Alright so this chapter will start the REAL story and also we're gonna learn more about who Mariana really is so I hope you enjoy it!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Hey Arnold! It belongs to Craig Barlett.
Chapter 3: Starting the road.
Arnold widened his eyes in shock after having heard what Mariana had just said.
-"From San Lorenzo" Arnold thought in disbelief.
Arnold putted a hand on his forehead and went to sit on the edge of his roof frequently running a hand through his hair still trying to process what she had told him.
Mariana sees this and goes over to where Arnold is and kneeled beside him putting her left arm around his shoulders and her other hand on his right arm.
-"Are you okay honey?" Mariana asked him in concern.
Arnold lifted his head a little to look at her a little bewildered, not only for the fact that she seemed like she was comforting him but also for the fact that she had called him 'honey' as if she was his mother or his aunt but he didn't gave this too much thought and just nodded.
-"Yeah I´m fine" Arnold affirmed "it's just… I don't understand, why did you came looking for me, and who sent you here?".
-"Like I said Arnold if you want answers you have to come with me" Mariana told him.
-"But where do you want to take me" Arnold asked her again.
-"You'll see once we are in the car now come" Mariana said.
-Arnold sighed "Okay I´ll go with you, just let me tell grandpa and grandma that I'm-"just as he was turning around Arnold was interrupted by Mariana who put a hand on his shoulder as if to stop him.
-"No Arnold, you can't tell them" Mariana told him.
-"What?" Arnold asked.
-"You can't tell them about this" Mariana told him.
-"But… Why not?" Arnold asked a little concerned.
-"I'm sorry Arnold but if they knew about this they would want to get involved and you're the only onethat I can trust to participate in this" Mariana said.
-"But why?" Arnold insisted.
-"Arnold just trust me on this okay, I promise you it's nothing bad, you might actually like this" Mariana said. "And I'm sure you'll like this a lot more than you think" she thought smirking.
-"Okay, so let's just say I can't tell my grandparents, then what will happen, if I'm not home by dark they might think something happened to me and they'll start getting worried" Arnold said.
-"Well why should they? I thought that for someone as mature as you they wouldn't be worried" Mariana said.
-Arnold just looked a little bit upward thinking to himself "not since the night on the subway" remembering the night he along with Gerald, Helga, Phoebe and Harold had been trapped on the subway train along with some other people until they were all rescued by Arnold's grandmother.
-"Look honey we won't take long I promise, if we get going by now then you'll probably be home before dark, so what do you say?" Mariana said.
-Arnold sighed "Okay I'll go with you" Arnold finally agreed but he was still a little taken aback by how she had called him 'honey' again.
- Mariana smiled "Okay then, follow me".
Together Mariana and Arnold went down on the firescape ladder that was beside Arnold's bedroom window and made it to the ground, after this Arnold followed Mariana down the street until they turned around a corner where Arnold saw a modern black Ford car, Mariana went to the driver's door and unlocked the doors of the car, Mariana got in and Arnold climbed into the passenger seat, Mariana started the car and they drove off into the city…
The car ride had been quiet… really quite in Arnold's opinion, he really wanted to ask her how she knew him and what was so important that she wanted to tell him, he couldn't help but think back the boy that he had seen earlier that day, could that boy and Mariana have some sort of connection? Arnold didn't know but he was hoping he would find out, on another thought Arnold was asking himself again and again why would she want to see him and who would send someone from San Lorenzo to tell him something, Arnold widened his eyes a little as a thought suddenly stroked on his mind, what if she had been sent by them? But… It couldn't be… could it?
Arnold looked at Mariana without her noticing since she was too focused on driving, he shook his head and just decided to leave the questioning for later knowing that Mariana wouldn't give him any answers right now so he just leaned back in his seat and looked out the window with his chin on his hand he just sat there enjoying the ride.
After a good 21 minutes Mariana and Arnold arrived to a hotel, the hotel building was big and the hotel itself looked to be a five star hotel, Arnold wondered why Mariana would take him to such a fancy-looking place, they went inside and Mariana talked to the receptionist who gave her a key that said 210, Arnold thought that may have been her room. As soon as she got the key Mariana went into an elevator and motioned Arnold to go in with her, Arnold did as she said and Mariana pushed the button that said '7' indicating it to go to the 7th floor.
The elevator ascended seven floors before it reached it's destination Mariana and Arnold got out of the elevator and Arnold followed Mariana to her room… or more like suite, when they got there Arnold almost had his jaw falling, the suite was big and fancy, with well-constructed walls, a kitchen, a living room, 2 bedrooms with their own bathrooms, a TV on the kitchen, in the end a pretty amazing suite, Mariana set her keys down on a table and walked up to Arnold.
