THE CRYSTAL CUP chapter seventy one

 THE CRYSTAL CUP

chapter seventy one

- Hi girls...

- Stela! As...

- How did you find us?!!

- Sincerely? I have no idea. An image just popped into my head, I asked the driver to take me to this pizzeria... and here I am...

- Well, don't stay there, stop... sit down...

In the meantime, Helena made a sign for the attendant to bring another plate to the table, which she was promptly served...

- And there? What are you going to drink?

- What are you drinking?

- Strawberry juice with milk... it's delicious...

- I'll have one, too... can I...?

- Girl, if I couldn't, I wouldn't have asked them to bring another dish... help yourself... this pizza is delicious...

- And how was the mess at home?

- Well, by the time I left, mom seemed to be in a lethargic state, dad invited Ricardo to disappear from the map, Selene was playing with her dolls...

- Too bad the father didn't stop that scoundrel from entering the house...

- The father couldn't do that, Ceci... the one who called Ricardo was the mother...

- It was going to be trouble anyway...

- But, tell me... why did you come after us?...

- I don't know...suddenly, a bad feeling came over me...you know when you feel you need to do something, otherwise things get out of control? That something can happen without return?

- I had the same feeling... that's why I came with Ceci...

- What is this, guys?

- Really, Ceci... do you know the pendant you gave me? It started to heat up and glow, and suddenly I had a premonition that if I wasn't by your side tonight, something bad might happen to you...

- Same thing happened to me...

- When you were leaving, my pendant turned red... when I left with you, it returned to its normal color...

- Mine too...

- Guys, stop being silly... nothing will happen to me...

- Remember what you said to us, when you gave us a part of your medallion?

- That together we could overcome any obstacle...

- ... but, separated, would we be weak and vulnerable?

- Guys, I don't even know why I told you that...

- We often receive warnings that cannot be ignored... this is one of them...

And so the three sisters finished off the pizza in front of them and ordered another one with pepperoni, which they devoured right away. Finally satisfied, they got up. Cecilia went to the cashier to pay the bill, while her sisters were waiting for her at the door of the establishment. Gathered the three, they decided to walk a little around, to talk a little and clear their ideas. It had been a long time since they had talked like that night... a quiet conversation, where the main subject was memories of their childhood... the visits they made to their relatives in the countryside... they remembered the pranks they got up to, the sometimes together, sometimes alone and the consequences of their actions... yes, because in life nothing comes for free and everyone pays the price for their actions, good or bad... they walked for a good quarter of an hour, when Cecilia consulted he looked at the clock and saw that it was close to midnight... and the next day was still Thursday... they decided it was time to go home, rest a little for the day at work that was approaching. They boarded Helena's car and headed for a peaceful night's sleep... at least, that's what they wanted and expected... but fate doesn't always agree with our wish, does it?...

After being "kindly" invited to leave Mr. Mario's house, Ricardo went out into the street, brooding with hate... although he had not shown any kind of reaction in front of his former father-in-law, inside his blood was boiling, and the the desire for revenge against the affront he received surfaced in such a way that he felt in his heart the need to vent all his anger, all his frustration. For him, everything that happened that night had only one person to blame... Cecilia... she was the cause of all his anguish, of all his suffering. And he had to resolve this situation once and for all... dammit, it cost her to have given him a few minutes, it cost her to listen to him, let him explain himself and tell him that he still loved her very, very much... and that his life without her was meaningless? Yes, all he wanted was to stay a few minutes beside the woman he loved, and tell her that she was everything in his life, that her absence made his life an endless hell... that he couldn't think right without her by his side... yes, that was all he wanted to say to his beloved... but Cecilia, that damned arrogant one, denied him that right...

Ricardo slipped his hand inside his blouse, caressing the butt of his "guardian angel"... yes, that was how he referred to the pistol he had recently acquired. It was loaded. It was her, his "angel", who was going to end all that weird situation he was living... Cecília had another man in her life, he was sure, now... after all, that alone would explain why she was so intolerant of him. Ah, but that would end tonight… he wasn't going to let her play the clown of him, not at all. Her wife wouldn't put a horn on her under any circumstances... her "guard act" would support her in that decision... after all, if Cecilia didn't want to be hers, she wouldn't be anyone else's either. He was going to make sure tonight that that would never happen to him... no, Cecilia wasn't going to make a fool out of him... either she would come home, beside him, and the two of them would live happily ever after, or she would would live in any necropolis. Next to another man, so that everyone would ridicule him, saying that his wife had left him for another, no... never!

Ricardo continued walking, straight ahead... with these thoughts hammering in his head... a little ahead he found a bar still open... he had no doubts... he bought a bottle of cachaça, took the cork and drank it the sip of it straight through the bottleneck. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand, thanked the innkeeper, and headed out into the street, walking and drinking. And it was on this step that he ended up after a two hour walk, in front of Helena and Cecilia's house. He leaned against the post and watched the house, watching as a bloodhound lies in wait to get close to its victim. He looked at his watch... it was just after midnight...

It didn't take long, and Helena's car headlights shone at the end of the street. Ricardo, despite being slightly drunk, noticed the approach and was alert, ready to attack the moment the car stopped. The three sisters disembarked... Helena used to leave her vehicle parked in front of the house, since she didn't have a garage in the house where she lived. When the three were heading to the gate, Ricardo appeared, gun in hand, shouting the name of his ex...

- Cecília, you damned thing... now we're going to settle our accounts!