Author's POV
Santo was in the kitchen waiting for Maria to make coffee. It was no surprise that the gray-haired woman wasn't shocked by what she heard from Santo regarding Allan's health. She wasn't surprised, but she was deeply saddened.
"You know, Santo, that boy has only known sadness and pain in his life. He's never had an ounce of happiness. I wanted so badly for my boy to be happy, to be free."
Santo felt the insinuation. He also wanted Allan free; he wasn't interested in prisoners. But he needed to be sure that freeing Allan wouldn't condemn him to something worse on the streets. He wanted the boy to live with his family or someone who would care for him. Santo knew what it was like to live on the streets, and he didn't wish that on anyone.
"Maria, tell me everything you know about the kid, and I promise you I'll find a way to ease the burden on him."
Maria searched for sincerity in Santo's words. She must have found it because she spoke almost immediately.
"If you're promising, Santo, I'll believe you. But I'm warning you now that I don't know much. Metralha wasn't one to talk to the employees. I only know what I saw and heard around the house."
"The boy arrived here very young, only four years old, dragging that little blanket he still has to this day. I heard Metralha tell his men that the boy was the property of a foreigner and that they shouldn't do anything to him because the owner would be coming to get him soon. He told everyone, including the boy, that his parents were addicts and that they sold him for drugs. But I don't believe that, you see."
"Why, Maria? Do you know where he came from, who his parents are?"
"I don't know, sir, but I know this boy was the son of someone wealthy. He arrived all clean and smelling good, with brand-name clothes and shoes. You could tell from afar that the boy was well cared for. Until he turned eight, Metralha let me take care of him. After that, he put the boy to work. He always cleaned this whole house by himself; that was his job. Whenever Metralha wanted to, he would beat the boy as if he were a punching bag. He'd leave him bruised but only in places covered by clothing so it wouldn't show in the photos and videos for the Chinese man."
"Besides that, Metralha wouldn't let the boy eat at every meal. Allan could only eat once a day, you know? It breaks my heart to know that my little curly-haired boy has never eaten his fill, just enough to survive."
"As he grew older and his body developed, Metralha became afraid that someone would try something with him. That's when he invented this whole story about Allan being his loyal follower."
Santo was shaken by the part about the food. Leaving someone to starve in a house full of abundance was cruel. Santo understood what Allan went through; he had also gone hungry. But he needed to keep asking questions. He had to know everything about Allan to set him free—and free himself from him too.
"And what's this story about an owner, Maria?"
"Metralha always said that a foreigner with slanted eyes owned Allan, that no one could touch him. He always took pictures and videos of Allan and sent them to this Chinese guy, who seemed to scare Metralha a lot. When it was time to take the photos, he would take Allan to the upstairs room and put good clothes on him. But after taking the pictures and making the videos, he would beat Allan badly and then put him to sleep in the little room in the back. That boy has only known a hard life, Santo. It's heartbreaking."
Santo was realizing that the shit was much deeper than he had thought. But the only thing he could think about was who Allan's family was and how he ended up in Metralha's hands. And mainly, who was this Chinese man they said was Allan's owner? There was a lot of strangeness in this story, and Santo was going to find out, even if he had to turn this city upside down.
"So, Maria, you have no idea where the kid came from?"
"No, sir. As you can see, I've never left this hill. I haven't had the opportunity to cross paths with wealthy people."
It might have seemed like Santo had swum and swum only to die on the shore, but that wasn't quite the case. The information about the possible social class of Allan's family was already something to start with.
"Alright, Maria, you've helped enough. Now, don't forget to make all the food the doctor ordered. Let's put some meat on that boy's bones."
"You can leave it to me, Santo. I'll take care of it. Oh, Santo..."
Maria seemed hesitant to ask.
"Spit it out, Maria. I'm in the mood today."
"What about Yohana? What are you going to do with her?"
"Don't you worry about that bitch, old lady. I'll take care of her myself. But she's been warned; she won't set foot in here again. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
Santo went up to his room, opened the door, and saw that Allan was still sleeping, all curled up in his bed. Santo chuckled to himself, took off his shirt, and stayed in just his sweatpants. He wouldn't be at ease in another room knowing that Allan was sick, so he decided to stay right there. The bed was big, and Allan was small, even more so all curled up like that, looking like a little armadillo. He settled into bed and turned on his side, intending to fall asleep.
Late into the night, Santo heard Allan whimpering. The boy tossed and turned until he finally calmed down when he felt Santo's body pressed against his. Santo was speechless with this small body nestled against his. He had no other reaction but to wrap his arm around the smaller boy's waist and pull him closer. Santo thought he wouldn't be able to sleep because of the discomfort of having another male lying in his bed and hugging him, even though he was the one who had done the hugging and not the other way around. But in the end, what happened was that Santo became very comfortable next to the curly-haired boy. Hearing the sound of his steady breathing was so relaxing that it made him fall sound asleep, something that hadn't happened in a long time.
Santo woke up feeling rested and refreshed. He looked to the side, and Allan was still sleeping. He mentally thanked heavens for that; he wouldn't know how to explain the two of them sleeping in an embrace.
He got up, took care of his personal hygiene, went downstairs, had the hearty breakfast Maria had made, and went to the "boca" to take care of the hill's business. He was anxious to get back home and see how Allan was doing. At lunchtime, he would have a chat with Allan. It was time they had a long talk.
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