The New Beginning - Part Three written by Maria-Elena Heed

As agreed María and Luis met on Saturday at the Torpederas beach. They sat and ate the picnic María had prepared that morning enjoying the few warm days left of the summer of 1931.

Then they strolled along the golden sandy beach. The sky was as blue as the Lapis Lazuli stone, and the sea was so calm that it looked like a blue carpet you could walk on. It was just perfect. María didn't want that wonderful day to end. The time spent together and those intimate moments were unforgettable. 

Weeks went by without Maria hearing from Luis. She wasn't bothered much as she had other worries on her mind, like having missed a couple of her periods. How would she face the new circumstances, if she was carrying Luis' baby? Abortion was out of the question as it went against her beliefs.

Maria was polishing the silver in the front room when she heard Mrs Janssen, her employer, on the phone saying to one of her friends that Luis was going away with his sweetheart for the whole summer. Maria was flabbergasted and heartbroken to hear Luis was in a serious relationship, she had no idea. She thought Luis was serious about their relationship. How could he betray her? Then she thought who was she kidding? Would a rich boy really take seriously a ‘Campesina’ with no education? 

Maria was a warrior and she knew she had to face whatever the Universe had in store for her with or without Luis’ support. 

A couple of months had gone by and María was showing signs of her pregnancy. She knew that at some point her situation had to be revealed to Luis and his family but when would it be the right time?

One morning María was busy changing the bedding in one of the bedrooms, when Mrs Janssen came in. She thought that was the opportune moment to talk to Mrs Janssen. When María told her she was carrying her son’s baby, Mrs Janssen totally lost control of herself. She was shouting abusive language at María, saying that it was slanderous to be saying the baby she was carrying was her son's. Besides, what proof did she have? She kept going on and on, saying how María had abused their trust and how could she invent such a terrible lie about her adorable son?
María replied it wasn't a lie and that she didn't provoke him. She explained they had a day out, one thing led to another. Although she wasn't sure at the time but with his persistence she gave in, and now she was carrying his baby. María added that she wasn't looking for any financial support nor recognition of the baby. The only thing she wanted was to keep working there until the baby was born, then she’d leave. 
Perhaps María’s biggest mistake was not to tell Luis first.  
María felt worthless with all the verbal abuse but she knew Mrs Janssen would have that reaction. 
A week or so went by when Mrs Janssen came to María’s room for a chat. She had finally calmed down and come to her senses. She said she had talked to Luis. The family acknowledged the baby she was carrying was Luis’ but it wouldn't carry their surname. 

 To be continued/…





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Julia- a short story by Vic Davey

Image
  I proposed to Julia Roberts. But for goodness sake, keep it to yourself, if word gets out there'll be a media circus. Anyway, she was in London promoting a new film and she was staying in the Dorchester. I happened to be there too and that was when we met.  I was walking down this corridor towards Reception, the Americans call it the Lobby. She came out right  in front me, out of the Ladies loo. I knew who she was straight away of course but the embarrassing thing was  she'd caught the back of her skirt in her underwear and didn't know. It's funny the things which go through your mind  at times and I remember thinking her knickers were more TK Maxx than Rodeo Drive if you know what I mean.  Well I couldn't let her walk through the hotel like that, so I caught up with her and touched her on the shoulder and said, "Miss Roberts, you have something of a wardrobe malfunction," nodding at her skirt. She looked at me like she had trodden in something, obviousl
Read more

The New Beginning Part One written by Maria-Elena Heed

Image
María was born in 1910, in a remote place called San Javier de Loncomilla, a commune of Linares city. The family home was a humble abode in the middle of the campo, with no electricity and no gas but they got by. Her father, an alcoholic,  believed that the only reason girls wanted to go to school was to learn to read and   write so they could write letters and  get together with boys. Consequently, her parents didn't send Maria or her siblings to school.  Maria was just fifteen when she made the brave decision to run away from home. She came to this decision one evening, when her father once again came home drunk.  He was being violent,  verbally and physically, abusive towards her. This behaviour was becoming more of a norm whenever her father went out on a drinking spree which was getting to be nearly every night. Although Maria was illiterate, she knew she wanted a better life than the one she had.  She  was a hardworking girl, always helping mum to do any job aroun
Read more

Metamorphosis, (on wonderful Breeze FM) by Helen Jones

Image
             Here we have, Helen Jones reading her enchanting story:                      Metamorphosis:  (on wonderful Breeze FM) Helen alo mentions that The Written Word Group story telling radio slot has been moved: To Saturday morning on Breeze FM with Mark B: The next chance you will get to hear The Written Word Group on live Radio,  will be with Mark Bamford on his 9am Saturday Morning Show
Read more