Salamonsa, the next day.
In her dream, she was still with Carlos. In her dream, Alba received her mail and read it over and over again with tears in her eyes, and suddenly the image changed to the one she had imagined and Carlos jumped into the sea for her:
Carlos, I’m here!
But she couldn’t scream, her throat was blocked and she couldn’t breathe. She opened her eyes wide and saw the unfamiliar ceiling above her head, her consciousness returned and she remembered everything that had happened yesterday….
The room had a small glass window with goose-yellow curtains, and light streamed in from outside at dawn.
She sat up, her mind in black and white, thinking again of Carlos, who must also have been awake all night….
Another dull ache in Micaela’s heart….
True to what Nilson said, Carlos must have known she was kidnapped by Nilson and he must have known it was Grandma’s call that lured her…..
Why did the grandmother do this?
Micaela, puzzled, looked towards the door, the bucket, which she had taken inside, was behind the door, the position of the bucket had not changed and, indeed, Nilson had not entered.
The wooden door, she knew, could not stop him, and she knew that Nilson, though in love with her, had not forced her into anything except to bring her back from Anlandana and this time take her away by force….
Make up and get out.
New dishes were spread out on the small dining table.
The door was open and she stepped out, somewhat in awe of the view before her….
It turns out that the scenery here is very good, the sun does not rise high in the distance, the late autumn sun, this will not be very hard, it shines on the warm body, last night saw the top of the hedge entwined with flowers and unfamiliar plants, turned fields and vegetable seedlings are also there, cabbage a great look and spirit, just below the hedge, there is a small fish pond, you can see the water is very clear …
Insects and birds chirping in your ears and, well, the sound of chickens and ducks?
He looked for the sound and to the left of the house there were literally several golden chickens and white ducks!
Last night he faintly heard the sound of poultry and thought it was some unknown bird, but it turns out there really were chickens and ducks?
Did Nilson prepare them or did the people who lived here before prepare them?
There was a familiar smell in the air and Micaela unconsciously glanced toward the kitchen, where Nilson was leaning against the kitchen doorframe with a nonchalant air, looking at Micaela with his arms around his chest.
He was wearing a white shirt over a rolled-up gray sweater and black pants, and looked quite animated, except for his face, which was still a bit pale.
He smiled at Micaela.
-Moya, good morning, there are toiletries for you in the bathroom, wash up and it’s time to eat.
Micaela averted her eyes, said nothing and went to the bathroom to wash herself.
When she came out, she went straight to the grass and looked into the pond, and there really were fish there, or good sized ones!
The fish are very fat, the pond is not big but there are a dozen of them, I think they bought them at the market and restocked them here?
He turned back towards the orchard, the soil under each one was new and looked loose…..
-Chicken, duck, fish and vegetables, all improvised, no fridge, it’s the best way to keep them fresh.
Nilson’s voice sounded behind her and Micaela was a little startled, it seemed that he was determined to stay here for ten days….
Half-heartedly, Micaela ignored him and turned to enter the house.
Nilson raised an eyebrow, was Moya not going to say a word until ten days later?
Breakfast was already on the table, and it smelled tantalizingly like the golden, round croquettes he had eaten at his villa in Pesla City.
There was one more cup of hot water radiating warmth where she had sat yesterday.
Micaela frowns slightly, sits down, picks up her glass of water and takes a sip.
I didn’t eat enough last night, so I was already hungry. I took the chopsticks and popped a small ball in my mouth, it tasted exactly the same as the last one, Micaela was surprised and only then realized that the last one he had also made….
Their emotions got a little mixed up for a while, before they continued eating breakfast….
Nilson also sat down, adhering to the conclusion he came to yesterday, and told her to eat before he talked to her, in case he said something to upset her and didn’t eat again….
His eyes fell on her left hand, the ring, so piercing….
She noticed it yesterday in the car and tried her best to ignore it, but the ring, repeatedly reminded her that Moya’s heart was in the right place and she was already someone else’s wife….
She clenched her fists, bowed her head and ate her porridge in silence until she saw Micaela, on the other side of the table, put down her chopsticks and finish her bowl of porridge before speaking:
-Take off your ring.
