Adela, by Rosa Menéndez

- Adela, Adela. Come on, it’s time to wake up. Come on darling. This is your last day at school before Christmas.

- Oh yes, I Know. Oh! Mum please help me, my legs hurt.

- Oh darling, what´s the matter? We went to the doctor and everything is OK. You must wake up by yourself.

- No mum, I can´t, I´m telling you the truth.

- OK, OK I’ll help you.

- It´s enough mum, thank you, I’ll do the rest by myself.

Adela had been a charming girl, a good friend and a good student. In spite of her deficiency (she was born with a malformation of the hip) she was a happy kid, and had a lot of friends. Even when her parents split up five years ago she continued to make everybody happy around her.

Now Adela is fifteen, and she has begun to think by her own. Yesterday she was rejected by Danny, the boy she liked; and she spent all the evening thinking about that and about her mother:

            “I would like her to be here and tell her a couple of things, but she is not here. Sure! She is working. Oh yes, of course! Her job is more important than me. Even when she was pregnant it was. She might have thought the X-ray could affect me. If she had stopped working I would probably have healthy legs, and Danny would notice me. I could run and ride a bike. But I can only swim and walk. I’m tired of swimming ‘It´s very good for you’ she says. She doesn´t know how much I suffer. She doesn´t really care. She is only concerned about going out with that stupid man, Charlie. I can´t stand him! I can´t understand what she saw in him, he is rude and ugly. Why did she have to give daddy up?”

Adela had already gone to bed when her mother arrived home. Adela wasn´t asleep when she heard her coming into the bedroom: ‘Thanks Adela, thanks for being here, thanks for being my support. You always make me feel not everything is wrong. I love you’

-   Goodbye darling. Have a good day at school.

-   Goodbye mum, goodbye Oliver, have a good day at school.

-   Bye sister.

‘Mum is not working this afternoon, I´ll talk to her then. I´ll tell her I´m going to live with Dad’ –thought Adela-

On her way to the high school she met her best friend: Mary:

-   Hello Adela! How are you?

-   Hello Mary! I´m not feeling very well, I´ve realised a couple of things about my mum.

-   Your mother, what´s the matter with her?

-   It´s not fair. I don´t deserve a mother like her! What was my fault?

-   I can’t understand you.

-   She is guilty, guilty of my deficiency, guilty of Danny´s rejection, of going with another man leaving Daddy alone. Guilty, you know, guilty!

-   Are you trying to tell me you´ve realised something? I´ve never seen you so blocked. Neither you understand me. Of course, you´re not in my skin.

-   Definitely, that stupid boy, Danny, has blocked your mind completely. I don’t recognize the girl who is by my side. Do you remember two weeks ago when I came to school without my folder? I was blaming myself all the morning until you told me: “Of course, you are not stupid, you´ve only made a mistake, that´s all” You are always cheering and encouraging everybody around you.

Your mother could have made some mistakes, who hasn’t? No one knows if your problem was caused by the X-ray. I don´t know what happened between your parents, both of them seem charming. But they love you, and both of them are concerned about you and your brother.

Besides, Danny is a shallow-minded boy. You would not have any interesting conversation with him. He is only concerned about physical appearance. Have you noticed the way Marcos looks at you, have you realized he is always trying to help you?

-   Marcos?

-   ...

When Adela arrived home, she was really hungry, and when she opened the door, Oliver (her eleven-year-old brother) was finishing setting the table. The nicest smell in the world flooded the flat: baked chicken. Her mother was taking the potatoes out of the pan and the soup was already on the table.

-   Hello darling! Are you feeling better?

-   Yes I am.

After having lunch Adela was very tired, she went to the sofa and switched on the TV, there was a teenager party on it. She fell asleep and dreamed she was in a party; she was able to dance doing whatever movement with her hip. She was able to jump and she wasn´t limping. Danny was trying to hug and kiss her, she was really pretty. It seemed as if none of her friends noticed her and, of course, nobody showed joy because of her improvement. Mum and Dad stood aside. It seems as if they were unknown. There was  pounding music.

-   Adela, Adela, come on, we are going to put the Christmas tree –it was Oliver- . Would you like to see my marks?

-   Of course Oli, I know you are a good student.

-   Look, I have a 9.5 in Maths, it´s because you helped me.

-   Mum, I would like to talk to you.

-   What about? Tell me.

-   Have you thought about inviting Charlie to sleep and stay here when he wants? There´s no problem with me.

-   Is everything OK?

-   I´m better than ever.

THE END