Title: Movie night
Author: dawnangel14
Fandom: Umineko no naku koro ni
Characters: Maria, Rosa
Pairings: None.
Theme: Any, any, popcorn
Words: 490
Rating: K
Summary: Maria couldn't wait until her mother came home to watch movies with her, but it seems like Rosa had other plans in mind...
"Oh, little Maria-chan" greeted the old shop employee. "How can I help you today?"
"I'm going to take these" the nine years old declared, giving the man the item she intended to purchase.
"Popcorn?"
"Yep. Mom and I are going to stay up all night watching movies!" exclaimed Maria, thrilled by the idea.
"Oh, I'm happy for you Maria-chan."
"Me too! Mom promised it was going to be fun!"
After paying for the popcorn, Maria Ushiromiya left the small store and started walking back home. It was getting darker, and since she didn't want her mother to arrive before her she walked as fast as she could. Since she knew the road perfectly and she was pretty fast, it didn't take her more than five minutes to be back in the safety of her home. And Rosa had yet to arrive.
About an hour later, the young girl realized her mother couldn't be too far away, so she decided to start with the preparations. Maria took her purchase and started preparing the popcorn herself, wanting to give her mother a surprise. They used to enjoy popcorn at the cinema in the past, when they went together, but now Rosa's job didn't allow her to take such luxuries. However, Maria couldn't be happier with the fact that her mother could manage to get a night for her, one of those nights they didn't have since so long...
The phone rang while she was observing the popcorn being finished in the microwave. She ran and was quickly hearing the voice of her mother on the other line.
"Maria, I'm sorry."
Maria's face darkened. She already knew what was coming.
"I'm really stuck at work... I won't be able to get home until very, very late" explained Rosa, guilt present in her voice. "I know I promised you we would watch movies tonight, but..."
"It's ok mom" she assured her. "You have to work a lot, so Maria will stay here and take care of the house for you!"
"You're such a good child, Maria" Rosa smiled on the other side of the phone. "I'm really sorry."
"It's ok."
"Rosa, who are you talking to?" mumbled a man's voice on the other end of the line. "Come back to bed..."
"I really need to get back to work, Maria. Goodbye."
"Bye bye mom, good luck with work!" exclaimed Maria cheerfully.
When her mother hung up, her joy died. Maria stood there with the phone on her hand, as if she had been paralyzed, and she didn't react until she heard the sound of the microwave stopping, announcing that the popcorn was ready. Maria turned around with a smile that contrasted greatly with the stream of tears that fell down her cheeks, and faced the stuffed lion that was staring at her from the couch, the stuffed animal Rosa had once made for her.
"It looks like it's just you and me again, Sakutaro."