C8 Chapter 7 The hidden pulchritude
It was not so difficult to avoid Callisto's parents' questions about his black eyes. He didn't even tell them how he got those bruises, much less how they disappeared. It was already nightfall, but still, he couldn't believe what had happened. He has a hunchback about his sister: that she's not really an ordinary girl, and that she's not even his sister at all.
"Can you tell me how you did it? Can you tell me how you did it? Can you?" Callisto asked his sister several times in a begging manner.
Currently, they are sitting on the couch inside the living room and watching television while their parents are outside their house doing nonsense or reminiscing about their memories. Unfortunately, it was just Dorothy who could remember them.
"It was the beautiful woman," Ruth replied without looking at her brother, but at the screen of the television, where they were watching Spongebob.
"A beautiful woman?" Callisto became curious. "What about her?"
"She's Estrella, and it was herself who gave me this power."
Callisto screamed in his mind, "Estrella?" He hadn't heard that name before and it sounded rare, because he didn't know anyone whose name was Estrella, and he became more confused.
"Are you sure about that?" Callisto asked.
"She told me to be good and help those people who are in pain."
Callisto turned his sister around and looked at her eyes, as he didn't want her to lie in his question, "When did she demonstrate to you?"
"It was the first day of our vacation here."
"Four days earlier?" Callisto thought as if he were investigating. "And why didn't you tell mom, dad, and me?" He asked.
"I'm sorry brother, I didn't mean to hide this, but Estrella will be mad at me if I tell mom and dad and even you. I'm so afraid." Ruth's face showed an expression of worry, but the exact word was fear.
Callisto emitted a long, deep, audible breath, but instead of expressing relief, he expressed worries for his sister, and said, "Don't be afraid, baby girl. She won't hurt you, or at least I won't let her." Callisto embraced his sister when their parents suddenly entered the room.
"And what's happening here, huh?" Dorothy asked.
"Nothing, mom. We're just watching TV," Callisto replied.
"How many times do I need to tell you not to play with your younger sister? You should be a mature son and play with those people outside who are the same age as you."
"Come on, Dorothy, just let our son do what he wants. Look, it's already dusk to play outside, and there's nothing that will be gone from him if he plays with Ruth. And you, better play with me," Sebastian said, then held Dorothy's waist and brought her inside their bedroom.
Callisto suddenly stood up and said, "I'll just go to my friend's house."
"But didn't you swear not to leave us?" Ruth held the tip of Callisto's shirt and slightly shook it as if she didn't really want him to leave.
"Sorry Ruth, but it's something important."
Callisto insisted on going, although he just want to stroll around, and as a little girl, Ruth could do nothing to stop him going. So, she just turned off the television and went towards his parents' bedroom.
As was her habit, Ruth eavesdropped on their conversation. She saw them through the crack in the door; they were sitting on their bed.
It was at the farm, Dorothy remembered, where they saw the little girl falling from the tree. That was almost impossible, but because she looked so cute, like an angel, they didn't hesitate to raise her.
"What we did was just the right thing," Sebastian said. "We don't know what could have happened to her if we hadn't raised her with our son."
"Yup, and I must not talk about that; it'll just give you a headache."
Dorothy made her husband lie down on their bed and she began massaging his head, chest, abdomen and so on. Ruth didn't mind; instead, she went into her bedroom. As she opened the door, Ruth felt someone's presence by the wide-opened window.
The cold air was saying, "Don't mind everyone, always remember and follow what I told you if you want to stay longer in that body. Now, go and stop them from doing what they are doing."
So, as the wind demanded, Ruth got out of her bedroom and continued walking towards her parents' room. She opened the door and the thing that must not be described was exposed on her front. Don't they love her anymore? She thought. Why are they making another baby?
Dorothy and Sebastian's faces showed an expression of surprise when they heard the door cry and Ruth glimpsed through it. They were stuck for a while and eventually stopped what they were doing, sprang out of their bed, and got themselves dressed.
"Yes, baby girl?" Sebastian asked. "Where's your brother?"
"He told me that he'd be going to his friend's house," Ruth replied.
Dorothy got out of their bedroom and continued walking towards the kitchen, and so did Sebastian and Ruth, who followed her. They helped prepare the food, thinking that Callisto would be back before dinner.
On the other hand, Callisto visits the bench where he met the crazy girl, the bench where he met Linley, and the bench where he got bruised. He sat there for a while, waiting for something to come, but nobody came. Not long, he stood up, and after a few moments of walking on the quiet road, he arrived at Stalin's house.
Everywhere he would look, the silhouettes of houses and the silence of a cold night were waiting. He looked right at Stalin's weary house. It looks like there's something within it, and that's pushing him to go near. He knocked many times on the door, just to see if there was someone inside, but some minutes elapsed and nobody answered.
As Callisto looked up, he saw the window open and saw a beautiful girl gazing right at him. Her eyes were sparkling in the dark, her hair was tied perfectly, and her dress, although it was worn, was well-suited.
"Who's she?" Callisto screamed in his mind.
Within a minute or two, Callisto and the weird girl were just looking at each other, without saying anything and without even making any noise, as if they could understand each other's silence. But what Callisto heard was the whispers of boredom and his legs ached from standing.
"Bye!" Callisto exclaimed, but the girl didn't answer.
Her eyes stayed on his face, scrutinizing and familiarizing each line on it. When Callisto turned to leave, she also turned and left the window. Callisto was so curious, he couldn't understand what he felt about it. But it seemed like it was just a waste of time.
At the same time, the weird girl laid down on her bed when she heard the door to her bedroom cry out of decrepitude. It was Stalin's mother, and as it should be, the girl was Stalin herself.
She became accustomed to her condition, believing that she was an ugly girl during the daytime, but her real identity showed up during the nighttime, the time when she couldn't go anywhere because of the curse. But there's one thing she's not aware of: she doesn't know that she's insane during the daytime.
"Thank you, mother," Stalin said while her mother was putting food on the table beside her bed. "I know that you're tired, but thank you for not giving up on me." Tears unexpectedly ran down her face.
"Good to know that you noticed your mother's sacrifices. But although I'm tired of this, going in and out, cooking foods for you, doing household chores alone, I need to fulfill my responsibilities as your mother."
"Thanks mother." Stalin attempted to embrace her mother, but she shunned it and said, "You should eat your food first. It's not time to be weak and either act like everything is just fine or—" Her voice gradually disappeared.
Stalin wiped the tears diffused on her face by her rugged dress and devoured the fried chicken that was innocently perched on the plate. She ate as if she were so hungry, and after that, she took a nap.
It's already morning when Stalin wakes up, but her transformation is earlier than when she woke up. Most of the things didn't stay in her mind, but some things did, such as how the boy stares at her, his eyes telling her something she didn't know, as she didn't know that they were staring like that. She doesn't know that she's currently crazy.
