Early the next morning, it was dust storming again.
Maria sighed, staring out the window. She wanted to
be in her garden, with Michael.
She lied in bed, listening to the wind.
And then she realized, that it was the crying. The
crying from before.
"I am going to find out what it is!" She said to
herself. "I don't care what Tess says. Everyone else
is asleep, and I can't stand that noise."
She walked down the same corridor she had that
morning, when Tess had dragged her into the room.
She followed the cries, and found that they were
coming from a tapestry.
She leaned on the tapestry.
It was another room, like hers, very fancy, with all
kinds of toys.
And a someone was crying.
Someone quite young.
The boy had dark hair, a brown color, but different
than Michael's. He was pale, and was lying in bed.
He must have heard her, because he turned right
towards her. His blue eyes seemed like big beacons of
light in the night.
"Who are you? Are you a ghost?" He asked.
"Are you a ghost? I'm not a ghost." Maria said.
"No, I'm Kyle."
"Who's Kyle?"
"I'm Kyle Valenti. Who are you?"
"I'm Maria DeLucca. James Valenti is my uncle."
"He's my father."
"He has a son? Why didn't anybody tell me?"
"Come here." He said.
She did.
He grabbed her hand. "You're real. I thought you
might be a dream."
"And you're real too" she breathed.
"Where did you come from?"
What a silly question. "I came from my own room I
couldn't sleep and I heard someone crying. Why were
you crying?"
"I was lonely and my head hurt. Tell me your name
again."
"Maria DeLucca. Nobody told you that I was here?"
"No, they didn't dare."
"Because you might see me. I won't let people see
me."
"Why?" Maria was quite mystified. "Don't you like
people."
"I'm ill. I might make others ill, and they might
make me ill."
"That's insane. Nobody who cries like you do could be
ill."
"I've been ill my entire life. And nobody likes to
see me, not even my own father."
"Why?"
"My mother died when I was born. He can't bare to
look at me."
"The garden. He doesn't like the garden…"
"What garden?"
"Just a garden she used to like. Are you always in
here?"
"Yes. I used to have to wear this iron thing, until
one of the doctors told them it was silly. And Tess
threw him out. He said to put me out in the fresh
air. I hate fresh air."
"I did too, when I first came here. But now I love
it. You should try it."
A thought occurred to Maria. "If you don't like
people seeing you, do you want me to leave?"
"No. Stay and talk to me." Kyle pleaded.
Maria told him all about her life in Washington, and
how she had got there. Kyle talked about being sick,
and his whole life.
"How old are you?" he asked.
"I'm ten, and so are you." Maria said.
"How do you know that?"
"Because you were born when the garden door was
locked, and it's been locked for ten years. "
"What garden?"
Maria told Kyle all she knew about the garden.
"You didn't make people tell you about it?"
"They are told not to."
"I could make them. I will own this place one day, if
I live."
"You want to die?" Maria looked at him as if he was a
space alien.
"Not really. But I don't have much to live for. So I
might die."