WONDERING

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At midnight, when all the stars were glistening above, Tessa was standing silently near her father's grave, the wind streaming through her long black hair. Her face was wet with tears as she silently whispered a little prayer to her father.

Marta came up behind her and wordlessly put a hand on Tessa's shoulder. Tessa turned and buried her head in Marta's shoulder. Marta stroked her hair and held her, crooning softly.

"Oh Marta, I miss him so much!" Tessa said, her voice muffled in the cloth of Marta's dress. "Why did he have to die, why?"

Marta replied softly, "We both know he was shot."

"I didn't ask how, I asked why." Tessa lifted her head up and brushed the tears out of her eyes "Why did my father have to die, why him, why now. I loved him so much, is this really God who is taking him away, or was it something else. Could it have been a mistake? Couldn't God have protected him?"

Marta looked into Tessa's eyes "Tessa. What God allows and what he doesn't is His matter. All we need to know is that Don Alvarado, your father, is dead, and that is all. Tessa. Listen to me. Now is not the time to be brooding. You have to stop another shipment of gold, and you must be prepared."

"I know. But still… I can not help myself." Tessa admitted.

"Try." Marta encouraged her. "But now it is time to go back to the house and to sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day, as will be the night after." She lead Tessa back to the patiently waiting horses, and together they rode off, but not before Tessa looked back to whisper: "Oh Papa, who was it?"

THE END