-"Okay Arnold listen, this is going to be a little bit of a long story so why don't you come with me into the living room and make yourself comfortable" Mariana suggested.
-"Okay, thanks" Arnold said.
Arnold sat down on the comfortable couch and Mariana did the same sitting beside him.
-"Alright Arnold, now I need you to listen carefully cause' you will be really interested in hearing this" Mariana told him.
-"Sure" Arnold said.
-"Okay I already told you who I am" Mariana said "now I'm going to tell you why I'm here and why I came looking for you".
-"Okay" Arnold affirmed and couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
-"Alright, you see the reason why I'm here is because I came to recover something that's of great importance to all of the country of San Lorenzo" Mariana told him.
Arnold nodded.
-"What I came looking for is known as 'the crystal core'".
-"Wait a minute… you said ´the crystal core'? Arnold asked.
-"Yes, you've heard about it?" Mariana asked raising her eyebrows.
-"Well, I saw it on an exhibition of antique reliques on the museum, me and my class went to visit there last week" Arnold told her.
-"And that's where you saw it" Mariana asked.
-"Yes but, why are you saying that you have to 'recover' it" Arnold said.
-"You see Arnold, that core was stolen from the depths of the jungle of San Lorenzo, and it's of great importance for a group of people that live in there that it goes back, I learned from a friend I have in here that it was bought by an archeologist here to use it as an exhibit" Mariana told him.
-"So you're here to recover it and return it to San Lorenzo" Arnold confirmed.
-"That's right" Mariana said.
-"Okay I understand, but why do you need me for it?" Arnold asked.
-"Listen Arnold…" She sighed "the reason why I came looking for you was because I need you to help me"
-"But why me?" Arnold asked.
-Mariana digs for something in her pocket and when she found it she showed it to Arnold revealing that it was a photo "I believe you know these persons".
Arnold looked at the picture; it looked to have been of no more than 2 or 3 years, in it was man with golden blonde messy hair, the same emerald green eyes as Arnold and his face seemed to be almost a young version of Arnold's grandpa, he was sited in a chair with a bandage around his arm and seemed to be laughing, he was being hugged from behind by a woman who had her arms around his neck, she had long brown brunette hair that reached to her middle-back and had blue cerulean eyes but what caught most of Arnold's attention… was her round-shaped head, she was smiling at the camera.
Arnold widened his eyes and he gasped in shock, he immediately recognized the people in the picture, they were his parents, Miles and Stella.
-"…My parents" he whispered.
-Mariana smiled at him "so you do recognize them" She asked him.
- Arnold nodded with his head and looked at her "why do you have a picture of them? And what do they have to do with all of this?" he asked her.
-"You see Arnold, they were the ones that sent me here to recover the crystal and they also sent me to look for you" Mariana told him.
-"Wait a minute, they were the ones that sent you here" Arnold asked in astonishment.
-Mariana nodded "Yes" she answered him.
-"So… they're alive?" Arnold asked with a smile on his face, his green eyes sparkling.
-"Yes, they're alive" Mariana answered them with a smile on her face.
Arnold smiled widely and he couldn't believe what he had just heard, he reclined against the couch closing his eyes in bliss still wearing that smile on his face more relaxed and relieved than he had ever been in his entire life. Suddenly Arnold opened his eyes as realization hit him once more.
-"Wait, how do you know my parents?" Arnold asked.
-"I know them because I've been accompanying them on all their adventures ever since they returned to San Lorenzo, you could say they're my best friends" Mariana told him smiling.
-"Really? Could you tell me about their adventures?" Arnold asked.
-"Sure honey" Mariana said.
The rest of the afternoon Mariana and Arnold had been talking and laughing non-stop about her adventures with Miles and Stella, about the villages they had helped, the medicines they had made, some of Miles' misfortunes at some of their adventures (which Arnold couldn't stop laughing about) and millions of things, suddenly Arnold started asking the questions he had been wanting to be answered for years.
-"Where are they? What happened to them? Why didn't they came back?" Arnold asked her all of a sudden
-"Whoa, whoa hold on there honey, go easy" Mariana told him.
-"Sorry I'm just so excited, I haven't heard from them since I was one and I've got millions of questions" Arnold said calming himself.
-"And they'll all be answered but not right now" Mariana said.
-"Why not?" Arnold said.
