But I'll Be Back Again

Chapter 4: Undoubtedly

"You're barmy, has anyone told you that! " Paul notice he was raising his voice a lot that he could even heard it echoing.

"Barmy?" she asked.

"I meant crazy, c'mon, we better hurry," Paul took her by the arm, "YOU are going to follow ME, and I want no complaints."

As they walked, the argument they had before was being forgotten, Paul showed where he used to go after school, the house that was supposed to be haunted, a little bit of those streets.

"John told me you were form the Americas, is it different?"

"Sure, we walk on our hands and eat with our feet," she looked up to see the sky "And is faraway from here."

Paul smiled after her joke, "What did you do there?"

"Nothing really,I was attending a language school, learning French, Latin, " she sighed, "simple stuff, nothing over the top like playing in a band, " she said as she poked his arm.

Ella looked at him, he had hands in pockets, looking at the pavement and walking slowly.

"I don't think it's something over the the top, I sing, I play the bass in a band, write songs... like most young lads around here."

"You write your own songs...those were your songs? Could you sing one?" for a moment she regretted asking with so much enthusiasm. 

"We do, and sorry but I don't give private presentations, yet" He ran his hands through his hair, glanced at her "I like your pearl necklace, every time I've seen you you're wearing it," he finally said.

"It was my mum's ... my mum - mum, not from my stepmother" she made a pause to think, if she was ready to talk about it ,  "I don't remember her but the only photo I managed to keep she was wearing it. I guess now I wear it most of the time unconsciously," suddenly she stopped walking, she tried to wipe away some tears, "It's so stupid I know."

"No, of course it isn't."

"I think it is... I didn't truly meet her, and I act like she's the only family I have... but I don't because she left." She leaned on a fence of a house, "I'm so selfish...and always being a burden to the actual family I have left."

" I don't think that's true, and you'll be much better in time, when you make peace with the idea of not having her around." Paul said it to comfort her.

"How do you know that? Because I don't really see that happening,"

"Just take look at me, I'm better," he said and she did look at him confused , "I lost me mum too y' know?"

"Oh gosh, I'm really sorry Paul, I didn't know that,"

"It's ok," He looked distant, "The first thing I asked when we lost her was about her money, I didn't really mean that, it was just a stupid joke I made, I felt terrible,"

She grabbed his hand, "Death is the most bizarre thing, isn't it? And it makes us, the living ones, act bizarre too, "

He only smiled and nodded, and continued walking

They walked for some minutes more, without speaking, when they got there it was time to say goodbye.

"Thank you Paul, " she said. "This is the first time I talk about it, I suppose aunt Mimi told John, as she told me about John's mum, but I haven't talked to them about it."

"It's fine, Oh Miss Marroco," he said with a smile on his face "You are quite a strange surprise,"

"Surprise?"

"An interesting one, Adios as the French say,"

She wonder what he meant by interesting, she smiled and corrected him, "That's Spanish."