La Bella y la Bestia

chapter 4

The sun was fresh on the horizon, and Adelina was already up. Now dressed in a red suit with greyish-purple tights, high heels and lavender gloves, she went out to town as usual with her basket in hand.

First, she paid a visit to the baker, fetching some bread. Afterwards, she went to the fountain in the town square, sitting down to read her book and map. As she read, a young boy and girl began approaching her.

"Ex- excuse me, miss," the boy, Norman, spoke up.

Adelina looked up to see the two children curiously looking at both her book and map. "Oh, why hello there, children. Is there something you want to ask?"

The girl, the mayor's daughter Winnie, nodded. "Yes, we were wondering, just what kind of book and map have you been reading?"

"Ah, you mean this book?" Adelina asked, turning it over. She flipped it open, allowing the children to see the pages. "This book is called Las Leyendas and is about a gifted Mexican boy and his band of misfit friends who go around the world and discover legendary creatures, all while trying to foil an evil overlord who tries to eradicate mankind." She then gestured to the map. "And the map has all of the places they go to written down on it, far off lands such as Eastern Europe, China, Mexico and more."

"Wow!" the two gasped, staring at the book, then up at her.

"Would you like to read a couple of pages?" Adelina offered, waving for them to join her. They both nodded and sat by each side of her, trying to get a good look at the pages and the map. The children's awe was so precious, that she couldn't help but smile. So the town wasn't a complete lost cause after all, for there were at least some young children – especially young girls, like Winnie – who held an interest in adventure and maps. She didn't usually read things out loud in public, but when there were children around, it was a much different case.

She encouraged them to read, holding the book open and flipping the pages as one of them read aloud while the other took a look at the map. "And so, the ship steered to the Japanese village," Winnie read aloud, failing to contain a squeal. "Oh, how exciting! I bet they'll slay a beast here!"

Adelina chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm. "Well, you'll have to continue reading in order to find out."

"Miss Adelina?" Norman asked, making her turn to him. He was holding up her map, pointing to the place circled. "Are... are you going to Russia? Because there's a large circle around it."

"Yes, Norman," Adelina said, nodding. "When my father gets back from the fair, I'll be going to Russia to start my own adventure."

Winnie gasped, her eyes glimmering with excitement. "You mean, just like Leo in the book?" She clapped her hands, jumping up and squealing again. "Amazing! If you ever come back, you'll show us pictures and tell us about it, right?"

Adelina smiled at this. "Of course."

"What in the devil's name are you doing?"

They all looked ahead to see Headmaster Hopkins storming over, a look of outrage on his face. "Filling the children's heads, especially little miss Winifred, with insane fantasies?" he demanded, seething. "Are you so lonely that you have to spread your delusions around like the plague?"

Winnie tried to step in and defend the woman: "Headmaster Hopkins, we–"

"Go home, niña," Adelina ordered softly, giving her a curt shake of the head. The children getting involved would only worsen the situation and dig them and herself even deeper into trouble, which was the last thing any of them needed.

This time, Norman tried to break in. "But Adelina–"

"Go to home to your mothers, now," ordered the woman once more, now a bit more firm.