Chapter glossary

Omo: in Korean, an expression of surprise. Equivalent to "oh boy."

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         "Omo!" Nora exclaims the moment I walk in, after falling in to that puddle of mud, barely saving my casts but not my bum. Her eyes widen and her lips part, forming a small O of surprise. "I leave you alone ten minutes and you come back covered in mud."

"Technically," I correct her, raising my index finger as a teacher giving a lesson. "I'm not covered in mud, just partially covered. My front is almost untouched and I did my best to save my casts."

"How did it even happen?" she asks, walking up to me to help me as I'm not using the crutch.

She stayed inside because Louise called her to ask how things are going and keep us up to date. They can't talk much, because it would be suspicious, considering Nora is supposed to be in Seoul right now, so I went out to give them some space to talk and to clear my head.

She helps me to the showers, so we can strip me off my dirty clothes and wash up before changing into new and clean ones.

"I lost my balance when I saw the dogs running in my direction. I'm sure it's Guillermo's fault, though. He sent the dogs in my direction."

"Guillermo?" Nora asks, her confusion shows in the way her eyebrows furrow together.

Even if she speaks Spanish, and just like any person who knows a bit about languages, she knows nouns like names should not be translated. So even if she knows Guillermo is the equivalent for William in Spanish, she wouldn't expect me to translate it and refer to Will as now I do. It's childish, I know, but it's a small satisfaction to change his name.

"The dirty hippie," I explain. "We had another fight and I'm sure he sent the dogs in my direction to get back at me."

After two weeks of constant bickering and shouting, Nora isn't surprised Will and I fight every time we run into each other. It's honestly just bickering, pushing each other's buttons. I had planned ignoring him at first, but those comments, made in whispers, barely audible yet loud enough for me to hear when I walk pass him got on my nerves. Without realising, I started replying and we haven't stopped since then.

"So now you call him Guillermo?" Nora chuckles to herself, helping me with my dirty clothes. "Why is that so?"

"I dunno," I reply, shrugging. "He's just a monolingual idealist who thinks he understands the whole world but just speaks one language and I want to rub in his face there's more than just English."

Nora stops helping me with my clothes to stare at me as if she's disappointed in me for saying such a thing.

"Blanca, you know not everyone can learn more than language. People who speak the lingua franca don't need to learn another to communicate, and without a need they don't care that by learning other language they broaden their horizons and understand a culture, but not for that you have to rub it in their faces or disregard them. It's their choice, and all choices have to be respected equally." I look away because I know I'm just being petty. "You've never looked down on someone for not being even bilingual."

"I know!" I protest, angry at myself because Will makes me be this childish. "But everything about him annoys me, even things I don't care about in other people. It bothers me that he thinks he's better than I am when he's just a guy filled with white guilt."

"Okay, calm down," Nora tells me, her hands on my shoulders, body leaned in so we can be at eye level as I'm sitting down on the toilet lid. "You're spending too much energy on someone you don't like. I know you feel constantly attacked and judged by him, but my Blanca isn't this petty and childish."

I take deep breaths, knowing she's right. I wouldn't normally act like this, but then again, I had never had to deal with someone like Will on a daily basis, and I'm just human, I have many flaws, one of them being short temper, which is enhanced with Will around. But it just rubs me on the wrong way that he judges me so hard and thinks of himself higher or better than me, enough to look down on me. If he really wanted to talk to me, to explain me his demands so I could explain to him our view, he'd have to get down of that pedestal he's built for himself.

"I'm still calling him Guillermo for as long as he calls me Princess in that sardonic tone," I huff, pouting and looking away.

Nora rolls her eyes and I can hear her snort and her hair ruffling as she shakes her head. There's a deep sigh before she goes back to help me with my clothes. We are honestly like sisters, we've grown up together so there's nothing we haven't see of the other, there's no shame or self-consciousness. That's why I have no problem with Nora helping me shower and such. It would've been very awkward if not like that.

"Hows everything in London?" I ask her during the process of cleaning myself before the kids arrive.

"Same old. It's frustrating how nothing changes as days go by," Nora groans. She really detests inefficient people and although there's still a long way to my birthday, it's still frustrating not knowing exactly who's behind the attack and how to expose that without putting my life in more danger.

"It'd be great if a case could be solved in a forty-five minutes episode like in those detective shows," I comment with a little smile, trying to take some of her frustration away.

"Or an hour and half in the case of Sherlock."

"Or an hour in a thriller drama... although some cases take more than one episode, and there's always one running throughout the whole drama so that'd made it sixteen hours... or twenty. Still marathon-able. However if it's a daily drama then it'd take us a few days," I ramble, making her laugh at that. I smile, feeling happy that I can wipe the frown off her face.

I know the situation is stressful, chaotic and scary, and Nora is the person I lean on. Her calm and collected personality has always been what keeps me grounded and balanced, her ability to use logic to sort anything out, her careful attitude. All that makes her Nora, and when she struggles, when her own emotions get out of control or when I see her having a hard time, I get this sense of panic, like everything is lost and doom is on us; so I do my utmost best to help her, to lessen her burden, make her smile and take a breath. She is so capable, and sometimes that's all you need to go on: a break. Life is ruthless and it's always uphill, it's exhausting and demanding, but you're allowed breaks to gather your energy, plan your route and enjoy the scenery for a while. I try to give her those breaks to put herself together like she gives me the strength to carry on.

