CHAPTER 4
THE ENCOUNTER
THAT SAME YEAR, CHRISTMAS EVE
In Christmas Eve. Everyone was happy getting ready for the day Jesus Christ was borne. A very busy day, especially for the nuns because they had a mass to prepare.
Lucy was 6, sitting on the doorsteps of a room she was not allowed to enter. She was scared, sad and every single smile she saw on people made her pain worse. She lived in a child nursery house that was part of the Church governed by the sisters. It was a nunnery more concerned with charity, children’s wellbeing and nursery. Whenever it was visiting day and the other girls received their parents, Lucy would ask Mother Martha about her parents and Mother Martha, with a cheering smile on her face would say, “They couldn’t come this time, my dear. Next time, they sure will!”
Mother Martha lay on her bed, waiting for death to visit her. She had one last task to accomplish. She had hidden a secret she couldn’t let herself die before telling Lucy, a secret she kept from her since she took her on her arms when somebody left a beautiful healthy babe in front of the Convent 5 years ago.
She ordered a sister to call Lucy and the sister didn’t have to bother. As soon as Lucy heard her name, she immediately entered the room. After knowing that Mother Martha perished, she went to sit on her door. Mother Martha had treated Lucy as her own child because she had no one to take care of her and because God brought Lucy specifically to her. When the other girls called her Mother, they meant it as if saying “elder sister” but when Lucy said it, she meant “mom”. A few seconds later, Lucy sat beside her. Tears came out of Mother Martha’s eyes and involuntarily Lucy started mimicking her tears.
“Don’t cry my child for I am going to a better place. I am going to meet God. There’s no better reason to celebrate than that,” Mother Martha tranquilized Lucy although terrified by death. However, even move terrified that Lucy would be alone in the world. If only God gave her a few more years to see Lucy grow up and be strong enough to take care of her own.
Lucy, still crying, murmured between soft sobs, “If it’s good, then why are you crying?” Mother Martha was quiet for a while, thinking what to say, what to say to a child, what to say to a child meant to live her entire puzzled life alone in the world, so she said, “Because of you, Lucy.”
“But I am fine,” Lucy said a bit confused. Mother Martha coughed heavily for a while, made a gesture with her hand for Lucy to keep herself away from her to avoid contamination for she had Tuberculosis. When the coughing stopped, she uttered softly, “Lucy, there’s something I have to tell you before I go.”
“What is it, Mother?” Lucy approached even closer to hear what she had to say clearer since her voice was too low. Mather Martha continued, “You have to promise to be strong. Will you be strong for me?” Lucy nodded. “My child, I don’t know who is either your mother or your father. Someone left you on the Convent’s doorsteps and I was the one who took you inside. I loved you as you were my own,” She coughed again and this time, blood came out of her mouth. “You have to study and always follow your heart. I will be protecting you from heaven. I…” She coughed again, and again, “There is a necklace with the belongings I told them to give you when I am gone. It can either lead you to your parents or to your death. Don’t wear it never but keep it close to you”, she coughed up a torrent of blood and started fading.
“Mother, please don’t leave me here alone. Mother, I don’t want you to be an angel. Please stay. Mom!?”
The hand that held Lucy’s arm fell on the bed her body rested and so she did peacefully and uninterruptedly. What Lucy had to do is hide the necklace from everyone until someday she started to note any connection and clues on her parents. It was a crucifix with a round object in the intersection. It had stamped two keys and the Pope’s Crown. That was her only lead to finding her parents but if her parents were murdered, that could be the only thing to put her life in danger. It was both her bless and her curse.
The doctor came in and reported her death. Lucy had both her hands on her face, crying heavily. When the doctor said Mother Martha was gone, Lucy went out, ran and ran until she couldn’t run anymore. When that happened, she arranged more strength to keep running, sobbing.
At that same moment, somewhere else, specifically at the Freeman’s mansion, Gabe’s parents were arguing. Gabe’s mom was throwing dishes at her husband, Mr. Freeman, the richest man in Africa, yet very little known. She had just found out that he was having an affair with a woman half his age, again. Gabe always cried and locked himself in his mother’s wardrobe when this happened. This time, he took his bike and rode it until he couldn’t ride anymore.
At that same time, Steve had just lost his pet. Steve had two dogs, Da Vince and Tesla. Da Vince was a laboratory genetic manipulated dog that came from cross-breeding an Alsatian dog and a Wolf, a beautiful unique sample. He also enhanced certain genes to make the dog smarter like Joe Tsien did in 1999 when he used genetic engineering techniques to create mice that had better memories and could, therefore, learn faster than other mice. Tesla was Da Vince’s only survivor offspring, which meant he had inherited Da Vince’s abilities. He was the result of Da Vince’s egg with that of a guard bitch. The other offspring died but Tesla survived. He was a miracle. That day, Da Vince had died.
