Thirty-Nine: The Farewell

A few months passed and the time had come for Marina to leave. Her brother had finally gotten custody of his sister and was overjoyed at the news. Her twin sisters had already left the orphanage and he had gotten them a bigger house, so they could all have their own rooms.

He had also gotten married during this period to the girl he had dated during his college years. They had broken up some time ago-almost two years ago-but both realized that they couldn't stay away from each other and kept their romance a secret until they decided it was the right time to commit and get married. Thiago's wife loved the girls very much and was very anxious about Marina's arrival.

She felt half of her heart happy at the news, but the other part, the part that loved Lucas, was in pieces at having to leave him. But as she said: "I'm not leaving him, I'm allowing him to get on with his life. If we're meant to be together, it will happen, even if it's from a distance."

Lucas was a little more resigned to the situation, because he felt that something good could happen and they could be together again, even if it was in the perhaps distant future. He hadn't given up hope of seeing her again, let alone holding her in his arms, because love is like that, isn't it? You never give up hope of being happy with the one you love, even if it takes a long time.

After he found out the whole truth, he sued Milena for what had happened, but didn't let her be arrested because of the child. She thanked him for his consideration for the boy, and the girl, Diego and Arthur moved to a house far away, where they would no longer be able to bother anyone.

Lucas had given part of his fortune to his grandmother so that he could fulfill his dream of living in Italy and he had the house to himself, which was causing him some loneliness.

Marina was just finishing getting ready to leave when she heard a soft knock on the door. She asked her to come in and found Sandra holding the baby on her lap.

She sat down at the foot of the bed, looked around and didn't say a word. But the girl knew what she wanted to tell her, and taking the child on her lap, she put him on the carpet for a few minutes and said:

-I forgive you, after all, I'm not angry with you. You took very good care of me and I know you were upset by my decision - she said with tears in her eyes - but it was my decision, it's what I want for my life.

And she asked him a question that just hung in the air:

-What about your feelings for Lucas? I understand your reasons for wanting to go, but are you really going to leave him after everything he's done to be with you?

Miguel came in just then and picked up his suitcases, not understanding a thing. Marina just gave him a smile and a hug from the woman who had looked after her for almost two years and said:

-Thank you for everything, but now I have to go -he took the baby in his arms and said into her little eyes -It was nice to meet you too and I respect you a lot.

And handing the child over, she gave him a gentle hug and left the room, heading for the car, where she would be taken to the bus station, to her final home from now on.

***

It took Marina eight and a half hours to get to Sete Lagoas. The place was as it had always been: half deserted, the usual people walking along the street, the garden beautiful and well-flowered, and of course, her friend Dayane and her brothers waiting for her at the bus station. She hugged each of them with great joy in her heart. She was home again, as she had dreamed of all this time, next to those she loved so much, but why had she felt like half her heart had been ripped out of her chest? The answer was just one word and five letters: Lucas. Her mind might have been overjoyed to be in that place, but the longing she felt for him became stronger and stronger with every second that passed throughout the afternoon.

***

When she arrived at her new home, her sisters helped her put her suitcases in her new room, while Thiago went to the market to buy some supplies for the weekend. The twins were very excited about Marina's arrival, but they soon realized that there was something different about the youngest and one said so:

-Mari, is everything all right?- said Ester.

-"Yes, it's probably just tiredness from the trip. I'll be better soon-at least that's what she had hoped would happen, but it didn't turn out that way-I just need to rest a bit, after all, eight and a half hours sitting on a bus has left me exhausted.

-"It's okay, but call us if you need anything, okay?" said Aline, worried and already knowing that her sister was going through something difficult in her brain.

With a nod, she said that everything was fine, and smiling, the girls made as if they believed their sister and left the room, leaving her alone.

With nothing to do but feel something strange in her heart, she decided to check her cell phone and saw a message from Lucas.

"Mari, I miss you already. I know you made your decision to leave, but I feel like you still have feelings for me. Tell me if everything is okay with you, if you also feel like your heart has been broken in half like mine or if you feel an uncontrollable urge to cry when you think about our love."

Marina opens a big smile with tears in her eyes and types back:

"If I say I don't miss you, I'm lying. If I say that when I close my eyes, I see your face all over me. That when I think of you, I feel such a strong squeeze in my heart, an immense desire to be back in your arms that it seems my heart will only return to normal when I'm by your side again. But I've also made my decision and as much as I often want to go back, I can't, because I made a promise and I'm willing to keep it. But don't ever doubt how I feel about you, because I love you very much. I may have loved someone in the past, but that love wasn't half of what I feel for you. I love you so much that my chest aches, my breathing is labored and my hands are shaking. I can't ask you to live near me, because otherwise I'd be being selfish with you, let alone ask you to wait for me, but I would like to ask you that as long as you can, you love me as much as you can and I'll do the same, but I won't forget you in time, because I want to carry our love until my last breath of life."

After sending the message and re-reading it, she realized that she was feeling extremely anxious to see him, but that it wouldn't be possible now, since she hadn't even been in her new home for twenty-four hours and now she needed to understand that she had had enough of changing places in her life, that now it was final and that he wasn't going to come after her or propose to her. Come to think of it, that wouldn't be a bad idea.

But what she didn't expect was that a big surprise awaited her the next day, something she could only imagine in her happiest dreams and deepest thoughts.