Once upon a crime.(in progress)
To delay bedtime
The night falls sooner. A little angel is siting on the right side of her mother car. Though, she is not the typical angel. Her long dark hairs are braided on each side of her face and she is of a darker tone of skin. But
"Who said angels have all to be blonde and white?" asks the little girl to the adult aside. She doesn't respond, so the short one shift her weight in front, getting to the radio buttons. She can't, so she removes one of her running shoes then the sox. She peers at the woman again. No sing of getting her attention yet. She brushes her toes, bites on her tongue and turns the radio off by extending the leg and touching to the button with her big toe. She after folds back the limb.
"Maataa?" She attempts again.
"Yes, Sanam?" Her mother answers, looking toward the road.
"No, Haley." Makes the daughter, with a kick on the dashboard.
"Ow!" She takes her naked foot, kissing the cap side of it.
Giggling, her parent questions, still. "So?"
"Who said angels have all to be blonde and white?" the witty demoiselle says again.
"No one. The darker ones are just more cautious in their works. Don't tell anyone I told you that. They love to work behind the curtain. " she glimpses toward the junior with a wink. A wink too much. She pushes suddenly on the break with a curse at the lips.
Haley looks up, curious to see what makes her ordinarily calm and prudent mother react that way. A pedestrian all dress in black looks at her, contrite and panting.
She gasps then makes a childish grin. Her mother sighs and does signs so the incautious schoolboy pass is way.
"Dressing in black by a rainy October dusk is like holding a gun to your head�"comments out loud the grown-up as she engages the car. It coughs but starts again, leaving some blue clouds behind.
A worry glance then a stare to her mother, the lass decides to mute her question.
The car pulls along an entrance when, once again, the reaction of the mother makes her daughter cranes her head but on the left side, that time.
"Babba?" articulates the lady, stiff now as she brought the car to a slow stop.
The youngest squirms on her seat an instant. She unfastens her seat belt, getting in the back one to see well.
The man is raking the leaves into a bag and when he realizes he is watched upon, he approaches.
More he does, more Haley's mother gets white, like if she was witnessing a ghost. Her daughter hugs her from behind her seat, placing a reassuring hand on her parent shoulder.
Out of thinking, this one rolls down her window.
"You must be Rizpah?" the man offers with an open grin. His hand slit through the available space, in hope to be hold back. "And you Haley?"
The girl blushes, but her mother blows up, raising back the window swiftly. "What are you doing with my father's clothes on?" She throws with an unusual violence.
The man retreats so his hand gets not caught by the furious woman.
"Buckles your belt Haley, we are going back home.�, announces Rizpah, taking her cellular and dialing.
"But�" the angel tries before being suddenly forces to sit when the car sets up very abruptly.
"You are abject, mom. How could you? No, I don't want to hear your excuse, Baba is still warm. I don't care�I know he is dead, yes you can redo your life, but not giving my dad�s clothing to that stranger. I thought it was him. Did you think to me in it?"
Haley listen to her mother arguing with, probably, her grand-mother till the woman hang-up.
"I didn't see the resemblance. What is �abject�?" She states softly.
Rizpah gazes in her rear-mirror, wiping her tears off.
"That was unexpected. Abject is like fifteen on the scale of evilness. The one having ten levels.� There is sadness in her voice. �Mommy is just hurt. That is alright.� She pauses, completely desynchronized with the road signalization.
Haley�s eyes brim with tear, but she is quickly distracted when Rizpah talk again. �Did you buckle up?" she demands more calmly.
Just as she invites her daughter to do it, she misses a stop and she is asked to pull over. Which she does nicely, preparing her papers.
�Always there when we don�t need them...� The grown-up mumbles, opening the window once more.
The policeman takes a brief look to it, questions the woman and leans to look toward Haley.
"Let's say that since you are new to our country, I'll give you a chance this time. Buckles up your kid, mam, and please, look at where you are going."
"Thanks Mister Officer." The mother replies, forcing an accent.
"You heard him, Haley?" she looks through the rear-mirror again.
The seven years old does not wait to be recall once more, but can't restrain herself to interrogate her grown-up about her recent action:
"Why you lied to him?"
"Because, sometimes, it helps you get out of bigger troubles. If he had checked out my paper like he should do, he would have seen I am no news under the Sun." she explains, driving.
Haley nods, then pull her coloring book from the pocket, with some pencils. The road is quite boring till home, so she busies herself.
The mother opens the radio.
Everything is calm for a while. Mother and daughter sing whit the aired artists.
Then they are exiting from the highway to enter in the well-known part of the town, their neighborhood.
The car slows down at the height of another driveway.
On the lawn, a woman this time is raking the leaves. From a man, all is seen is the rear part. The pair of jean is dirty and there is a rag in the same state hanging from the pocket. He is working in the motor compartment of an old Chevy.
Rizpah plays on the horn thrice, emitting a short and friendly warning.
The window is open again. �Moshe?Moshe?� The driver calls to the man.
