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CHAPTER 4 - Lunna Rivera

Towards the dream.

After a few hours of flying, I looked outside and observed the sunset. The view from up here is even more beautiful! I grab my phone, headphones, and start listening to my favorite songs. I was expecting another big hit to play, but I was surprised by my mother's voice. I look at my phone and see her recorded audio.

“Hola, mi querida! (Hi, my dear!) I'm sorry for bothering you while you're listening to your favorite songs, but I came here to thank you. Thank you for being the best daughter in the world, for being with me all this time, for caring about me, and for helping us so much! Thank you, my daughter, for following your dreams and not giving up on yourself! Forgive me for not being the best mother in the world, for not protecting you when you needed it…” I hear her crying, and my heart tightens, how could she think that? “You are strong, warrior! I want you to know that I will always be here for you. I love you, my daughter, and I am deeply grateful to be your mother. Now I hope with all my heart that you reach high places, that everything goes well, and that you achieve everything you want. I'll be staying here, my daughter, thank you for everything, and may God bless you, until later.”

The music starts and tears flow down my face. My mother is a winner, and she always took care of me. The worst part of our life was the abuse I suffered, the consequences that followed, the trauma and the loss of my little sister and my father. She couldn't go to my father's or Milena's funeral, grandma organized everything. Mom was in a coma for three weeks and the doctors said she had a minor concussion, but she would recover, but we didn't expect her to become paraplegic.

I shake my head, so these memories won't keep depressing me. I picked up another book to read and this is my favorite book. I love Jane Austen's books and got “Pride and Prejudice” for my birthday… I love Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. I am enchanted with these two and how “the barbs” are exchanged between them, each with their sweet, sensitive, and polite way.

I got the complete collection of Jane on my birthday and haven't put it down since. Heaven help anyone who touches them! These books are my treasures. I even left a letter asking my family to put them in a glass box and bury them with me when I'm gone. I know it may be overkill, but “the books” are my passion! New books have the best aroma in the world.

•••••••∞•••••••

“I wake up to the flight attendant calling me.

“Please, miss, fasten your seatbelt, we are landing,” she hands me my book. “It was on the floor, I think you dropped it during your sleep,” I looked at her, startled.

“Thank you,” I took the book.

She smiles and walks away. How could I have dropped it? I looked at the book from front to back and back to front; it's in perfect condition.

“Wow!” I put it in my backpack and fastened my seatbelt, listening to the pilot announce that we had arrived in New York. I look out the window and we are losing altitude. I close my eyes and start counting.

“One, two, three, four, five…” I feel a small jolt, and we taxi down the runway. I take a deep breath and open my eyes.

As soon as I entered the airport, I rushed to buy a new SIM card, and after installing it on my phone, I immediately sent a message to my mom saying that I'm okay and that I'll be heading to Boston in a few hours.”

•••••••∞•••••••

After nearly 2 hours of waiting at the airport, we took off again. This time, the seat next to me was occupied by a girl. She's deeply engrossed in reading something on her phone. I opened my magic box with a smile, but I almost had a heart attack at her sudden scream.

“Oh my God!” she exclaims, looking at my backpack. “You're a bookworm! Is all of that for you to read during the flight?”

“Yes!”

“Wow! I thought I was the only one doing these things on the plane,” I look at her, but I don't see any book in her hands.

“I'm sorry, but I don't understand,” she smiles broadly.

“First…” she says, pointing her index finger. “My name is Kim Fiore, nice to meet you,” she extends her hand to me, and I shake it.

“Pleasure to meet you, my name is Lunna Rivera,” I release her hand and settle into my seat to get comfortable.

“Beautiful name. So, secondly… nowadays, we carry books on our phones,” she turns her phone, showing me that she was reading a book.

“Wow!”

“You didn't know that?” I feel embarrassed for being a little ignorant about technology. “Oh, it doesn't matter! I'll introduce you to authors of books that aren't famous, but are really great. Some of my favorite authors are Brazilian. I love the way they write, I wonder where they look while they're having ideas to write.”

I smile at her enthusiasm as she shows me some books on her phone.

“You'll love these stories! But changing the subject, where are you from?”

“I'm from Cuba, but I moved to Nicaragua when I was 10 years old.”

“Nice! I haven't been to the country, but from what I've seen on the internet and TV, it's beautiful.”

“Yes, it is!” I say, remembering my favorite people in the world.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad.”

“Oh, no! It's just that mi abuelita y mi mamá (my grandmother and my mother) stayed in Nicaragua,” she looks at me and I can even see the huge question mark forming in her head. “It's my grandmother and my mother.”

“That was in Spanish, right?”

“Yes, it's our native language.”

“I understand, but I missed all my Spanish classes, and the teacher let me go when he saw that my head didn't work in another language. But now I'll have someone to teach me, since I don't know anything!”

“Relax, I'll teach you!” She smiles and makes a silent yes gesture.

“And you? Are you really from New York?” I asked her.

“Yes! Born, raised, enchanted, disillusioned, and left high and dry,” I smile at her humor.

How I wished someone could make me smile like that every day!

We continue our conversation and I find out that she's in the same college as me, but she'll be studying marketing, and her brother Adam has been studying financial management for 2 years, and when he finishes, he'll do a PhD in the field. We talked a lot, and I didn't even notice the time passing. From what I can tell, we are similar in some aspects, and we'll get along well.

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