(Part 9) Unfortunate little Lena

I am lucky I wasn’t the one Nona pushed off that cliff. I was forced to sit on the dock and wait for Maria’s body to wash up. I then had to dig a place for her and bury her, all in the middle of the storm. I’m not quite sure what happened, actually so many things happened at once. I’m sure Nona had a good reason to do it, she just wanted to protect me. I’m up earlier than usual, not that I can tell the time, but the sun hasn’t risen yet. Nona is preparing me for the final lessons. Yesterday wasn’t correct, we are supposed to choose someone unfortunate, a poor soul that is suffering, and we are supposed to welcome them here in our graveyard, like family. People are scared of death and our job is to show them there is nothing to be afraid of. As a keeper of the Nameless, you don’t just pick a person, we watch them for a while. We observe what they do and how they do it, we learn about them and pick up their manners. Nona holds my hand tenderly as I ensure the hood on my head sits right, she still doesn’t know about Dominik or Elanour. I hope it stays that way. We make our way towards another village not far away from ours, right on the outskirts of the town. A little deeper in the village there is a house with a green roof and red doors. In that house lives a family. Nona and I make our way to a bush on the east side of the house where no one can catch a glimpse of us while we overlook everything inside and outside the house. It was rather interesting for me to see a functional family. I never knew much about those. The family living in the green roofed house consisted of five members; mom, dad and three little girls. Laura, Lara and Lena were their names. Lena was the youngest one, with pigmented blond hair and deep ocean blue eyes. They reminded me of Dominik. I digress, Lena was the youngest one of the three daughters. Although young and cheerful Lena suffered from a heart condition, she wasn’t allowed to play as long as her sisters were, nor could she run as fast as them. Life was so cruel to her at the mere age of five. Nona said her parents wouldn’t let her go, they kept her out of selfish reasons, they didn’t want her to find peace. She was suffering. It was our duty to show her a better place, one where she would be in no pain and where she would be treated like everyone around her. We spent the whole day observing and finally a perfect opportunity came. Lena’s parents went to find Laura and Lara, who ran off somewhere and told Lena to stay waiting for them in their front yard. I got up and was ready for my first big task. I feel excitement rush through me but there is a sting of sadness somewhere deep within. I can’t exactly pinpoint where from. I make my way to the front yard and I approach the small angel. “Hello Lena,” I say with a bright smile. She returns is but asks me how I knew her name. “I am a fairy, you mustn’t tell anyone you saw me. I came here for you to bring you to fairyland. We want to give you a magic heart so you can run and play with your sisters,” a spark in her eye lights up “Will you come with me?” I ask, stretching my hand out for her to take. She nods, wrapping her little fingers around mine. “We heal sick people,” that is when Nona came out. “This is an old grandma who can’t speak, she will come with us.” With a big smile Lena offers Nona a hand as well, we all walk back to the forest towards the cliff while Lena tells us about her toys and how much she will play with her sisters when she gets a new heart. It breaks mine to listen to her, but with one stern look from Nona I know what I must do as we reach the cliff.