-"Because I know someone who can answer to you those questions better than I can" Mariana told him.
-"Really? Who?" Arnold asked.
-"His name is Eduardo" Mariana said.
-Arnold's eyes widened as they he heard that name "Eduardo? As in Eduardo the friend of my parents?" He asked.
-"Ahh, so you've heard about him" Mariana smirked.
-"Yes but, do you know him?" Arnold asked.
-"Of course I know him, he's my husband" Mariana told him.
-Arnold raised his eyebrows a little "you're husband?" he said smirking.
-"Yes, we met when he was accompanying your parents on one of their adventures, they were passing through my camp but stopped to gather some supplies and that's when I found him, we ended up spending a lot of time together and we fell in love with eachother" Mariana said remembering all those romantic times she had with Eduardo.
-Arnold nodded listening to her story.
-"We got married just one month after your parents' wedding" Mariana told Arnold.
-"Wow, really? And where is he now?" Arnold said looking around.
-"He isn't here right now Arnold but you can talk to him tomorrow" Mariana told him.
-"Oh" he said with a little bit of disappointment, he sighed and said "Okay, at what time do you want me here tomorrow"
-"Umm, well Arnold we're not going to talk here tomorrow" Mariana said.
-"And we're do you want to see me exactly?" Arnold asked.
-Mariana stood up from the couch "follow me" she told him.
Arnold stood up from the couch and followed Mariana into one of the bedrooms, just as they entered Mariana started writing something on a paper and Arnold just glanced around the room, the room had a king-size bed and the walls and floor were painted in white, it also had two night tables on each side of the bed, each of them with a lamp but then something caught his attention, it was a white folder that seemed to be a photo album that was sitting on one of the tables, he opened it and the first picture he saw was of Eduardo and Mariana at Miles and Stella's wedding, they were sitting on one of the tables laughing and having a good time, he turned the page and saw another picture of them this time dancing.
Arnold skipped some pages and saw a picture of his parents with Eduardo and Mariana, they were all in the jungle each pair hugging with the sunset on the background, Arnold smiled at that one, he skipped some pages and he saw a picture of Eduardo and Mariana's wedding, unlike Miles and Stella's wedding this time was at the beach Eduardo and Mariana both were at the altar grabbing each other's hands smiling lovingly at each other with the sunset washing over them, Arnold's parents were also present, Miles as the best man and Stella as the maid of honor, Arnold skipped some pages again and then his smile became more of a sad smile, the picture he was now seeing was of his parents with his baby self in the hut they used to live in, Miles was tickling him on the belly while Stella was cradling him in her arms and smiling at him while baby Arnold was giggling happily because of his father's tickles.
Arnold smiled sadly at the photo and ran a hand through it, he turned the page around and was surprised by what he saw, the picture he saw was of Mariana and him when he was still a baby, she was cuddling him in her arms while feeding him some milk from a bottle, she was smiling at him while baby Arnold just drank his milk, Arnold then realized why he felt like he had seen her before and why she kept on calling him 'honey', she must've taken care of him sometimes and he must've remembered her but couldn't realize who she was, just as Arnold was about to turn the page he heard Mariana calling him.
-"Arnold?" she said.
-"Huh? Oh, sorry I think was lost in thought" Arnold said.
-Mariana saw what he was holding and smiled at him "I see you found my memories album" she told him.
-"umm, shouldn't it be ´photo album'" Arnold asked.
-She giggled "yes, but I like to call it 'memories album'" she sighed "you know those pictures mean more to me than just some photos" Mariana told him.
-"Oh, okay then maybe you won't mind explaining me what is this photo" he showed her the photo where she is cuddling his baby self.
-Mariana looks at it and smiles "that was one of the first pictures I had with you" she told him.
-"So you saw me when I was baby" Arnold said.
-"Yes I used to take care of you when your parents were too busy working on the village" Mariana said.
-"Really" Arnold said smiling.
-"Yes, you were like a nephew to me" Mariana smiled at him.
-"Wow, so many things I didn't know" Arnold said.
-"Anyway, Arnold I need you to meet us at this address tomorrow at 5:00, Eduardo and I will be there" Mariana told him.
Nodding, Arnold looked at the address on the paper, after reading it he recognized it as the address of Bridget's headquarters, the woman who had provided him and Gerald with gadgets to save the neighborhood.
-"What does Bridget has to do with all of this?" Arnold thought.
Arnold was about to ask how they knew Bridget but he didn't want to get into another conversation since it was getting darkand he had to make it back to the boarding house in time.
