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I look at the pile of comforters on the bed and bring my hand to my chin, wondering what to do now.
“What now?” Isabella gives voice to my silent questioning.
“Now… Now we’ll wrap you in the armor!”
“An armor?” Her eyes are wide.
“Yes! An armor!”
I approach the bed and take one of the comforters.Isabella walks beside me, not losing any of my actions. When the fabric is open enough, I help her get up on the bed.
“Now you need to cover yourself with it!That way the monsters can never find you!” Obediently, she does it, pulling on one end, and wraps all the very fluffy tissue around her body. When she’s done, she’s like a huge cigar at the other end of the bed.Isabella has become a giant roll, there’s so much fabric around her that she probably can’t even see anything in front of her.
I really want to laugh, but it’s going to end the whole purpose of the thing, so I control myself.
“All right, now I’ll build the walls!” I bring the infant cigar into the middle of the bed, then pick up the other comforters and surround what the child has become, because despite the air conditioning, if I cover Bella with anything else, she will probably die of heat.
“Now I’m protected, right, Marcos?” The voice sounds almost amused with the mission we’ve been involved in, I’d say.
“Absolutely!” I agree. “And now I’m going to call your mother, okay?”
“No, Marcos! Don’t leave me alone!” And again, uses the frightened tone, damn it! I run my hand through my hair, thinking about how to deal with the situation.
“Bella... You’re a warrior, remember?Warriors are not afraid to protect their fortresses. So you’re not afraid of protecting yours, right?” I offer the reasoning ready, just that she agrees, but of course she doesn’t.
“I’m afraid, Marcos!” The answer is immediate, and my willingness to laugh grows at the same rate as my desperation to find a solution.
“But, Bella, we need your mother, she’s the greatest monster hunter in the whole world… If there are any monsters out there, she’ll wipe them all out!”
“Yes! She will!” she agrees immediately.She doesn’t even blink, and it makes me smile.Not amused, but by confirming something I already knew.That’s the level of trust Isabella has in her mother.
“With your mother around, we won’t have to be afraid of anything!”
“Are you afraid of the monsters too, Marcos?” She seems surprised, and only then do I realize I included myself in the sentence.”
“Hmm... Just a little bit, Bella! But you can’t tell anyone!”
“Okay! And you can’t tell anyone that I was too scared either!”
“I won’t! I promise!”
“Pinky promise?”
“Pinky promise!”
“So, when the monsters leave, I’ll give you my pinky!” she explains, and this time I can’t hold back the laugh, just keep it down.
“Alright. Now I’m going to get your mom… Protect your fortress!”
“Okay, Marcos! Be quick!”
“I will!” I take one last look at Isabella before turning around, and when I do, I don’t hold back the scream of fright.Antonella is standing right at my bedroom door, and the smile that draws on her face with my reaction leaves no doubt that she has been there for more than enough time.
I raise my eyebrows and, despite my heart still racing, recovering from the shock of not seeing Isabella in bed, I press my lips together at the scared reaction of the six-foot-tall man.I want to ask if Marcos is also afraid of monsters, but even if I don’t have all the information about what really happened here, the bizarre situation makes it clear that he was kinder to my daughter than I ever would have been able to ask, just for that, I let this one go.
I woke up, as usual, to drink water.A glance at the baby monitor screen was enough to make me despair.Isabella wasn’t there.I left the bed powerless, ready to run to her room, search the house, the whole world, if necessary to find her and ensure her safety.
I ran past the open door of Marcos’ room, but, as in a cartoon, seconds later, the image captured by my peripheral vision finally made sense, except that it made no sense at all, and I turned my steps around, needing to confirm that I wasn’t crazy or still asleep.
