Humility

by Magdalene Hornbeam

  - How has he booked with my money? What is this "Black Eye"? - The old lady stood on the edge of the veranda and the voice got the upper pitch.

  - All televisions discuss the most beautiful boutique set of black pearls called "Black Eye" and you still don’t understood anything. When you stuck in this coffee plantation, you go nuts and wild!

  - This coffee plantation provides you with the plastic surgery, it gives you the rich lifestyle and it's time to get off the ground and not wasting money on crap! And your husband to buy this "Black Eye" by showing off so much, with his own money! I stopped the transfer.

  - What! How do you dare to refuse payment! Plantation and everything here belongs to my father, you were just a maid. And you are such to this present day! Well, that was my aunt who took care of me, educate me and taught me manners! I'm the heiress! If you think that after the death of my aunt, you can command and rule here, it is simply a lie! Tomorrow you will make the payment! - Miss Universe was screaming.

  - Stop shouting! Is that the jewelry on your neck? Such beads can be bought for the price of one kilogram of high quality coffee from every fisherman on the coast!

  Dona Margarita ostentatiously turned and began to walk away.

  - If you do not pay, I'll call my lawyer and I will fire you because of this, you should know! I will appoint a knowledgeable manager of the plantation. Everything is mine, you have nothing written on your name! – The young beauty was twisted with anger.

  In the shadows between the two houses lay a young girl of about twenty, swarthy, with cunning narrow eyes and sharp ears. She saw Dona Margarita going to the old house and quickly went after her.

  ***

  On the next day Dona Margarita started very early at dawn for the mansion, where they were currently harvesting the coffee. Miss Universe and her husband got out of bed at noon. Laura, their daughter was playing alone in the living room, downstairs.

  - Laura, where's the nurse?

  - Didn’t you give her a day off for today, Mom? - Chirped the child and Anna remembered that it was for the first time that she could heard her voice.

  - This time her subject turned out to be a very quiet and meek child.

  - Oh yes. Why don’t you go with your grandmother in the old house to have breakfast? We will probably go out to eat, together with your father.

  - Granny left early in the morning with the servants. In the old house now there is only the Old Guard. The Little girl called this way the aged porter of Doña Margarita.

  At the same time on the driveway in front of the porch a car stopped the car and there got out the old lady's maid.

  - Dona Margarita fainted I am coming from coffee plantation. The local doctor is sending me for drugs and told me to call you because you can bring her to senses. She is not well! - The voice of the girl with dark skin and black eyes positioned obliquely sounded choppy, with a particular emphasis.

  - Okay, you're going to buy drugs, and I'll call my doc and we are coming right away.

  The maid went back to the car and drove off.

  Miss Universe rang his GP, but he said he would go with his car to the mansion alone, because he happened to be nearby.

  Her husband appeared on the stairs. He peered into the living room, which two walls were made of glass in the vast room - it was very bright.

  - Honey, I'll take the small car to go to the plantation, Mom has felt sick.

  - Can you not go?

  - Well, that paramedic there, could not revive her, so I called our doctor. It is not appropriate not to go.

  Then let the doctor come to pick you up.

  - He was in a nearby sick patient and would go directly there.

  - Well, I have an idea, we will take the direct way through the jungle. It is very beautiful, I'll take some photos.

  - We have to get Laura. I let the nurse get a day off.

  - I told you we had to hire two nurses, leave it to the servants in the old house.

  - There is no one there, you know what a skinflint my mother is. Only the deaf janitor is there.

  - Then we will take the child, too. Let's dress up. You put in your bathing suit, to take pictures of you, at the waterfall.

  The got ready and drove off.

  - Dad, is not it scary in the jungle? - Laura said when they took the crossing at the end of the city. – Granny says that we should not go there.

  - Now…put the hat, Laura, and stop asking stupid questions! – Snapped the beautiful mother.

  Anna rose to examine the landscape. The Angels behaved oddly and she focused to understand what caused it. The Limo which drove Laura and her parents had an open hood. About a kilometer after them there was a moving motorbike. Ahead the road was clear and around there was the vegetation, which was nice, green and passable. For now, there was no danger, though.

  She went again to her object of protection. She had already been allowed for her mental body to move quickly. Not long after Laura said she wanted to pee. They stopped. They told her to come down and hide by the car. The child obediently squatted near the car, on the right. Anna was disgusted by the “belle” mother. Can’t she help her daughter! There was danger for the child to fall into the lianas. At this time the rider approached. It was rather a lady rider, because it was the maid of Dona Margarita. She stopped the bike next to the car. Her husband, who was drumming on the steering wheel turned puzzled. Miss Universe exclaimed in surprise and said something like that she was surprised to see her not having taken the drugs and also added why she had taken this road. At that time there echoed two shots from a pistol with a muffler. One - in the man's head and the other in the head of the charming miss. Just quickly and flawlessly. Then the maid put the gun in the pocket of her wide garment, started the engine, looked around and drove back. She never saw the girl who was crouching behind the car.