"It's okay, Nora. Even if it takes a while, the truth will come out. The longer I stay hidden, the more confident they grow and that can make them make mistakes. Then when I come back, it'll be worse for them." She takes a deep breath and I hold her hand to give her some reassurance. It also works to help me convince myself. "For now we should enjoy this sort of vacations."

"Even if you end up partially covered in mud?" she asks me, her smile faint and her eyes tired.

"Even if I end up totally covered in mud," I affirm confidently. "Sammy said the day I'm out of the cast we'll go play chase the pig. I'm expecting a full mud facial by then."

Nor laughs out loud this time, shaking her head at the mental picture and I just grin cheekily, delighted I've made her laugh like that.

The kids keep making plans for once I'm out of the casts, and I've made a few promises myself for the future. Like when Catalina caught me watching the MV for Run by BTS and got stuck with the chorus of the song, even if she had no idea what she was singing, so I showed her the dance practice video and she told me we should try to learn it. I promised her we would once I could stand on my two feet and could actually dance. She said it would help my muscles get stronger again and it'd be fun.

There are many things we want to do and I have to admit, it's nice having free time to even get bored. My life has always been loaded with responsibility and many other activities. Some were productive, some just whims. I was always doing something, going somewhere and I never lived a quiet, simple life. I was practically treated like royalty because of my father's business and the prospects of my future. Money is power, that's an undeniable truth, and I was born with it, I always lived like that so it was normal to me.

Now that I live simply, pretending I don't even remember where I'm from, just having what's necessary to live, I can actually understand how blessed my life was.

I'm not having a hard time, but it has indeed helped me to open my eyes to certain things, and I'm enjoying that experience, to try things that are so normal for others but that never crossed my mind before.

"I'm going to miss the Dream House when we go back," Nora mutters then, her tone a bit low and regretful.

"I'm coming to visit often, though. And I'll make sure to find more orphanages that need help. I want every orphanage to be like the Dream House, and if I can help with that, then I will."

"Real charity?" Nora asks me, with what looks that like a proud smile.

"Real charity," I affirm, determined. It won't be to avoid paying taxes, it'll be to actually help.

Nora just smiles and we finish here in the bathroom, just a few minutes before the kids arrive. As usual, they storm in with the strength of a hurricane and the energy that only kids can have. They smile and greet us cheerfully, and then it gets louder when Danny, Liam and Sammy join them. Catalina comes running to me, her arms tightly wrapped around my waist and face in my chest.

"Hi there, Cata," I greet her, kissing the top of her head. "How was school today?"

She looks up to meet my eyes with her big and dark brown expressive eyes, smiling brightly. "It was fun. We are learning about the ecosystem," she explains happily. "Will was telling me more interesting things on the way."

My mood gets a bit bitter at the mention of his name, and I get a bit scared of what he might tell the kids. No, not what but how he tells things to them. Sometimes it's not about the picture but how you paint it what makes the difference in the end.

"Is it true that when I have kids they won't know many of the animals I know of?" she asks, her eyes actually scared.

"It's possible," I admit. "But big organisations help to take care of these animals with natural areas where you can't harm them, or even in zoos. Many want to save them, so everyone helps how they can."

"Will always fights for the animals!" she sings happily. "He once chained himself to a cosmetic company to stop their animal testing."

"He did?" I chuckle to myself, picturing that and I'm not surprised he did something so drastic. I wonder if it even worked. He fights the companies in the way they expect him to, and the way they know how to deal with and avoid.

If he really wanted to make a change, he'd learn to speak the same language big corporations use, he would communicate in a way that can make us understand and consider it. He needs to lower himself to our lowly level —as he thinks of us— to actually have some effect. His radical behaviour, his manifestations will make people know things, sure, it'll bring attention... but that attention will drift to some new gossip, some other thing, or it will be shut it with some charity and pretty words that were written by someone else. The big majority of the world don't really care, even if they stop and listen at first, they also forget about all that pretty easily and will still, for instance, keep using those cosmetics that were tested in innocent animals. That's the harsh reality.

He sees us as enemies, but he can't even bother to understand his enemy before fighting them. He's an idealistic who thinks too high of himself and has the wrong approach.

Will this idealistic activist ever listen to me? Even if it is about how to talk to people like me so we can actually listen to him? Of course not. I'm one of the bad guys and good guys don't mix with the bad ones.

I insist, once you learn to speak the language of a different group, you can't only communicate, you also start to understand.

"Will is the best and bravest," Catalina comments, so proud of the guy these kids idolise.

"Hm," I mumble, because I think he still has a lot to learn. Well, so do we all.

Admitting one's ignorance is the first step in the journey of self-improvement.

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Hi there! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even if not much happened. I just love writing the scenes between Nora and Blanca too much. Please, let me know your thoughts on the comments!

Dedication to the previous best comment to creatively_exploring

Have a good weekend, everyone! 

Bel, xx

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