgio has four boxes of pizza in his hand and I carry two soft drinks.
My uncles and grandparents are in the living room talking excitedly.
I feel like after a long time everything is going well.
I enter the kitchen, which is almost ready, all that remains is to paint the walls and finish the floor.
Animated announcement “We brought pizza”.
In seconds everyone is here, I talk to Aunt Esther and Andreia about changing my hair again.
Aunt Isadora joins us and suggests that I dye my hair red.
I laugh at the idea, knowing for sure it won't be cool.
“Tomorrow we can go to the salon and choose” says Nonna and I get excited.
We really just need to leave the four of us.
Luca enters the kitchen with a suspicious smile as everyone talks, I see him count how many people we have before leaving again.
Vicente wrinkles his nose as if he knows exactly what he plans.
“Here’s the thing, we’re going to form three teams” Luca shouts from the kitchen entrance “The challenge will be mime and then I’ll do karaoke”.
My eyes light up, this is going to be fun.
Ten minutes later I'm sitting on the couch watching Dante contort himself to imitate something impossible to guess.
“By God, just think about it,” he says, irritated by everyone’s confused expressions.
“Or you don't know what you're doing” Giovanni says and I start laughing.
“I'm going to imitate you once” says Dante and I try to understand what he's doing.
He extends his hand in front of his body and pulls it as if he were dragging or opening something.
Then, he raises his hands as if he'd received an electric shock.
"You're terrible," I say when time runs out and no one gets it right.
"The word was surprise," he says, and everyone makes a sound of understanding.
"You looked like an electrocuted chicken," says Leonardo, and everyone laughs in agreement.
"A very charming chicken," I say, laughing.
"Even you, Elena," says Dante, incredulous.
When the game finally ends, Vitório and Ângelo connect the karaoke machine to the television.
I make the boys sing at least two Barbie songs while my aunts record.
This will soon be gold.
Then, Nonno sings a song for Nonna, and we are all mesmerized as they forget they are not alone and dance together.
It's past two in the morning when everyone decides to go to sleep. I go up to my room with Leonardo, who is still smiling.
"Sleep with me," he asks, hugging me. "I promise I won't throw you out of bed."
I laugh before agreeing.
Even though I doubt I'll have nightmares, it'll be good to sleep with someone nearby, just in case.
"I'm going to take a shower and I'll be right back," I say, heading to my room.
I take a long, relaxing shower and feel very happy.
The night with my family was great; seeing their fun side cheered me up and dissipated the constant tension we've been living with lately.
I'll have to thank Luca for that later.
I put on my pajamas, tie my hair in a loose bun, grab my pillow, and calmly walk to Leonardo's room.
In the hallway, I find Luca and Lorenzo talking.
"Is everything alright, Elena?" Luca asks me, seeing the pillow in my arms.
“Ah, yes, that’s fine,” I reply. “Leonardo was afraid of the dark and invited me to sleep with him.”
They both laugh, and I see Leonardo in the distance, arms crossed and a grumpy expression.
“Afraid of me?” he asks defiantly.
“Never, brother,” I say, disguising my laughter. “I’m here to defend you.”
The two in front of me look at me with raised eyebrows, and I suppress a laugh.
“I’ll let it slide, since it’s very late,” Lorenzo says, and I thank heaven for that.
“Goodnight to you both,” I say with a cheerful smile. “Tonight was the best night of my life.”
They each hug me, and Lorenzo stops me from going to Leonardo’s room.
“I’m immensely happy to have you in my life, never forget that,” he says seriously.
"And the best thing that ever happened to me was walking through that door, brother, I love you so much," I say sincerely.