Truce
Marla found her mother waiting for her in the car, just some meters away from where she had dropped off. She got in and slammed the door. She stayed silent for some time, but then she realized that Naomi was all that she had left and that she would need her.
-We are never going back to that wicked place.- she announced.
-Where?- Naomi asked startled.
-The cathedral, they don’t want to help me, I don’t want to help them.
She fell back in silence again, staring through the window, seeing how the cars passed by. Naomi didn’t dare to ask her about what had happened, she knew that if her daughter wanted to talk she would do it freely.
-You know, my house was almost burned down tonight, by Albert. And I go ask for help from the Priest and they deny it to me! I could have died, he could have killed me in my sleep, and all that that stupid fat priest could tell me was that the Priest wasn’t there. You would think that they should care a bit more about my well-being! But they don’t give a fuck!- she started crying.
Naomi reached out for her hand and squeezed it, she knew better than talking, that was a rare moment of bonding and she didn’t want to spoil it. They held hands until they arrived home. Marla was strangely passive and she calmly followed her mother to the kitchen.
-Listen, Marla, I know we haven’t always had the best of the relationships, but I still am your mother and you can rely on me. I’ve got your back.
Naomi made her a sandwich and put it in front of her with a tall glass of fruit juice. That was when Marla realized that she was starving, she hadn’t eaten anything since the day before, after all. She gulped down the food in eagerness.
-They can’t know that I’m living in here. They can’t know that you have any kind of deal with me. That would give them the power, and they don’t have the power, I have the power. So you will keep going to the cathedral as usual, as if nothing happened, and then you will tell me what they are planning to do. No one ever is going to compromise my power, no one, not Albert, not them. From now on I am the master of my own destiny.
-What are you going to do?- her mother asked her.
-I think it is better if you don’t know it, otherwise, they might try to get it from you.
Her mother resigned to it silently, but she was happy to have her daughter back. Naomi had wished for a daughter for a long time before becoming pregnant with Marla, she and her husband had tried everything there was to become parents, but the doctors had told them that they had a really small chance of succeeding, even with medical treatments, so she drew on to the last chance she had. She didn’t tell her husband, at first, only when it was clear that their daughter looked nothing like anyone in their families, she confessed. He was so disappointed that he threatened her of taking away their daughter, but she had all the power on her side and he was the one who ended up not being able to see Marla ever again. So, when Marla started treating her as if she were nothing, it hurt, it hurt more than she was willing to admit. Naomi knew that she hadn’t still won her back, but it was the best she could have for now.
-Do you want to sleep in your old room? I can set it up for you. You will need more things, I can drive you home so you can take them.- Naomi offered.
-Well, we will need a locksmith too…
When Naomi saw the state Marla’s house was, she understood the humor of her daughter. It was hard to find a part that wasn’t charred. Luckily she knew a locksmith that never asked questions, he had some kind of dark business, but that was what they needed now. He didn’t even flinch when he saw the state of the house, he just unlocked the door and asked for his honoraries. The house was just as Marla had left it that same morning, from the inside it looked as if nothing had happened.
-What are you going to do with it?- her mother asked her.
-I might fix it, eventually, when I have full control of my powers and I learn how to use them in a non-destructive way.- Marla acknowledged.
They both went upstairs to Marla’s room and put most of her clothes in a suitcase. Marla also put some shoes in a gym bag, and took her toothbrush. She looked around the room to see if she was missing something essential, she would have time to come pick more of her stuff later, but she couldn’t see anything. She went downstairs and had a change of mind as she passed in front of the library. There could be a couple of books that would be useful.
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