Before he can even makes a move toward the little red car parks in his part of the street, his wife has left the rake and comes at the vehicle side.
�Hello Ellen!� speaks the sitting woman. �How do you do?�
�What are you doing here?� she retorts, adopting the amphora position, with her fists on her hips.
The �Sunday-Mechanic hands� approaches casually, wiping his hands on the rag.
�Moshe invited Caith and me for a game night. To get over, like the good old time.� Explains kindly Rizpah.
The wife looks at her husband, confused, and then makes place for his person aside the car door.
�We are not going to come, sorry.� Specifies the driver on a average tone.
�Now, that is saddening me.�, is the first thing that gets out Moshe�s mouth.
�But I was to call you. We have to cancel it anyway. Ellen is not going well.� He brushes with affection the back of his wife, glancing softly at her. Time he is doing that, Ellen looks abashed. But as soon as her husband return his attention to his friend in the car, she raises her head, proud almost beaming.
Haley frowns and explores unexpectedly her back pack laid at her feet side. Listening to the adults conversing, she put back sox and shoe before resuming her quest. She looks at Ellen, then searches and searches again.
�She doesn�t look sick�� she says out of the blue.
Her mother stays silence a short moment, making like she didn�t heard her. Moshe winks to her for a split second and also ignore her in the profit of his exchange with Rizpah. The talk of various subject succinctly, passing from one to the other with no obvious link. A concentrated format on all that happened in each others life for, well mostly two years back.
Not able to pick on all since she is out context, Haley begins to make faces in Ellen intention, picking willingly in her nose, sticking her tongue out.
Her mother hand wags behind and some distracted �Would you knock it off?� are directed to her. But that doesn�t dissuade the little angel to tease the woman outside the window.
�Nothings wrong? You look like you cried recently?� asks Moshe.
�The story will be too long�� excuses the driver just as Haley takes on her to tell the tale.
�A mister was wearing grand-father clothing, so Maataa got angry at Mammy. She said she is Object��
Rizpah lowers her head and blushes.�Abject, Sanam, abject.� She pauses,�And Moshe as enough of his own problem without hearing ours��
Moshe is amused that his friend�s daughter spilled the bean, but his smile gets a tender sympathy side in it. �To what serves a friend?� he demands, making a move of the hand to get to the driver shoulder. Just at that moment, Ellen holds on him, with all her weight. So he never gets to pat his friend, there.
But it is like normal for him. He continues to talk.
Haley, on her side, frowns again. She is not about to let this one go. She digs in her bag, pulling a roll of false fur. She gets a seashell out of there, one bigger than her own hand.
Instantly, that gets Ellen attention. She leans more toward Haley side and passes the hand inside, next to the support beam of the car.
�Can I see?� she demands.
�Absolutely.� Says Haley, more than happy to comply. She places the shell in Ellen�s hand.
�That is Bert.� She introduces the shell.
Ellen is surprised by the weight of what she thinks is an empty shell.
She has no idea, thus, when the said Bert decide to take a peek out of it. As the animal touches the skin of her palm, Ellen turns white then�
�Eeek!� She screams, removing her hand from the car. The poor Bert fall in the back of the seat.
Haley laughs like a squirming squirrel as her victim flees.
Astonished, the two others peer, momentarily silent.
Worry a moment, Moshe is soon to understand what happened when he sees Haley taking back Bert. �You!� he releases like out of angriness.�Little devil!You�re your mother�s daughter.� Then he laughs.
Rizpah follows in that.
�What?I wanted her to meet Bert.� Is Haley alleged reason.�She doesn�t like Hermit crab?�
Moshe pats her head at that.�I don�t think Ellen�s liking any animals having more than two pairs of legs, sweety.�
The movement is then transfers to the mother�s shoulder.�Next week, then?�
�Certainly.We�ll check this out. I wish your wife will get better till then.� Replies Rizpah, closing the window while her friend gets away.
She changes the transmission level to back to the �drive�. The car coughs.
Moshe turns on his heels, crossing his arms up his chest.
The car coughs again then dies.
�Need a push?� asks the man on the other side of the window.�Set that to neutral and come out.
Haley picks up her things before anyone can react then scampers out the car, placing Bert and its envelop of fur safely back in the back pack.�Meet you upstairs�� and she runs toward the building.
�Useless to stop her, I presume?� asks Moshe while rolling up his sleeves.
�Bah!She does not have long to make and no street to cross. Let her do.�confirms the mother, getting out the car that starts to descent softly the slope.�That, for once, occurs on the right side of the road. We won�t have to force that much.� She comments with a glance ahead. Haley is already waiting on the balcony, spying on them from her vantage point.
They push the wreck toward its reserved parking lot on the side of the street, and then they hug and split.
�Ready to empty the pumpkin, Haley?� Mentions Rizpah as she joins her daughter upstairs.
�HE is still watching�� observes the kid while the parent is unlocking the door. She doesn�t turn to look at what is actually happening.
�He is my friend and he wants to be sure we are safe till daddy arrives.� She simply brings up.
