Carlos climbed into the back seat of the car and the driver started it and drove off.
The place to be soon is Patricia’s mother’s house.
Last night Carlos told Nicolas that he wanted to visit his grandfather and grandmother, whom he had never met, and Nicolas immediately prepared a very generous gift and filled the trunk.
After Patricia left, he went to the Urenia family and was unfortunately kicked out….
The whole Urenia family hates him….
Two hours later, the car came to a residential area and stopped.
Carlos got out of the car first, then turned to accompany the girl holding Mike….
Micaela looked around curiously, it was a completely different kind of urban village compared to the urban area with all the tall buildings, the houses were simply built, as far as the eye could see, there were small detached houses and not far away there were fields with all kinds of vegetables planted….
-Mr. Efraim, Mr. Nilson in Echave City, this is the place.
Mr. Driver, carrying in his hands the large bags he had taken out of the trunk, indicated them with a gesture to go to the house, not far away.
The two men followed his gaze: it was a three-story house, with beige tiles on the walls and a meter-high iron gate on the outside, enclosing the house. The house’s vermillion gate was open and an old woman with white hair and a gray cotton jacket came out on crutches….
Carlos frowned at the old woman, who seemed to perceive his gaze and looked out, stopping violently….
Yes, that person is none other than Patricia’s mother….
She looked at Carlos, her eyes reddening, and limped over on her crutches as, in a trembling voice, she greeted the people in the house and went out:
-Guys, come out and see who’s here?
A large group of people came out of the house, grandfather, aunt, uncle and two tall young men, presumably a cousin and his wife….
No, look at the 7-8 year olds coming out at the end, they must be cousins…..
The elders didn’t know what to say when they saw Carlos and Micaela visiting them in person, they just looked at Carlos excitedly….
Carlos and Micaela also looked at the group in front of them, the grandfather and grandmother had gray hair, the uncle was tall, the aunt was very pretty, Salamonsa produces beautiful and handsome people, the cousin was also very handsome, he smiled and nodded to Carlos….
I see that your visit has made them happy….
After a while, grandfather came to his senses and greeted them as they entered the house:
-Come on, come on, sit inside, don’t stay outside…..
The group went inside, sat down on the sofa, while my uncle prepared tea and my aunt introduced Carlos and Micaela to the family members and enthusiastically brought the tea….
The two elders looked at Carlos with extraordinarily mixed feelings, with a thousand words in their hearts, not knowing where to start….
Then their eyes fell on Mike and the old lady asked excitedly:
-Is this my great-grandson?
Micaela smiles and nods.
-Yes.
Mike was awake when he got off the bus, and this time with big, slippery eyes, looking around curiously….
Carlos grabbed Micaela’s hand with one hand and looked at them with sincere eyes.
-Grandfather, grandmother, Moya and I are getting married the day after tomorrow, and I hope you, my uncles can come and have a glass of wine.
Everyone nodded in agreement…..
My grandfather, who also has gray hair, wiped the corners of his eyes and sounded a little choked up.
-Carlos, you are here to help Patricia with her last wish, aren’t you?
Carlos nodded his head.
-Yes. I think it was my mother’s last wish that she could not say, that is, that she could be forgiven by you?
The two old men burst into tears….
My uncle also blushed and pulled himself together before saying:
-Carlos, Moya…
Addressing the other man for the first time in this way, he felt a little uncomfortable and paused for a moment before continuing:
-In fact we saw you on TV at Mr. Nicolas’ press conference and we have been thinking about coming to meet you, but at first….
My uncle was about to say something, and paused again for a long moment before saying:
-When Patricia came back more than ten years ago, we advised her not to leave, to stay and live in Salamonsa, but her decision to leave in spite of her parents and all the relatives here broke our hearts, we said all kinds of harsh words to her at that time, and now that we see her son back, we. We are not ashamed to come and see him either…..
The two elders recalled the time when their own harsh words to Patricia echoed in their ears:
-Patricia, if you go to Anlandana again, don’t ever come back!
-The Urena family does not have an ungrateful daughter like you!
-Don’t you dare go, and don’t you dare say you’re our daughter again! It’s none of your business even if we die!
How firm the breakup was then, how painful it will be now…..
Carlos squeezed the small hand he held in his palm and spoke calmly and seriously:
-In those circumstances, you were only there so that my mother could live well in Salamonsa, we all understand that, she never blamed you, nor hated you, she only blamed herself, she felt guilty, she did not fulfill her filial duty, she did not take care of her knees….
Grandparents cry more…
Micaela hands Mike in her arms to Carlos, gets up and approaches Mrs. Echave, bends down, takes her dry hand in hers and looks at her.
-Grandmother, your daughter was brave, she dared to love and hate and gave you two wonderful grandchildren, you must know your own daughter, do you think she ever regretted it?
Donna Echave, with tears in her eyes, looked at Micaela, with her heart beating a hundred times, for a long time, before shaking her head.
-She doesn’t regret anything, it was all her choice, whatever the consequences were, it was what she wanted, her heart stayed in Anlandana, I should have understood her then and blessed her, we shouldn’t have gone so far as mother and child and let her die without peace of mind…..
The way the old woman was crying in pain also made Micaela could not help but burst into tears and she asked in a low voice:
-Grandfather, grandmother, have you forgiven her?
-We forgave her, we forgave her a long time ago, how can a mother and a father hate their child?
This forgiveness has saved two old people and Patricia in heaven….
After straightening up, Micaela went back to sit next to Carlos, who held out his hand and wiped the tears from her cheeks….
We all sat down to make tea and chat, and what was most talked about was Patricia’s life in Anlandana….
Carlos, as a subaltern, volunteered to make the tea, and Victor smiled as he handed it to his grandfather.
-Grandpa doesn’t drink tea, I’m allergic to it.
The old woman sniffled and also tried to adjust her mood, giving her father an expressionless look.
-Just because you’re allergic to tea, the whole family accommodates your eating habits!
Carlos looked at the old man with a twitch in his heart and asked:
-Grandpa, how old are you?
The old man smiled.
Eighty-one!
That’s a very long life in Salamonsa?
Carlos looked at his uncle again.
-And you, uncle?
The atmosphere suddenly seemed a little different, and my uncle’s face froze for a few moments, vaguely knowing the reason why Carlos was asking this, he answered:
-Fifty-five now.
Carlos, somewhat nervously, asked again:
-Are you also allergic to tea?
But he was under the impression that he had also had tea before….
Micaela also looked at her uncle, her heart beating unconsciously faster, speculating, had he finally found a way to reveal Salamonsa’s secret?
But Carlos had already told Nilson to look at the tea leaves?
My uncle smiled bitterly, shook his head, picked up the cup of tea in front of him, took a sip and set it down.
-I am not allergic to tea.
After a pause, with understanding, he said:
-Carlos, this problem you are thinking about, I have heard about it and suspected it, but in reality it probably has nothing to do with tea, and there are some people who do not drink it, but have not yet escaped it, it is probably, the life of the men of Salamonsa, the “curse” of all Salamonsa, I guess…