Stellina

Bicycles and Baguettes

The grass tickled her feet, the dampness cooling her entire body after many hours in the beating sun. Lina smiled, gazing up at the endless swirl of leaves above her, restless in the ocean breeze. Her feet paced back and forth beneath its canopy, like a timeless ticking clock. Not far off in the street, an old man dressed in tattered sacks of clothing clasped his hands together, pleading for a bit of a baguette.

It was then that Lina realized she was no different. She, too, was begging. But instead of bread, she was begging for forgiveness, for trust, from the person she loved most. Liliane.

Lina sighed, her mind springing backward to the note she had left on Liliane's dresser.

Liliane,

There's something I need to say. Please, meet me under the elm tree across from Louis' Bakery.

Your darling sister

What if the note got buried under a pile of clothes, or what if Liliane did see it and merely crumpled it up and flung it out the window?

The old man cried out as a boy on a red bicycle flew past, waving a large baguette in his face. The aroma drifted into Lina's nostrils, causing her stomach to growl ferociously. Moritz's voice rang in her ears. "It doesn't matter how much you beg. Sometimes you just can't get what you want the most."

"I'm here." A voice pierced the air. "Now tell me what you want, or I'm leaving."

Lina glanced up, her eyes meeting the freckled, wispy-haired girl she so cared about. Warmth permeated throughout her entire body, producing a slight smile on her lips. She motioned for Liliane to come sit beside her, resting against the sturdy trunk of the elm tree.

Lina hesitated, glancing over at her sister. Dark circles were crested under her eyes, eyelids faintly red, perhaps from crying. In the faint light, she could still make out the outline of bruise on her pale cheek. Oh Liliane, what have I done to you? Lina clenched her hand into a fist, not quite ready to sign the words. She needed this to be perfect. She needed to fix this. After the scathing words Liliane had said, Lina had never gotten a chance to explain, to defend herself.

"Look, Liliane. I love you more than anything," she signed, her eyes glued to Liliane's averted gaze. "Which is why I have to do this, Liliane. I have to work with Luka, so I can get the money to keep you from being shipped off to America. Please, I need you to understand that I would never do anything to hurt you."

Liliane crossed her arms, a single tear sliding down her scarred cheek. "It's too late for that," she whispered. "I think I'd rather just go to America now, Lina. It'd be better for you, anyway. Which is what this is all about: you. You don't even bother to ask if I really want to stay here in this dump with a mother who hates us before destroying our entire family with that German." Her voice steadily rose, injecting venom into Lina's fragile heart.

Rising from the ground, Lina stumbled back, tears blurring the cobblestone and the frail girl in front of her. Shock slowly trickled through her veins as her body froze, stunned. "You... what? You actually meant that?" Her hands trembled as she signed the words, suddenly yearning for Luka's olive ones to reach out and steady them.

Liliane rose, her feet burrowing deep scars into the damp earth. "Of course. I've always felt that way, Lina. And I'm sorry that I messed up your little plan and you can no longer use me as an excuse to run off with that--that German, but I can't do this anymore." Shaking her head, Liliane slowly backed away. She quickly wiped the tears that tainted her cheeks, the only thing remaining in her eyes was that of disappointment.

And with that, she disappeared into the crowd of passersby, ignoring the begging man who now broke out in sobs.

"Liliane, wait!" Lina's hands flew violently in the air, but it was no use. Liliane wouldn't see them anyway.