�ah.� But the door open, and from passive, Haley becomes active. She races in, parting the hermit crab from the bag that is dropped in the way. Bert is placed in the vivarium, gradually getting back to its activities at its pace.
In no time, Haley is sitting on her heels at the table, a ladle in hand and a big bowl aside.
Slower, Rizpah just clear the path behind her daughter, placing the sack in the inside of the kid�s bedroom, then the coats in the entrance wardrobe.
When she makes it to the table, she got a big sturdy knife and a template.
As they begin progressively the work to turn the orange vegetable into a lantern, Haley is questioning endlessly her mother.
The entrance door open, Caith enter but is properly ignored by the two women of his life. Unaffected, he smiles, leaning at the corner of the wall and studying them by behind Haley.
Haley examines Rizpah by brief glances.
�Is Moshe was your lover before daddy?� she first inquiries.
�No, not at all. He is the reason why I met your daddy. But he never was my lover.� The mother giggles.
�We are very good friend.�
�Then why Ellen is mad at you whenever you look at him?� asks the child again.
�She is?�
�Ahan�a lot.�
�Well, I never saw it that way. I respect her over all.� Adds the mother.
�But she hates you!�
�There are people that are harder to read, Haley. You can�t judge her like that.�
Then the pumpkin is totally empty.
Caith comes softly to hug Haley in surprise while the knife is put aside.
She wriggles in his arms with thrilled screams.
�Calm down, please.�requests Rizpah with a smile, scolding a bit Caith with her finger till he releases his daughter.
�Wait�I got something to show you.� She emits, strolling in her room backward.
�I got to go to the bathroom, be brings it up Tiger.� Says the father.
�Close your eyes, Maataa!Close your eyes.�
�I did��
The mother obeys and waits.
"Look, now Maataa! Look!" Haley runs out her room and jumps on Ritzpah.
"Wow! You made that all alone?" her mother replies seeing the Halloween costume. A suspicious look is nevertheless give to the young girl. Ritzpah pinches on all the little pompons and looks carefully.
"You used glue?� she asks.
Haley nods with exageration.
"I did, I did.� she emphesizes.Then, not fool a moment, she tilts her head and her smile vanishes.� I didn�t use any of your clothes. That is all the stuff I was allowed too. Promise!"
She takes the collar of the joker suit to show to her mom the dress she used.� Some baby safety pins."
Her smile is victorious. She constrains a yawn, blinking.
Rizpah pats her head and replace the long black hairs. "I think it is time for you to go to bed..."
Haley pouts and crosses her arms on her chest.� Days are too short. I need more time. Can�t you put the clock back of some hour?" she requests, but she runs toward the microwave and is already setting it backward.� There!" she trumpets!� We are sooner, I can still play with the karaoke!" and she scrams just to be stop in her haste by Caith.
"Bath and bed Princess. You can�t fool my old body with a clock.� He winks with it.
Despite all the protestations, sure the adults get their way, again.
"Can you read a bedtime story to me?" She attempts to delay her sleep once more.
Caith look at Rizpah. Both are silent a moment, lips curling into a smile.� You can do it by yourself..." judges her dad, pushing her into the room.
"What do you want to read me?" He asks again, amused.
"The Hobbits?� Haley doubtfully says.
"Oh?Again?" Caith replies.
"Yes, why not? That is a good fairy tale." And she takes the book from the shelves, sitting in her bed.
Caith arranges the pillow to support her when she will get into slumber eventually.
She starts narrating the story, adding to it on the way, comment and parenthesis on little unimportant fact Tolkien would have forget to mention.
The girl put the rest of her energy in one sentence in the book:
"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! "She yawns and pushes the book on her father crook.
� There, you'll have to read the rest by yourself. I am too, too tired." And there she lays. Caith raises and switches the light off, blowing a kiss in the dark.
Haley hears him declaring to her mother that "She was finally asleep."
"But he is so far...daddy?" she calls with an impeded mouth. The door opens a second, a ray of light brushes her face and she blinks.
A shadow is in the door.
Haley place her hand, the light is too crude.
Then the door closes once more and she is back in the darkness.
She searches amongst all the cushion and pillow to hold to a doll that she pulls aside her in a hug. A press of the belly's button makes her start her litany. �...Se�or que mi alma para tomar...
Maintenant je vais me reposer
Prie le Seigneur pour me garder.
Si je suis meurt avant l'�veil
Prie que le Seigneur mon �me accueille.
Now I lay me down to sleep.
Pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I die before I wake,
Pray to Lord my soul to take.
Agora vou dormir,
rezo ao Senhor que guarde minha ..."
And she says it with it for a two full cycles. Like a ritual, the whole twenty-eight prayers even if she has no idea who that Lord could be.
By three times she ventured out her room and the three times she got caught at it. So it was no surprise when, at the little morning hours, Rizpah heard some noise down in the corridor. �Would you knock it off?� She mumbles, stirring in her bed. The sound stops.
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