Fake Princess
CHAPTER 20
Aunt Vania was silent for a moment, not looking at me, her gaze fixed on something from the past, something that only she could see.
“ Your mother is very beautiful. He had dark colored hair that was wavy on his back. He won't pin it down. You look like your father,” Aunt Vania added a moment later.
“ But your mother is as beautiful as you are, & you inherited her nose, & her hair color.” I realized it the night of your arrival.
“ Your mother is charming, can not be silent, always moving, talking, or looking for the next things that can make her laugh. Your father is really in love with her. He can't stop staring at your mother.”
“ Two years later you were born, in the city. They came to see me right after they found out your mother was pregnant. At that time I felt your mother was nervous, as if she wanted to go somewhere else, unlike women who would soon have children. But your father looks so happy that I didn't tell him. I was just observing your mother, and wondering. And five days after you were born, your mother left. Leaving a message, he said he would not return, & did not want to be with your father again.”
I gulped, I couldn't speak. Aunt Vania's face was like a rock, so hard and cold that I thought if I touched it it wouldn't feel like skin.
“ It broke your father's heart. After that he was never the same again. A year later, he closed his shop in the city and moved here. Your father died of a fever, and the last thing he said was your mother's name.” Aunt Vania sighed.
“ Looks like another similarity between you & your father. You guys are both too. You guys do what others want without fighting for it.”
I was surprised to hear that. “What do you mean?” I can finally ask.
Aunt Vania pointed north, towards Vivaskari.
It felt under my skin like ice was frozen; and a big piece was stuck in my heart. For a long time I could not speak, and when I finally spoke, only a hoarse voice was heard.
“ He thinks I'm dead, right? They said they've changed their memory so they don't remember ever handing me over .”
Aunt Vania nodded. “That's what he told me. Then I thought, well, maybe that's for the best. At least no one reminds him of your mother. But it's not that successful. He never stopped thinking about your mother, even without your presence. It's heartache that weakens your father; he doesn't even care when he has a fever.”
The ice was getting cold, sharp, & I heard myself say, quite calmly, without any tone, ” Then, because my mother Auntie hates me.”
For the first time, a frown formed between my aunt's eyes, breaking the stone that had originally made her face stiff. He looked at me seriously, one corner of his mouth twitched, then said.
“ I don't hate you, Amelia. I just don't know what to do. Look atyou. Sixteen years old, old enough that someone should have asked you. But which guy wants you, with no skills to take home? I know, it's not your fault, but you don't know anything useful here. And I'm used to being alone. I've never depended on a ponakan.”
I opened my mouth to say, “I'm working on it,” but Aunt Vania has already walked past me & walked out. I didn't follow him.
Since that night we have been polite without talking to each other, and we never talk about my parents again.