Truth
They found their grandmother taking care of the flowers in her front yard. After parking on the driveway behind Lara's car, they greeted her.
-Hello grandma!- said Mayra cheerfully.
-Hi, kids. What are you doing here?- asked her suspiciously.
-We came to talk to our favorite grandma.- her granddaughter replied.
-Come in then.
She took them to the living room, where a fire was burning brightly in the fireplace. They sat on a sofa while Lara took off her gardening gear and brought some tea and cookies.
-I see you've brought the book... have you been reading it?- she asked Albert.
-Well, me... not really, Mayra has been reading it, because I have to study.- he admitted.
Lara looked disappointed.
-Well, at least you're getting to know what does it say.- she replied. - I guess that you came here because you've got questions about it.
Mayra and Albert looked at each other, as wondering who should speak first. Mayra nodded at her brother urging him to talk.
-The book says that it runs in the family... Does it mean that dad had this power too?
Their grandmother stood up and walked to the fireplace, she took an old picture of Mark. She looked at it sadly.
-Yes, he did.- she admitted.- and he was as stubborn as you are, that's what got him killed.
A tense silence sprang in the room. Albert couldn't believe what he had just heard.
-Killed? What do you mean killed?- asked Mayra first.
-He died in a fire, in an accident, while doing his duty.- added Albert.
-No, he didn't. They made it look like an accident, but it wasn't.- she sat down in front of her grandchildren.- Let me explain you everything, well at least everything I know. It all started when your father was around your age, Albert, he was a stubborn young boy who wanted to be a firefighter. I wanted him to go the university, though, and believe me I really wish I hadn't convinced him to go. He met some really dangerous people in there, and he wasn't prepared to fight them. Because I had closed my eyes to the possibility that my son had the power, and because his was much weaker than yours is and I couldn't actually feel it, I didn't prevent him to what might be waiting for him. Thing is that after his first year he decided to drop off university and become a firefighter. But it was too late, if he hadn't gone there they would never have found out about him, and he would have stayed safe for the rest of his life. However, they were persistent and they kept trying to convince him to join them now and then. There were periods of time when he didn't hear about them for a long time, and then he thought everything was over and that it had only been a nightmare. Just before he died they had been trying to contact him repeatedly, until he finally faced them and told them that he didn't want to have anything to do with them. Then, that fire started in a church, and he went as it was his duty, there were people inside so he risked his life for them. That fire was no accident, someone provoked it to make sure that if your father wouldn't work with them, he wouldn't work with anybody.
Mayra started crying. She didn't remember their father, and, now, knowing that she was denied meeting him because they killed him and that maybe the same people was trying to kill her brother too, it was just too much to bear.
-I hate them! I hate them, I hate them, I hate them!- she said sobbing.
-Well, we do have this in common, dear.- said her grandmother giving her a tissue.- We do have this in common.
-Does mom know this?- asked Albert.
-She doesn't know the details, she knew that your father had some kind of power, but he never did tell her what it did mean. And she doesn't know that he was killed, and that's probably for the best.
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