  Anna was terrified that the little would be frightened by the sight and would start screaming. So with all her forces she tried to instill it, that she should run. It worked. The child was shocked at first, then she looked around, the smoke from the engine could be seen, though the assassin had disappeared around the corner. The Little girl started running, literally jumped into the lianas to the right of the road. She was running, the leaves hit her, but she managed to duck in between. She found a path and walked on it. Anna was constantly giving strength to clever little creature. Laura walked on and one, for quite a long time. The maid came into the city, then changed the motor with a car which had been left in the parking lot and it went through the check at the entrance of the wealthy neighborhood. Finally she came back to the house of Doña Margarita. Trying not to be noticed by the deaf doorman, she entered the new house. There was no trace of Laura and the nanny. She was ready to shoot them, too but when she knew that they were not in sight, she appeared before the only person left here - the doorman. She started screaming at him and asking him where the child and the woman who took care of her were. The old man replied that perhaps the child had left with her parents somewhere and that he knew nothing more.

  The maid got into the car, drove off and considered it not appropriate to be back on the road in the jungle. She took the best new road and arrived at the mansion before Dona Margarita had returned from her checking the pickers and before the doctor. When the doctor arrived, she lied that Miss Universe has led her mother because she decided it was best to take her to hospital. He left without asking more. Shortly after he arrived, police officers and emergency Dona Margarita was discovered in coffee fields to be informed of the terrible news.

  Anna was placed again before a trial. On all TV channels it was reported about the murder of Miss Universe and her husband in a robbery. They emphasized that the Miss was wearing the famous collection "Black Eye" and had died because of it. Incidentally they reported that their six-year-old daughter was wanted.

  The child had not had breakfast. The great heat and humidity had wearied her. Anna found him asleep in a small valley. The Angels had to help. She rose up to
consult with them.

  “The child will die in the jungle if they do not find it. Your making her run was a wrong decision. "- Said the black angel.

  "You’d better focus during these hours on a police detective who investigated the hottest tracks. If you can impute and instill in him the idea to pay attention to the maid of Dona Margarita, he'll find the gun under his pillow and it will save the child. "- It was the view of the white angel.

  Anna looked for the responsible officer for the occasion. It was not difficult to find him because he was giving an interview on a state television that seven suspects were arrested for the brutal murder and within days, they were to be submitted to the court. He lied that the child was found and reassured the nation-wide grief in the most beautiful fellow-citizen.

  She tried to convey to him that he had not questioned all associates of Dona Margarita, but in was vain. The detective followed the instructions from the top. He would incriminate anyone from the criminal elements caught with weapon in the area and to quickly smooth things out. The child would spring up from somewhere in the multi-million city. In three days all would already have forgotten about the case. This officer of the law was hopelessly unsympathetic. He cared neither about justice, nor about the fate of the child.

  She went back into the jungle by the road, after making sure that criminal maid was in plantation and was serving Dona Margarita. There was not much time. Laura was smeared with cream against mosquitoes, but there was risk of running into all sorts of animals and insects at night. She should not stay there when the night falls. Anna rose and examined the area. There was a waterfall nearby. There, some tourists were taking pictures. One of them was a photographer of a geographical magazine. She excite his curiosity, and his paparazzo greed. The man was very susceptible. She enticed him to go after her. He, of course, did not see her, but something drew him to separate from the group and go along the paths between the vines and tall trees. Finally she managed to take him to Laura, she was just waking up and started crying piteously. The man questioned her what had happened, but spoke only in English because his Spanish was lamentable. However, he realized that the child was lost and he took her in his arms. Very quickly they were out, of the road and soon were travelling hitchhiking. It was obvious that all of his life he has been taking photos among wild and untouched places. She quickly got to the hotel where he had stayed and found n interpreter. But the little girl started crying and they could not make her tell anything. The interpreter was in a hurry and did not wait for the child to calm down. The photographer calmed down the girl with hugs, gave her something to eat, bought her a change of clothes and walked around with her. In the evening he placed her on the sofa armchair to sleep and just as he was sure that she was deep asleep, he called home to his wife. She was a well-known ecologist and they always moved in different directions. They were above forty-five and yet they had no children.

  - How will you get the child away from the country? You will get caught and will lie in their prison.

  - Do you want a child, a good girl of five or six years?

  - I do, but her parents will certainly be looking for her. How could you kidnap a foreign child, you’ve completely lost your mind.

  - An angel allowed me to take this child.

  - With this esoteric literature that you read during your travels it will get us into some troubles.

  - You just tell me, will you quit your career for a while to take care of Laura.

  - Laura? Did you say Laura? Oh, do what you know. I cannot get on with you!

  - Well, if the angel helps me, tomorrow we are with you.