He tried fruitlessly to resuscitate the dog with electrical discharges with no success. He felt guilty because he didn’t at least keep a single semen sample of Da Vince’s. Although he strongly opposed to it, he retained the knowledge to making a clone of him for those we love should never die before we do. The means are easily attainable. Tesla’s look of love and hope made him conform himself. He mourned but at least he had Tesla. Nobody else cared. Not even his father who he thought was the only living man able to understand him. As his father said, ‘it's just a dog, Steve. We can buy another one’.
He had made a coffin out of wood and was on his way to the cemetery when a reckless kid riding a bicycle passed by in furious speed and made him lose balance. Steve tried hard not to but the coffin fell down. Tesla ran after the bicycle to reclaim an apology to his master. When Steve recovered from the bump, he stood up and followed with his coffin on his hands.
Gabe started riding faster to run from the dog and was constantly looking behind. Finally, he seemed to be distancing himself from the barking sound that was becoming lower and lower. He constantly looked back to make sure. When he turned his head to the street, a young girl came from nowhere and while trying to avoid impact, he ended up falling onto her. The dog arrived and started to bark at the two of them. They were terrified so they made no moves. Each cried for a different reason before but at that moment, they started crying for the same reason, fear. Steve arrived and ordered Tesla to stop scaring them. Tesla obeyed. Gabe was hurt from the impact so Steve offered to help.
“Do you have a cloth or something?” Lucy said addressing to Steve. Steve instantly said, “Yes, it had been antecedently intended to overlay my deceased dog with it but you are allowed to make use of it since it was my dog’s fault he is wounded.” Gabe, a bit confused said between moaning, “What does he mean with deceased?”
“He means dead,” Lucy answered.
Gabe, in excruciating pain, had the strength to say, “A dead dog? I’d rather die than have my blood joined with that of a dog.”
Steve got offended and reprimanded Gabe who stopped yelling for he feared his small injury at the right foot knee could be even worse if Steve got angrier and ordered the dog to make a feast of him, “Know that it was a special dog.”
“My dog is also special and trained by the best but it gets dirty sometimes,” Gabe said.
“Well, mine was the most special in the entire world,” Steve elevated his voice but soon calmed and said, “Besides, I haven’t used it, yet. I just took something that seemed useless from my mom’s briefcase
. Here you are!” Addressing to Lucy, “I suppose you know the praxis.”
“I had some visual nursing training at the Convent but I am not going to lie, it’s going to hurt a bit.”
“If I die I am going to kill you both,” Gabe threatened them, “You for running like a savage (pointing Lucy) and you because of that stupid dog of yours (staring at Steve).”
Lucy tore a rag off of the cloth and went towards Gabe who started screaming excruciatingly when the rag touched his feet. Lucy surprised, yelled, “I haven’t even touched you.”
“Such an unmanly spoiled brat,” Steve said. And Lucy touched Gabe’s right arm, “Close your eyes.” She placed her hands on his knee and a wail like his, they had never heard before. He screamed like a pig in the slaughter.
“If you won’t stop being such a babe, Tesla can help,” Steve said while holding the dog on Gabe’s face as to threaten him.
“It’s done!” Lucy notified. Gabe was stunned, “Wow, really? Thanks!” He came into reason and redeemed himself, “I am sorry to be rude, I am just angry my parents are always shouting at one other.”
“At least you have parents,” She started to look gloomy, then she tried to hold herself but she couldn’t so she resumed crying, “I have got nothing. I am alone in this world.” Steve looked into her eyes and took her hand in his own, “No, you are not. There are 7 billion human beings in the world Lucy,” She stared at him definitively not amused with his comment. He resumed, “They are all selfish creatures so I never merge with any of them but my parents. I retain no other option there. But you, young woman, are different and I enjoy your company.” Gabe stood up and said, “Us”. Steve resumed, “I believe this engagement was already set. My dog has departed and I am torn apart but I trust I have newfound friends.”
Steve and Gabe were both 5 years old but Steve had a rather adult complex. To him, most human beings were stupid, especially that spoiled kid he had just met but, he somehow liked him and couldn’t tell why. That bugged him for a while until he realised that Gabe’s laid-back behaviour as if he had no problems, something he clearly didn’t have because he carried the whole world’s problems and unsolved science matters as his own, was what made him appreciate Gabe.
