From downstairs there was still the growling of the dog, which remained at its post. However, Ada was far enough away that these sounds no longer caused fear. She took off her backpack, put the gift inside and impatiently looked for the key to her apartment. Where has he gone? Is! She felt for a leash, with a cold metal object dangling from the end. With her heart pounding, she inserted it into the lock and turned it. She pressed the doorknob. Too violently, because she really wanted to be on the other side. The door flew open, so she ran inside, into the silence where only the sounds from the street coming through the open window could be heard.
– Hello! I’m already here! – she called loudly, but there was no answer. – Hey, you can leave… Where are you?
Confused, she looked around the interior where she had lived only with her mother for several years. It was… empty.
She looked behind the sofa and then crouched outside the door to her room, listening. She opened it suddenly and realized that she was really alone.
Suddenly, it was as if someone had taken off her rose-colored glasses. She tried not to notice it every day, and suddenly she saw this place as it had been for a long time. Once beautiful and well-kept, today covered with dust, with dirty windows and a lighter stain from the piano where it stood before it was sold when their fortunes began to deteriorate. The furniture, which had not been changed for years, was worn and faded. On the largest wall of the living room you could see dozens of press clippings, maps and photos, hundreds of questions and clues connected by colorful arrows. The whole thing resembled the work of a detective obsessed with solving a complicated mystery.
Tears came to Ada’s eyes. The disappointment was as great as her expectations. NO! It was bigger, much bigger. It filled her from head to toe, leaving no room for other feelings. The girl felt like she was going to choke on it because it was rising up to her throat and rising in a huge, hot wave that was impossible to swallow.
She was trying to deal with him when the front door opened and Anna, Ada’s mother, a dark-haired, slim woman in her late forties, stood there.
– You will not believe what happened! – she exclaimed when she saw her daughter, not noticing her tears.
– I know exactly what happened! – Ada shouted, her voice breaking, but Anna was too absorbed in the news she brought to listen. She had to share it immediately.
“Imagine,” she said very quickly, “that I managed to contact an Ecuadorian diplomat who found a lead in Guatemala… Ada?” Honey, what happened?! “Belatedly, she realized that she had chosen the wrong moment.
– Stop looking for him, mom!
Anna instinctively looked at the collage in the living room. All photographs, newspaper clippings, even the shortest reports had the same hero. It was Ada’s father. Alex, or rather Aleksander Niezgódka. A traveler, diplomat, negotiator who always appeared where people could not communicate with each other. One word from him was enough to avert the threat of war and restore peace. Who knows how many roles he played in his life… In addition to the photos cut out from the press, there were also private photos hanging on the wall: with little Ada and a wedding photo with Anna, who smiled carelessly at the camera. Large, black titles screamed: “Niezgódka proposed to a famous fairy tale writer”, “Niezgódka reconciles the parties to the conflict”, “Niezgódka has done the impossible again”, “Six years have passed since Niezgódka disappeared”, “Alex Niezgódka submitted for the Nobel Peace Prize”. The author of this composition was Anna, who during sleepless nights pasted new information, drew more arrows and added questions, more and more questions to which she did not know the answers anyway. Once beautiful and joyful, she turned into a sad woman who slowly faded away as longing and lack of sleep robbed her of her beauty.
With difficulty, she looked away from her work and looked at her daughter.
– Honey, I’m sorry! – she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. – I forgot about your birthday…
This was too much. Was Ada really expecting too much? Birthdays came once every three hundred and sixty-five days, why couldn’t Mom stop thinking about what they had both lost for one day? She did it all the time… It seemed that there was no room for Ada in her mother’s head on the day of her daughter’s most important birthday.
– All you had to do was follow the plan. Dad’s gone, Mom, but I’m still here! – the girl blurted out, feeling the weight of each word she spoke and a new surge of regret. It was unbearable! She ran to her room and slammed the door, causing the glass to rattle.
“Daughter,” she heard, “I will make it up to you, I promise. I wonder how? – she thought and threw herself on the bed between the pillows. Could mom be able to turn back time?
Blot promotional materials – Agora for children
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
