Chapter 254 - This Can't Be Happening - mdtres
Clarisa
Inés burst into tears, and we all stayed still. Veronica was the first to reach her side, followed by Luisa. I looked at the children chosen by that beautiful dark-skinned woman who had devoted her life to raising them. They stood frozen as if time had stopped for them. My husband’s tears fell silently as he squeezed my hand tightly.
Arnold couldn’t take his eyes off the only mother he had ever known, while Miguel’s hands trembled. Simon was lost in thought, Anibal covered his face with his hands, and Gustavo’s lips quivered. When I looked at Roland, I wasn’t sure whether to be worried or reassured. No one said anything until Roland broke the silence after Arnold ran out of the room.
"Guadalupe, don’t leave him alone for anything in the world. Even if he pushes you away, which he surely will, stay there." Lupe looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Lupe, don’t neglect our brother. When one of us comes to relieve you, then you can leave him alone. Not before."
"Yes, sir."
I wiped my tears away. Roland took control of everyone, as he always did. I tried to free my hand from my husband’s grip; he was holding on so tightly it hurt.
"Dear, have you only seen one doctor?" she nodded.
"I’ve had many headaches and went to get glasses, but it turned out to be a tumor that’s rooted itself. It could make me go blind or leave me in a vegetative state. If that happens, I’ll ask to be euthanized. I’ll find a place where they can do it."
"And you think we’ll allow that!" Anibal shouted.
"I make that decision."
"Now, we’re going to find the best doctor in the necessary field. No one will talk about death until we’ve exhausted every last hope. We’ve all witnessed the Lord God’s miracles. Why should it be any different now that our mother needs us to repay all the prayers she’s made for us?"
At that moment, he broke down, and so did we all. Gladis stood up and now hugged Inés while Veronica gave strength to her husband. We watched him take a deep breath.
"No one will talk about death. Dear, you taught us that prayer works. We won’t give up."
……
Simon
This kind of news, without a doubt, was the kind that left you stunned. My mind went back twenty-three years, to when I was just eighteen and had just left the orphanage where I grew up. Once married, I confessed my past to Luisa. All those years, I had only one goal: to leave and work as an agent in an agency, which is why I exercised a lot.
Life in an orphanage was tough. But the streets were even tougher. When the government let me go, I found nothing but being a hitman. I didn’t have the money to pay for a military career, and within months, I had already done several jobs. Nothing in my past was justifiable, but life, in some aspects, was terrible.
I had seen Roland work and lead a group of kids in the streets. An eight-year-old boy with such shrewdness, so I proposed he come with me. I had a rented apartment, and honestly, to this day, I had no idea why I felt the need to form a team.
When I proposed it, he asked if I was a pedophile. I smiled and shook my head. We clicked immediately. He agreed when I told him I was a hitman, knew how tough street life was, and had noticed he had a knack for making money. I was good at protecting.
"Let’s become a cartel."
"But you have to study."
"Don’t worry, I will."
"Let’s go."
A month later, when I found myself struggling to take care of a child, I put out a request for a nanny. The next day, that dark-skinned woman who now tells us she has a damn tumor in her head showed up. At first, living with her wasn’t easy. She established order, set conditions, and I almost asked her to leave the house for being annoying. But when I saw how she took care of Roland’s fever, I understood that if my parents hadn’t died, they would do what she did.
From that point on, Inés became a fundamental member of our team. Although she told us not to do misdeeds, she kept taking care of us. For two years, it was just the three of us. "God, why are you making us go through this? I know I have no moral right to ask for an explanation, but... why her?" We remained in the room. After Roland spoke, no one else did. Only seconds had passed, but they felt eternal. Silent tears fell as countless memories flooded me, and like a child, I whimpered in pain.
I was the oldest man here, and just imagining not seeing my dear one in the kitchen, with her hand on her hip scolding us for whatever reason, made my heart sink. My wife’s hands embraced me, and only then did I realize I was trembling. I remember we started studying at her insistence, "Whatever you do, study."
