There were grayish streaks on his head, just as he feared.
It is about time I made an offering. My dear One must have been famished.
“Papa, why have you brought me here?” a haughty feminine voice broke the eerie silence of dusk. Her tiny nose wrinkled in distaste, overwhelmed by the musty and woody stench of the mid-September air, “…and why are you dressed like that – for a fiesta? It is unbecoming of you. You look ridiculous! You ought to wear your uniform whenever you are out. And aren’t you supposed to meet an important friend, papa?”
Her large black curls bounced on her shoulders as she took careful and steady steps on the uneven ground. “I remember Don Luisito Cabral having an arrangement with you tonight, before dinner. He certainly will not be pleased to know that the governador-heneral will not entertain him.”
Her wistful, intelligent brown eyes betrayed nothing of her fear as she spoke in accented but perfect Latin. She hid the uneasiness in the pit of her stomach. Her vanity would not permit her to show him her weakness, no matter how minute or great that might be. He taught her that. When her companion did not respond, she continued on.
“I also made plans with the ladies of court. What shame I shall suffer if I do not appear before them! The rumors, the rumors! Ah, how terrible! I shall not permit them to say I am irresponsible.”
The young girl in white satin frock tightened her grip on her skirt and around the arm of the tall aristocrat. He kept on walking without care, as if he didn’t hear her speak at all. He had a graying black hair with widow’s peak, a thin straight nose and lips that had always a tobacco in between. He looked like a man straight out from an old Florentine coin. Although he wasn’t an indio, he was wearing an intricately-made, coarse barong made from Piña silk.
“Papa, are you listening?” she demanded, planting her foot in between the irregular rocks littered on the forest floor. She refused to move, pulling the man with her to a halt. He quickly hid the flash of anger that almost betrayed his annoyance.
“Oh, that man can wait, and those old hags too. Besides, I have a surprise for my dear señorita. What can be more important than that?” asked Don Rafael, giving her a warm smile as wrinkles formed on the sides of his eyes.
The girl’s face brightened at his words – she had always loved his surprises – but as she gave her surroundings another apprehensive glance, she could not help but feel afraid. They had been strolling the dense forests that bordered their residence and the mysterious mountains of the province of Laguna for an hour. Even though the sun had not set, it was already dark under the shadows of the humungous hardwood trees.
“And may I know now what that is, Papa?”
“Patience, my señorita. We are near.”
The sky became a blanket of velvet indigo as soon as the orange radiance went below the far horizons. Sounds of crickets and shuffling of unseen nocturnal animals echoed from afar. Not a single strand of silver light touched the ground, for the moon was nowhere to be seen. The young girl stumbled on the gnarled roots of the trees twice, but kept moving on despite her aching legs. She did not wish to offend her foster father so she kept her impatience to herself.
After what seemed like eternity, they arrived at a small round clearing filled with exotic wild flowers. Crimson lilies, red jasmines and bloody orchids were the most abundant ones. Their sweet-smelling fragrance seemed to lift her tired spirit. An authentic smile broke across her face.
YOU ARE READING
Faulting Fate
Teen Fiction"She's the best thing I never knew I needed." Nathan Monfort grew up wanting nothing. Because of his grandfather's influence and wealth, he had everything he could ever need at his beck and call. However, no one understood that he was unhappy with h...
Prologue
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