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Mina appeared in the doorway.
“Come on. Wash up a little, then you must eat something.”
“Mina...” I looked at her, my eyes swimming in tears. “What do I do? Where do I go?”
“You don’t have to go anywhere, silly. You can live with us.” She rubbed her belly and smiled. “The baby will be here soon, and I’ll need a hand.”
I smiled too, knowing full well that I couldn’t live with her and Joseph. I had no intention of being a burden to them.
“Come on.” Mina took me by the hand and helped me to my feet. “You need food and a good sleep.”
“My home is gone.”
“Honey, home is where your heart is. And we’re here for you. It will be all right, you’ll see.”
I nodded, but I didn’t quite believe her. I followed her into the bathroom and let her help me wash up. I felt like a zombie. I moved on autopilot, and when Mina asked me something, I answered without being aware of what I was saying. Later, in the kitchen, as Mina filled our plates with food, I couldn’t even look at her husband. His eyes were still red, and he was coughing in a handkerchief.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’ll go away. Aura, you must look on the bright side. You weren’t home, or you could’ve been caught in the fire.”
“Or I could’ve stopped it,” I said. My voice sounded weak and tired. “What do you think caused it? I didn’t leave the fire burning, and I don’t use candles.”
Joseph shrugged. “It could’ve been a short circuit. We’ll never know, I guess.”
“The house was old,” I said. “And after my parents died, I didn’t have the means to repair what was broken.”
The truth was that we didn’t have the means to fix things when they were alive, either. And my father hadn’t been a great handyman. With doing repairs, he always delayed it until the last moment. A serious storm and water dripping through the kitchen ceiling had been needed to make him take out his toolbox, tinker aimlessly for two days, then finally hire someone to fix it properly.
Not that I was criticizing him. I missed him with all my heart, and I didn’t care that he sometimes procrastinated on fixing things around the house.
The house that was no more...
I could barely eat when I knew I had no place to live. I forced myself, though, because Mina had cooked even though it was way past midnight and she was tired.
“We’ll all think more clearly tomorrow,” she said, reaching over to squeeze my hand. “You don’t have to think about anything right now, Aura. You can stay with us. I told you already.” She looked at Joseph.
He nodded. “Yes, absolutely.”
Mina and I had been friends since first grade. We met on the first day of school, and since then, we’d been inseparable. I knew she would’ve done anything for me, because I would’ve done anything for her.
“Thank you. I love you so much, and I’m so grateful you’re my friends. But...”
“But?” Mina furrowed her brows.
“I don’t want to be a burden to you if I can help it. There is a way... Another way...”
Mina let go of my hand and straightened her back. She and Joseph exchanged a glance. I knew they would not like what I was about to say.
“The Temple. I can send my blood, and maybe their DNA test will find a match for me.”
“No!” They both said it at the same time.
“I won’t let you do that,” Mina said as she stood up from the table and turned her back to drop her dish into the sink. She furiously scrubbed it.
“I’m with my wife on this one,” Joseph said. “An arranged marriage to a... monster? Aura, what you need is a good husband. A human husband. Someone you’ll marry because of love.”
“Who would take me now that I have nothing?”
They fell silent. No one in town was rich. We all scraped by, and when two people got married, it was partially because they liked each other, and partially because they could build a better life by joining their assets.