Her voice turned a few degrees colder.
-No!
Micaela unconsciously hid both hands under the table, and her right hand came to hold directly her left hand….
Nilson also put down the chopsticks and looked at her.
-Moya, I would have absolutely thrown him down the mountain if he had come to pick it up.
Micaela bit her lip, glared at him and lowered her eyes, she was sure he would and she shouldn’t have given him the chance.
Although reluctantly, she took it from him and put it in her jacket pocket, remembering something, she raised her eyes to his and asked
-Nilson, why would Grandma help you?
Nilson saw that he had committed himself and was relieved, he leaned against the back of his chair, looked at Micaela and answered slowly:
-I made all kinds of threats to Dona Echave and she didn’t budge, but when I told her I would go to Carlos and mention the name ‘Micaela’ to him so he would vomit blood and you wouldn’t get any more illusions about him, she hesitated and I was a little curious to know if, indeed, she was compromised because of you compromised, or because Carlos was compromised.
Now remember the gleam of panic in Dona Echave’s eyes?
Nilson finished and smiled again, with a bit of bitterness in his tone.
-Could it be that Carlos was a hit with young and old alike? You like him, Yerma likes him, and even Mrs. Echave, after knowing him for less than two days, chose to take his side, not wanting him to die like that.
Micaela’s heart clenches….
Yes, she couldn’t say she knew much about her grandmother, but she was certainly a suspicious person, so how could she be so particular about Carlos?
She had been so happy the day before that Carlos had received his grandmother’s approval that she hadn’t thought about it.
Even though Grandma wasn’t close to herself in the past, but on Sunday she spent so much time with her, talked so much, that kindness, and definitely not pretending….
She liked and always liked Nilson….
Nilson got up and picked up the dishes.
-I don’t want to think about that now either, Moya, I just want to appreciate this time with you that I’ve worked so hard to earn.
With that, he picked up the plates and walked out, leaving the plate of round balls she liked on the table.
Micaela’s mood was extraordinarily heterogeneous, with the ring in her hand in her jacket pocket, her eyes fell on the plate of round dumplings on the table….
No, whatever Grandma’s purpose in helping Nilson and taking her away, she should try to please in such a passive situation, Carlos is desperately looking for her!
He had thought about it the night before, to find the right opportunity to escape, and as long as he touched a car or a passing person, he would have a chance to get out!
She has to keep calm and wait for the right moment, until then she has to take care of herself and the baby she is carrying in her belly…..
The sun was so nice that she moved her stool and sat in the shade, looking at the fish in the pond, rubbing her hand on her stomach and looking again at the blue sky.
The sky in the mountains in late autumn seems higher and farther away, and there are, too, more boundless thoughts…..
It’s only been a dozen hours since she left him, but it feels like it’s been a long, long time….
Carlos, you have to be all right, it doesn’t matter if you can’t find me, you have to be all right….
At that moment, Carlos, from Ciudad Echave, stands in front of the window with an unmistakably helpless back…
Mrs. Echave’s words ring in his ears:
-Carlos, I grew up with Nilson, I know how he feels about Moya, he loves her no less than you, yes, the way he did it was wrong, but what can he do when you are the only one in Moya’s heart and he can’t let go? I’m not just helping Nilson, I’m helping you, by making him see the impossibility between him and Moya, so that between the three of you there can be closure. Carlos, trust Grandma, between you and Nilson, you dying is not the best ending.
Carlos’ fists clenched, his chest heaved and he grimaced, isn’t it better that you die and I live?
There was a knock at the door.
Carlos said to come in.
Carmelo pushes the door and enters.
-Mr. Aguayo, the receptionist on the first floor called to say that a man named Ocampo is looking for you.
Ocampo?
Diego?
Carlos turned around violently.
-Let him go upstairs!
Moses left yesterday and Diego arrived today?
Then it must have been after learning that he had disappeared that he was certain he had come to Salamonsa and set out to come here immediately!
Soon after, Diego, pushing a suitcase in his hand, dressed in a black suit and full of excitement, appeared in front of Carlos…