Part 42
x
"Mr Antonio, please wait.” Antonio had just opened the door when he heard the voice of the old woman behind him.
"Tina?"
The housekeeper Tina came to Antonio with a picture in her hand and showed it to him. “The last time Anne came home, we took this picture together, and she told me no matter where she is, she would always miss me. Please tell me, is everything okay with my baby girl Anne. Is she okay?”
Antonio’s heart was torn with grieve at this old woman’s earnestness. In the picture Anne had a bright smile on, as if to say, here I come world, take me. Facing the old woman, he calmly told her, “don’t worry Tina, Anne is very fine.”
“Our family has never been the same since Anne left. Though she may not seem so sociable anymore, believe me, Anne wasn’t always like that.” Tina lamented.
She took out an old fashioned wallet and took out a childhood picture to show him. “See Mr. Antonio, I’m not telling lies. Do you see how lovely and bright her smile is in this picture, isn’t her smile as bright as the sun?”
The small passport sized picture in the wallet caught Antonio’s attention.
“Is this a picture of Anne’s childhood? Isn’t it a picture of Stacey’s childhood instead?”
The housekeeper looked at him and smiled. “Oh no! You see, during their childhood days, they looked so much alike that it was very difficult for people to tell who was who. But In growing up, Stacey became the more open type while Anne kept to herself.”
At this point Antonio’s eyes was full of panic, he feared what was coming next.
The house keeper continued “These two girls changed a lot while growing up. Stacey was more of an introvert when she first came into the house, and Anne was more of the outgoing type. But gradually, Stacey became very outgoing and sociable. Who wouldn’t be under those circumstances, she got herself a new sister.”
The housekeeper kept on talking but Antonio at this point was deep in thoughts. He suddenly grasped the housekeeper’s hands: “Do you remember when I was a child and my parents passed away, was Anne present at the funeral and were you also around by then?”
“Of course I was. I remember that was when we all thought Anne had gone missing but apparently she had sneaked into your yard to play in the mud and got herself all dirty and received a spanking from her mum. Anne was very naughty by then. Stacey’s parents hadn’t had the accident yet so she wasn’t living with us at that time”
Antonio turned pale. So, all these years ... He's been wrong about the whole thing?
No comments:
Post a Comment