“About that, why do you have a dead dog on a box, in the first place?” Gabe asked.
“I am headed to the cemetery.”
“Are you serious?” Gabe asked rhetorically and smiling. Then when he saw Steve’s serious face, he put his cutest face on, and asked, “Can I come?”
“If so you wish,” Steve answered.
“I have to go back home,” Lucy said a bit disheartened. Steve, trying to persuade her said, “And here I thought, judging by the garments you are wearing that you actually lived in a Convent house care.”
“Actually I do and I am not allowed to play with strangers or people outside the Convent, especially boys.”
Steve put on the face he had when he found out that Da Vince was gone, the face of sorrow and he looked at Lucy, “I am Steve and I am in need of emotional support. Now, I have disclosed my identity and since it’s your principal destination to become a sister, it’s your obligation to help those in need. Besides, you said you have no one else which means you are an orphan and consequently, you might need some real friends too.”
Lucy was shaken. How could he know all that? She didn’t know what to do and things went even worse when Gabe decided to do the same and said, “I need some support too. My name is Gabriel but you may call me Gabe. What’s yours?” He lifted his right hand, leaving it hanging, waiting to be shaken by Lucy’s. He didn’t have to wait long till she gave a shy smile, took his hand and answered, “Lucy! My name is Lucy.”
“It is official then,” Steve said, “Lucy, the people from the nunnery could vanish to their families one by one, Gabe’s parents could kill themselves someday, Tesla will certainly die someday but we can always have each other. I know neither of you but I sense that I have known you forever.”
“That was exactly what I was thinking,” Gabe added.
Finally, Lucy made her decision, “Ok, I will go. But not for long. Everyone must be looking for me.”
“What’s your deal, Steve?” Gabe asked while heading to Da Vince’s burial.
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you speak like a robot?”
“The question would be why do robots speak like that?”
“OK, whatever. What’s it then?”
“They know everything!”
“You mean you know everything?”
“To you, I can without any doubt say that I most certainly do.” “Can you tell me how to make my parents stop arguing all the time?”
“Well,… no! I am yet to understand the seemingly irrational behaviour of adults.”
“Then you are not a robot.”
“I don’t ever remember implying that I was!”
“I am really not sure you are human either.”
Lucy, Steve, and Gabe went to the cemetery together which was 1 km of distance from where they were standing. When they were coming back, they found a frondose beautiful small mango tree with red ripe mangoes and beautiful light green leaves. That seemed to be its first time flourishing and giving birth to those huge scarlet mangoes. They were hungry so they stopped to feast. Steve climbed as fast as a monkey but Gabe took a few minutes to get to where the ripest mangos hanged. Lucy stayed down, catching those the boys threw. Gabe and Steve were in a competition to see who gives the most beautiful mango to Lucy. At the end, Lucy took one from each of them. They later found out that the beautiful mango tree was exactly at the place Gabe’s bicycle crushed. That was the beginning of an everlasting friendship between 3 very different young people. They made a promise that they would never forget one another, that every Christmas Eve, they would be there at 5 P.M., and they carved their names on the small mango tree. And no, surprisingly no one was looking for Lucy that day so she invested strongly in her friendship with the boys. At least they cared.
Tesla died a year later. Apparently, Steve had made a small mistake in the insemination process and the embryos were conceived with a weak immune system.
Four years later, when Steve was 9, he applied for the grade 12 extraordinary exams and succeeded. Then, he applied for electronic engineering at Eduardo Mondlane University and succeeded with 18.65 out of 20. Angry at the results, he wrote an article about how the exams usually contain faulty exercises, operational mistakes, and wrong solutions. He didn’t ask for a scholarship because, in order to be granted one, he had to prove that he was poor, a humiliation he didn’t want to place in his hard working parents so he wrote another article about that too. When in other countries only the smartest have the right to scholarships, in his country only those who had the means to fake a documented proof of poverty did.
He was the whole country’s trending news. The headline was ‘Mozambican Education Increase Quality’ and other was ‘President Zumbo’s New Approach towards education bears fruits’ and there was Steve’s favourite, ‘Boy Genius gets to UEM’. Although the media tried, no one could interview him because he didn’t want any attention to himself.
His articles were well known and had such an impact that the Universities changed their policies. Although he had a great will to go to college because he saw he lacked that social interpersonal need, he quit after a few classes for the professors couldn’t help him. His equally smart alter-ego, his bedroom, his IQ and his curiosity were the best teachers he could ever need to create the most desired conception the world has ever seen.