Barcelona

Vega sat by the window barely drinking the glass of wine in his hand. He inhaled the scent of the red roses resting on the table. The fragrance was a sweet mixture of their perfume and the coming rain. Despite it all he was content to be back in Spain, back home. He reached into his jacket pocket and took out a sealed envelope. He sat there gazing at it, wondering if he was making the right choice. But something in his heart told him it was the thing to do. Still he stared at it, thinking of all the possibilities.

"Sir?"

Vega turned and looked over his shoulder at his servant. "Yes?"

"Your car is waiting."

Vega stood up and took the bouquet of roses and the letter. He slowly walked to his servant and handed her the envelope.

"Mail this tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

She nodded. "Yes."

She followed him as he walked down the stairs into the great hall. She opened the door for him and reached over to take an umbrella for him. But he gestured to her that he didn’t want it.

"But Sir it’s going to rain."

"I know." Vega began to walk down the stone work steps where his driver waited with the back door open. Vega approached the long black car and sat inside and laid the bouquet of red roses on his lap. The driver closed Vega’s door then opened his own on the driver’s side and sat down. He inserted the key and began to slowly drive on the old brick roads that led to another section of Vega’s estate. Vega looked out of his window at everything around him. His garden, his vineyard, the stretch of land that had a large water fountain of the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, in it’s center. He thought about his life here. How it was missing the very person who gave it all to him. The he noticed he was almost there. His lips parted slightly as the car came to a stop. The driver exited and quickly opened Vega’s door.

Without a word Vega got out holding the bouquet of roses close to him. He began to walk towards the elegant steel gate and opened it and closed it behind himself. He walked down the cobblestone path lined with flowers that all looked shades of blue in the moonlight. He walked down the long path until he reached the mausoleum. He looked at the structure made all of pure white glistening marble. With its carved angels for pillars to hold up the weight of its roof. Vega walked up its four steps towards the smaller structure of marble sheltered safely in the center. He reached down and touched the name carved in the marble, Maria Isabelle De Cerna. He kneeled down and laid the red roses below his mother’s name.

He thought back to his childhood. When he had fencing lessons in the courtyard. Sometimes he’d pause and looked around to see her smiling at him from a nearby window. Her smile, so proud of him. It made him fence better, wanting to keep her smiling. But more to keep her happy, even if it was just for a moment. He remembered one day she was so happy she rushed outside to embrace him. Vega remembered how her long blonde hair shimmered in the sunlight. How she would pick up her dress when she ran. Vega remembered dropping his sword and running to meet her. And she held him in her arms.

"I did well mother?"

"Yes Vega. Beautifully." She smiled.

Vega then remembered having her snatched away. He looked to see his ugly father grabbing her arm pulling her toward him. He remembered him yelling at her telling her we were both running around like fools. Screaming that she was raising her son to act like an idiot like her. He remembered him shoving his mother back into the house and screaming for him to continue his fencing lesson. His horrible face watching his son as he turned around and walked back to take his sword and continue his lesson. Vega remembered picking up the sword and looking at it, knowing in his heart what he wanted to do with it even then. There was the rage that his father treated his mother that way. But even more there was Vega’s own hatred that he couldn’t stop him from hurting his mother. Vega remembered looking back to see his mother at the window, she forced a smile but Vega knew her heart was broken. She tried to hide the hurt from him. Every time she got yelled at or slapped, she would still try to smile when she saw him. Unselfishly she kept it all inside, and her face tried its best to disguise the pain. All for him, all for her son.

As Vega kneeled at the mausoleum he heard the sound of thunder in the distance as the storm approached. Vega closed his eyes and just thought about his mother, how much he missed her, how sorry he was for being too young to protect her. He felt the warm tears run down his cheeks. Then the rain began to fall almost as if heaven was mourning for her also. The heavy rain danced along the marble angels and delicate flowers in the resting-place of his mother. Once again he felt as if his heart was bleeding in the night. Vega took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

"I think my soul flew away with yours when you died. I love you mother."