A Leap Of Fate

Chapter VI- Robell

That night after the announcement of my betrothal to Bienve I had the most sleepless night ever. Mama came at the top of my mind again.

I sighed deeply while lying on my side, and staring out on the window. I remembered the big window in my room in Don Leonardo’s home, how tranquil it was and how calm it made me. This room was almost the same as that, but for some reason I could not understand, looking out on this window and this sky can’t give me comfort.

I rolled myself to face the other side of the room. It’s no use looking out of the window.

I started whimpering about mama again.

Mama, if you were in my situation, what could you have done?

If she were here, certainly, she would have acted wisely, as she had always did.

Would she accept the engagement, and, risk her own life and safety?

What if we wouldn’t be able to find the papers and the key, whatever is that, on time? Then I will have to stay longer here and… be married to Bienve? I will have to be the one to decide matters about the inheritance. I am not Monica, but if I refused to decide about it, they would have to know about my pretension and I’m doomed.

I sighed. It didn’t turn out to be as simple and less complicated as I thought.

But now I’m here. I can do nothing but do what I can, something that will make the Cruz family remember me tenderly, even if I’ll soon be gone in this old world.

Now that I thought of it, living here felt better than in my own time and world. Whatever the situation I was in, happy or sad, complicated or easy; I can not shake away the feel of delight being here.

But I can never forget my family back in home. Auntie Vicky was worrying, I was sure. But in the back of my mind, I can not deny, I was wishing to stay here for ever.

Then someone knock on the door, awakening my wandering mind.

“Who is it?”

“It is me, my Señorita, your servant, Isabella.”

“Oh, please come in.”

She quickly opened the door. I saw she’s breathing hardly like she ran a mile.

“Isabella, why?” I frowned.

“My little miss,” She said, catching her breath. “There was an intruder, again.” She said in a heightened voice.

“What? An intruder...Again?”

“Yes, Señorita. The insolent man! The one who dug the family’s treasure room last year!” She said with a disgusted tone.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or not. I frowned anyway. “What? Dug the treasure room?”

The Lopez’s mansion, to my surprise had a treasure room by the basement. There they kept the family’s wealth, including important, rare jewelries and stones and old coins and bills, medals, honors and some gifts from Her Majesty and different tittles of some lands.

“Yes. Last year he took a sack of gold coins and left a letter and now the precious and premium abaca cloths are stolen! There were about two sacks of it, and he only left a letter. Terrible man!”

“Wait, wait, and calm down.” I said and chuckled. “Abaca cloths were stolen? But we have guards everywhere, how did that happen?”

 “Nobody knows. That man is a fish! He always gets away with everything and anyone!”

I laughed at the expression in Isabella’s face.

“Okay, but why can’t the guards catches him? He’s only one, and there’s so many of them.”