The smile on his face did not waver, he squeezed an autumn leaf in his palm until it turned to dust, he stood up, patted his pants to brush off some dirt and went into his hut.
"Lately Mrs. Bett has been very worried," Alejandra, who was looking for something inside the clay pots said. "Huh, that's new, different," the boy smiled slightly before sitting down where he always used to.
"Hehe, a complicated customer this afternoon, I mean, a weird guy made a fuss at the restaurant, but Mrs. Bett beat him out," Alejandra sighed, turned around, her hands held a clay bowl with a lid on top, from the slit between the lid and the plate came a smoke with a particular smell.
Almeida observed this for a moment, he trembled for a moment before looking closely at his mother.
Worn-out shoes, some tears here and there, an apron dirtier than usual, her visible ankles had something new, marks like random red lines that looked like tattoos, his mother's breathing was a bit faster than usual.
Almeida didn't move his head, he simply raised his pupils to observe his mother's face.
"What?" he backed away instinctively, "Vibrant with youth, smooth skin, eyes full of life, and neat and straight hair, as if she were a beautiful city girl," Almeida thought, "Where is all that?"
His eyes focused on his mother's worn skin, wrinkles, crow's feet, chapped lips, messy hair, and strange marks like red lines on her neck now welcomed him.
And, nevertheless, Alejandra smiled as if nothing was wrong, although her usual white-toothed smile was missing a front tooth.
She placed the bowl in front of Almeida calmly, controlled movements and a habitual patience, "He was crazy, hahaha," her laugh echoed like a hyena in the forest, "Do you know what he said?, that Lord Macornic would come to our village at the edge of the kingdom to inspect for possible traitors, What nonsense!" she scoffed, turned around and lightly patted the table before sighing.
"Mom," Almeida intervened, he raised his right hand as if wanting to reach his mother's face.
Alejandra tilted her head, her son's mind really couldn't process it so easily, he looked at his mother and at the floor in a continuous loop, he thought about the time he had spent with his mother.
"Mom has grown old without me noticing..." he came to a conclusion, he closed his eyes trying to assimilate the new image of his mother in his mind, a sudden pain struck his heart spreading up to his brain while he let out a slight smile.
Alejandra ignored her son's weird action, she walked to her place at the table and sat down, drinking from the glass of water from time to time.
When Almeida finally opened his eyes, an empty bowl lay in front of him, the tips of his fingers brushed the clean spoon on the table almost instinctively, the boy smiled, smelled the aroma, and began to eat from the empty bowl.
He moved his fingers masterfully, brushed the spoon, dipped it into the empty bowl, brought the empty spoon to his mouth and began chewing air with delight, slowly, falsely.
Alejandra smiled, "Do you like it?, I've cooked it specially for you, after all, today is your 10th birthday,"
The boy looked at the ceiling after the first bite, he offered a faint smile, "Beef and vegetable stew," he thought, his mind bombarded by a nonexistent flavor, his hands trembling, his face calm, almost as calm as the elderly in their final moments of life.
The world in front of him faded, his mind shut off his senses. He wandered through the infinity of his mind, through the universe formed by himself, and, nevertheless, despite the vastness upon which his existence rested, an image like a puzzle began to assemble in his subconscious.
In the image a strong man could be seen, young, robust, handsome, and, nevertheless, with black and white hair, not for fashion, his face reflected war both internal and external.
And, despite all that, the man smiled while cutting a piece of steak into small chunks, the woman by his side, a young version of Alejandra was cutting pieces of carrot, and watching them from a not too far distance, was Almeida.
A smile impossible to fake, delicate black hair, bright eyes, blushing cheeks, that was Almeida's description.
The man finished cutting the steak with an impeccable mastery, his hands moving with delicacy and strength, he placed the pieces of meat in a small pot, wiped his hands with a kitchen towel, walked at a slow pace towards Almeida.
His movements, however, flashed like images from a corrupted video, one moment he was there, the next moment his foot was raised, the other moment his image distorted and the next moment he appeared a bit closer to Almeida.
The boy did not waver, he moved towards his father, his body moving with a unique fluidity, his image did not distort.
"Happy... 5th... birthday, son," The father's voice sounded broken, about to crack, but happiness on his face did not waver.
...
"Bbzrrpp, hey, hello, it's me again, you see... number 1 found out that I helped you last time," the voice sighed at the end of its words.
Almeida opened his eyes slowly.
"Maybe, number 1 is right, you don't have what it takes, but... He's an idiot!!, you, you, How old are you really?"
"No, sorry, I'm getting lost in insignificant details, the truth is I won't talk to you again."
Almeida yawned, he stretched like a cat before cracking his neck and letting out a morning smile.
"They are going to punish me, I won't be... alive, not for a while," a long sigh was heard, "Well, it doesn't matter, I won't die, I think. I... actually, I used you, I'm sorry"
Almeida looked at the sky in the distance, the sun was peeking over the mountains dictating the dawn, the autumn leaves fell to the ground, and he was leaning against the parched apple tree.
"I wanted someone to talk to, and I saw you, you've been there for a long time, and well, I wanted to have a friend, so I changed your destiny..."
A static sound like a radio badly tuning a channel was heard before the voice disappeared.
Small drops fell from the boy's chin, his bright eyes lost in the immensity of the sun, his cheeks stained, his smile wavering slightly.
"Is mom in the kitchen?" he wondered, he was about to get up when he saw something particular out of the corner of his eye,
His right hand, more exactly his palm. He had squeezed his hand with such force that... drops of blood escape from between the gaps of his fingers.
"But what?!!" the boy shuddered, he moved his head sharply and his left hand touched the right, "I can't control it..." he told himself, he was about to scream when he saw the back of his hand perfectly smooth and healthy.
Thump
A mental hit, his right hand loosened in a single instant, the blood from his hand disappeared, the wound in his palm ceased to exist and Almeida opened his eyes forcefully.
"I must do something..." he muttered, he gritted his teeth, he remembered in a strangely easy and simple way, "The necklace!!" he stood up abruptly. Before his mind could work his body moved with speed.