She never approved of our work, but neither did she reprimand us. Inés was our good world during our childhood, adolescence, and part of our youth. She was that encouragement after killing or delivering the shipment with the cunning of a child prodigy. The money started coming in, and our beginnings in the legal part were funded with illicit money.
Years later, we cleaned it up, and from then on, we divided those two worlds that Roland created. Our eyes met, and I started to shake my head. It was the third time in my life that I showed vulnerability; first was with the death of my first wife and my son, then the supposed death of Roland, and now this... I kissed Luisa's forehead, stood up, and went over to where she was.
"Old lady, you're more of a believer than anyone. Just promise me, do everything we ask of you. I won't rest until I find a treatment to get that crap out of your head." My black lady hugged me.
"It doesn't matter if I die today, tomorrow, or in ten years. Just swear to me, Simón, for everything we've lived through taking care of them, that if I fall into a vegetative state, you'll end my life."
"How the hell can you ask us that?"
Gustavo and Aníbal shouted. I looked at Roland, who was clinging to his wife's waist. I started to shake my head, and my black lady wiped my tears.
"I never condemned you, on the contrary, I tried to teach you some values and all I ask is this. I don't want to be a burden, you know that would condemn me to be someone I'm not." I started shaking my head. "Roland!" My friend was shaking his head, Veronica's hands were stroking his hair.
"So, do you want me to go live with my sisters...? Don't force me, they agreed if it comes to that, but I'd like to spend my days with you, who are my children, next to my grandchildren and my daughters-in-law. Roland!"
"Old lady, only if you fall into that state." He had said it. My old lady smiled and looked at me. "Simón?"
"Alright." She looked at Miguel.
"Don't mess with me, old lady." Cebolla's lips were trembling.
"I need confirmation from each one of you."
"Alright." He said, shaking his head, and stood up. "Now swear to me that if you have to eat blended crap, if that's what it takes to get rid of what's in your head, you'll do it."
Despite the situation, Miguel's comment made us laugh. When we got sick, she would stuff us with concoctions we called "tastes like crap," and she would scold us. In the end, she would say: "Even if you don't like drinking this crap, you'll do it to get better."
"I see life is going to give you the satisfaction of getting back at me for all those nutrients from my smoothies. I want to hear all of you swear what I made you swear, Roland, Simón, and Miguel."
"They're in charge."
Commented Daniel, who had remained silent, crying quietly and holding Clarisa's hand.
"All of you are my children, I want approval from all of you."
"Old lady, only if the doctors tell me there's no hope and after three months in that state. Before that, I, Gustavo Vargas, won't do it."
"You're going to condemn me to have my butt wiped with wet wipes, because that's what nurses do. If you think that's fair. Fine."
"Don't come at me with that psychology. I won't listen to you now." Rasca culo replied, and she smiled.
"Now, to you, my daughters." Miguel had come to her side, and I was back holding Luisa's hand. "I know my boy, Lupe, and Diana are missing. I'll talk to them later. I want you to swear to take care of them until the love runs out. If that happens, part on good terms."
"Inés..." Veronica spoke.
"Daughter, I will be immensely grateful to you for helping them see a better life. It's not that Clarisa didn't try, she just wasn't meant for Roland. For years I knelt praying for an angel for each of you to give you a new vision, and the leader had to be the first.
"Thank you for coming, keep being that beacon of spiritual light." She pointed at Roland. "He may be the strongest, but he's also the most vulnerable. Honestly, I ask that the day God decides to take him, he goes first, not you.
"I wouldn't want to see a monster form on earth, and this is my request to all of you. Each of you is the pillar of your husband, something beautiful and difficult to achieve in a marriage. But I know who they are, and if you are gone, they will cease to be in the light. I love you, I prayed for each of you."
This was very strong, but there was no lie in her words. I looked at my wife. Her gaze was attentive to my reaction.
"I'll always be here, my love."
If Luisa's gaze was so sad, I can only imagine how mine must have looked because my soul was hurting.
"Thank you for being my companion in the dark moments."