  The man lay on the bed with his shoes on and suddenly began to cry. Bitter, repent, heartbreaking. His wife really wanted to have a child! He deliberately avoided the discussion of this topic, but since she started suggesting him to try in-vitro, he was wondering how to distract her attention. The photographer had made a test ten years ago and knew he was sterile. He did not want to lose her. He had convinced himself that she would leave him, if she knew. He cannot make it through. He had wandered around all continents, had met thousands of women. For him there was only one woman in the world, he had met her, she was his mate May Our Lord take pity on him at this time. He cried even more bitterly. So far he had been deceiving his nearest person, and now he was about to steal a child.

  Anna hung in the middle of the room, and could "see" everything that he thought, and she was also looking for his angels. Who had breathed courage into him, to take Laura? Gradually he realized that the photographer had in mind her. So, she was waiting for help. She tried to turn on the TV set. It worked! They were broadcasting about the tragedy with Miss Universe and along with pictures of her and her husband, the director finally showed a photo of Laura with a cheerful message that at least the child had been with her a nurse and was safe. The announcement was in a female program. The newsreader, to make it sound interesting, says that Dona Margarita, the mother of the deceased beauty managed a large coffee plantation and the poor orphan would be left to the nurses and teachers without maternal affection. But incidentally, Miss Universe has also been raised in this way and then again the conversation was carried away about her titles and prizes.

  The photographer went to the bathroom, splashed water on his face, sat on the bedroom, looked at the child and knew that the grandmother did not even know where her granddaughter was. Even if it was desirable to take her and raise her with his wife. Suddenly he stood up, bent (he was quite tall) and said:

  - Thank you, My Angel. Now I'm sure that we have to adopt Laura.

  - A few hours later he woke the child, dressed her in new clothes, took the old clothes in his bag, hid her hair in a big hat and left the hotel. They took a cab, got out on a large square, where they were waited for by a friend of his. They were taken on a private yacht, which sailed them freely to a country located on an island. Then they took the ferry and found themselves in another state where there was also a friend waiting for them. As if this man had friends in all countries worldwide. After three days they arrived home without any checks and troubles.

  His wife was waiting for them. She hugged Laura and said she had hired a lodging in another city where people did not know them, and had already given the house in a property agency for sale. The child would learn English very quickly.

  ***

  Anna got up and found her angels.

  "Can we go and see Dona Margarita before going back to Orange? Just to know how she is going”

  "No." - answered BlackX18.

  She went through the white tunnel and soon they found themselves in the "office" of the orange orb. The Angels disappeared, probably they went to report to Sudar and Anna dreamed of seeing him at least once more. She prepared to record everything on her computer – everything about ants and began methodically to study the life of their nest and anthills. She thought constantly about the Head of the angels. She thought of the Beatitudes and blessings as philosophical and moral categories. She has written papers on this topic. She was trying to remember ... She thought it hadn’t been anything significant. When a man knows no bliss, but only theorized, one could not get closer to the truth. Truth, what is truth!? What kind of nonsense is this to learn and get to know all the things about ants?

  Chapter 7

  Anna was about to take the fifth mission on the earth. So far, four previous missions were reported as operationally – successful – insofar she had saved her guarding objects from the current danger. But securing a more peaceful existence, according to statistics meant fifty percent survival rights to a decent age. So the next challenge was just as important as the previous ones. The good thing was that the angels no longer had restrictions and really helped, and she had no prohibitions and limitations in terms of territory and information. But ultimately, the possibilities of a mental spirit of the earth were not particularly impressive. She was disappointed by her angels, because of her blue home world, they could influence events, almost as much as her, despite h
aving inexhaustible source of information. But for her - that information, sometimes was like a quagmire in which she could not find the way.

  The angels let her know briefed that the object was a forty-five-year old teacher in a world metropolis, the capital of one of the leading countries. It seemed that the last task would be the easiest.

  After leaving the abyss of white light, Anna quickly realized where she was - in the apartment of Dillon Frank, who was sitting in front of his laptop at a well-ordered desk and writing the program for extracurricular training in classical literature. There was order and cleanliness. She was informed that his wife had died in a railway accident three years ago and did not expect that he was coping alone so well with the household. She rose and looked BlackX18. She wanted to know why the Franks had remained childless. It turned out that his wife, a teacher at the same school had problems and they have been saving long for an IVF procedure. But when they have saved the money that was necessary, she has given the sum to a black family with five children. The pictures of the past showed no misunderstanding. Dylan was not at all disappointed with his wife.

  "We have many children at school, even if we do have not ours, it is no trouble." - Had told his wife after the donation. - "More important to me was to help the already born five children of the neighbor's family."

  Dylan had only shrugged his shoulders without comment.

  Later his wife was ranked in the waiting list for free access to IVF procedure, but it did not happen, it simply did not work. Anna got back to Dylan. Completely normal, slightly bald, brown-haired, white man.

  The doorbell rang. They turned out to be two detectives from the police station of the district.

  - Good morning, are you Dylan Frank, a teacher in one hundred and twenty fifth school? – asked the plump policeman, by showing his ID at the same time. The other policeman was frowning and did not speak at all.

  - Yes, It’s me, come in - he invited them simply out of courtesy, but he did not expect them to come in. But they rushed quickly and shut the door behind them.