-"Okay I'll be there" Arnold assured her.
-"Alright now what do you say if we get you back to your house, I think you could use some rest" Mariana told him.
-"Okay" Arnold agreed, he then realized that he hadn't give her back the photo of his parents and even though he wanted to keep it he knew it wasn't his "Oh, here, sorry I forgot I had it" he said.
-"Keep it" Mariana told him.
-"Huh?" Arnold asked taken aback.
-"Keep it, i thought it might do you good to have a picture of them" Mariana told him.
-"Really?" Arnold said.
-"Yes, it is a gift to you Arnold" Mariana said smiling.
-"Thanks umm… Ms. Mariana?" Arnold said not really knowing how to call her.
-Mariana chuckled "you can call Aunt Mary if you want Arnold" She told him.
-"Okay, then, thanks Aunt Mary" Arnold said.
-"Okay now let's get you back honey" Mariana said.
After this Mariana and Arnold exited the suite, took the elevator to the first floor, went to the parking, hopped on Mariana's car and left the hotel.
When they arrived at the Sunset Arms Arnold exited the car and thanked Mariana once again for giving him the photo and for all the answers she had given him, but then just before he was about to enter the house Mariana called him.
-"Arnold!" She called him from the car.
-"Yeah?" Arnold said turning around.
-"Don't forget tomorrow at 5:00, and don't make any other arrangements" Mariana reminded him.
-"Don't worry I won't forget" Arnold assured her.
-"Okay then, see ya tomorrow honey" Mariana said.
-"See ya Aunt Mary" Arnold said.
And with this she drove off, Arnold watched the car until it was completely out of sight, then he opened the door letting out the parade of animals and went upstairs, when he reached the second floor he started walking down the hall directly to his room his only purpose to enter, lay down on his bed and think calmly about all that Mariana had told him, but while walking down the hall he heard his grandpa call him from his and grandma's room.
-"Arnold, is that you?" Phil asked.
-"Yeah, it's me grandpa" Arnold answered.
-Phil came out of his bedroom "well there you are, I thought you had gone on to save some other poor neighborhood"
-"Grandpa" Arnold said with a playful annoyed look.
-"Oh, ho, ho okay short man I'm only joking but where have you been, I haven't seen you all afternoon" Phil told him.
-Suddenly Mariana's voice resonated in Arnold's mind "You can't tell them, they might want to get involved" Arnold knew he couldn't know, "I can't tell him, I promised Aunt Mary".
-Arnold quickly thought of some excuse "I was… with Gerald grandpa, he wanted me to help him pick his costume for the Halloween party" Arnold said.
-"Oh, okay Arnold but next time tell me, I was about to go looking for you myself" Phil said.
-"Sorry grandpa" Arnold apologized.
-"Well anything else that you wanna share with your ol' grandpa" Phil said smiling.
-"You have no idea" Arnold thought "No, not really grandpa"
anyway I think I'm gonna go to my room and start working on my… homework" Arnold told him.
-"Really? But I thought you said you had no classes tomorrow" Phil said a little confused.
-"Um, yeah but you know what they say 'the sooner the better'" Arnold said.
-"Oh well, of you need me short man I'll be in the office, you're grandma made raspberry cookies again, ohhh I better get there fast" Phil said holding his stomach.
-"Okay thanks grandpa" Arnold said going to his room.
Just the moment he left Phil started running in a mad dash right to the bathroom, Arnold pulled down his stairs, went up and entered his room, just as he entered it, he closed the door behind him and pressed his back against it, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, he stood up and went to his drawer and got out his dad's journal, he held it in his hand and took it with him up to his roof and once he was there he looked up at the moon.
-"Could this be a sign" Arnold thought "Could they be here to take me to them".
Arnold was just looking at the moon wondering if his destiny had finally called to him to finally take him to San Lorenzo and to the only thing he's ever wanted the most… his parents.
-"Is it my time to go with them?" He thought.
And with that last thought, Arnold just stood there on the edge of the roof of his house, he sighed and closed his eyes knowing that a very long day awaited him tomorrow; he opened his eyes again to look at the moon completely unaware of the blonde pink-clad girl who stood on the street below watching completely captivated how her beloved was surrounded by the beautiful moon light.
Author's notes: Alright so this chapter came out a bit longer than I intended it to be but well I guess I can't control my writing ;) anyway, look out for next chapter cuz' where gonna be seeing Eduardo telling Arnold a few important things about his parents and the green eyes so don't miss it! See ya!