Chapter 13

"My name is Lorenda." She said in a thick accent.

"You speak English?" Arnold, Helga, and Gerald said at the same time. Gerald sat down beside Helga and Arnold.

She looked at them with intense eyes. Without answering, she looked behind her shoulder at Adoncia. "Mija, no tienes que tener miedo." After a moment of hesitation, Adoncia nodded, wiped and rubbed her eyes, and slowly stepped forward. She sat down beside her mother. Lorenda put her arm around her daughter, kissed her head, and turned back to face Arnold. She studied his face. She saw his eyes flitting from her to Adoncia. "You scared my daughter," she said.

Arnold noticed that there was still anger in her voice. His expression grew soft. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. Lorenda didn't take her eyes off of him. "I didn't mean to." He then took a deep breath. "It's just..she has somethi-"

"You shouldn't be here." Lorenda said suddenly. All three of them were caught off guard.

Helga's impatience overcame her. "Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!" She was now standing up, her fists clenching and unclenching. "Listen, lady. We're trying to be polite here! You can either talk to us, or n-"

"Helga." She looked at Arnold. He was looking up at her with a look that said, 'Please.' She huffed and sat back down. She brought her knees up to her chest.

Lorenda's tone and expression were unchanging. She kept her eyes on Arnold and spoke directly to him. "I know who you are. I know why you came here."

All three widened their eyes. Helga and Gerald looked to Arnold, anticipating his reaction.

When she could see he was at a loss for words, Lorenda spoke again. "I knew your parents," she half-smiled at Arnold. His eyes grew wider.

"You did?" He said excitedly. He scooted closer to Lorenda and Adoncia, and sat criss-crossing his legs.

'I knew she had something to do with them!' Helga and Gerald glanced at each other. Gerald already knew what happened to Miles and Stella. Helga only knew they never came back.

Lorenda smirked at Arnold. "They came to our village often. I was sixteen the first time I met them." She pictured their first meeting and smiled at the memory. "Your father had just been injured. He seemed to be injured a lot," she laughed again. Everyone seemed to settle down, and got comfortable. Adoncia was simply observing Arnold. Lorenda let her memory take over.

A sixteen-year-old Lorenda was walking back from feeding animals in the summer heat when she saw them. Miles had his arm around Stella as she helped him walk. They were both sweating profusely. He looked like he was bleeding from his head, and was about to pass out. They both spotted Lorenda.

"Hola, amiga! Puedes ayudarnos, por favor?" Stella had waved and called out to her frantically.

Lorenda ran as fast as she could, and got a doctor to help. She went back to the village to get water for them. On her way back, she saw them enter the small doctor's office, and stood outside, waiting for them. She heard Stella's worried voice, and Miles' groans of pain. She peeked through the window and watched Stella. When she came out of the doctor's office a short time later, she saw Lorenda and smiled brightly at her. She walked towards Lorenda and gave her a hug. Lorenda was taken aback.

Confused, Lorenda asked, "Todo esta bien, senora?"

Stella stepped back, and with the same kind smile, nodded. She expressed her deep thanks for her help. "Si usted necesitas algo, por favor, dime." With that Stella walked back into the doctor's office.

Coming out of her reverie, Lorenda realized she was tearing up. "I had never seen anyone look at someone the way your mother looked at your father." She squeezed Adoncia, who had fallen asleep in her lap. Arnold smiled. He knew his parents loved each other. He was glad to hear it from some one else who saw them together. "I found out later that your father's injuries weren't very serious. He was climbing mountains again by that weekend."

Arnold smirked. 'Nothing could keep him away from his adventures.' His smile faded at that thought. Gerald and Helga stayed silent.

'This can't be a good idea.' Gerald thought. He was worried for his best friend.

'This conversation isn't going to be ending happily.' Helga bit her lip.

Arnold was mesmerized. He had never heard this story. He thought of his mother smiling. He wished he could see the smile Lorenda was talking about. He reached behind his back and took out the picture of his parents from his backpack. He looked at it and couldn't help but smile. He tried to picture them in the present time. 'How different are they now? Are they alive? Is she going to tell me?' Trying to keep from hoping too much, he handed the picture to Lorenda.

As Lorenda studied it, she spoke. "They taught me English. That was what I wanted. No matter how busy they were, they always made time to help me learn." She smiled sadly. "They were always so kind," she said in a soft, almost whispered voice. "You see, your parents are very good people. I'm sure your grandfather told you many stories about the-"

"You know Grandpa?" Arnold suddenly interrupted her. His eyes were bright. 'What else does she know?'

Lorenda laughed again. "I met him at your parents' wedding. He must have told a million stories about your father that day."

Arnold smiled. 'That's grandpa.' Suddenly, something registered in his mind. He was thinking back to what she had just stated. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and he let out a loud gasp. "You see, your parents are very good people."He jumped up in excitement. He let out gasps and was walking back and forth. He didn't know what to do with himself. "ARE?" He suddenly shouted. He started to jump around. Gerald and Helga vaguely thought of his "I'm crazy" dancing moment with Harold last year.

Adoncia awoke with a jolt and let out a worried cry. Then, it suddenly dawned on Lorenda. She didn't realize what she had just said. The same realization had hit Gerald and Helga. They all stood up, worried about Arnold and his reaction.

"Arnold, listen to me," Lorenda tried to calm him down.

He was pacing back and forth, seeming to be fighting internally. 'I'm about to find out what happened. The truth. This is what you've been waiting for.' After a few minutes, he was ready. He took a deep breath as he braced himself for the truth. "Lorenda..." he swallowed hard, "do you know..what happened to them?"

Lorenda was slowly starting to breathe heavily. After a few moments, she spoke in the same angry tone she first spoke to them in. "You and your friends need to leave, Arnold." She turned her head away from them.

Arnold almost shouted. "No! You know what happened to them! Tell me!" Arnold was clenching his teeth. "I've had to go practically my whole life without them. You might be the only one who can tell me. Please, Lorenda," he pleaded.

Lorenda slowly turned her head back to Arnold. She glanced at Helga and Gerald, who shifted their weight uncomfortably.

Seeing the desperation in Arnold's eyes, Lorenda silently sighed and reached into Adoncia's dress pocket. She took out what Arnold had seen earlier that night. It was a necklace of the Green Eyes.