Liana smiled sweetly as she cleaned little José's wound, though inside her heart was heavy with memories of her own childhood.
"Maybe you should behave better and stop getting into trouble. If you keep this up, no one will want to adopt you, José," she said, trying to keep her voice light.
The boy turned his gaze to the window, his small face hardened by a bitterness that Liana knew all too well.
"I don't care if no one adopts me. I don't want parents; I just want to grow up and do whatever I want."
Liana set the gauze aside and gently turned his face toward her, forcing him to look into her eyes. In those moments, she wondered if anyone had looked at her that way when she was José's age, when she still longed for the warmth of a home that never came.
"You know that's not true," she responded gently. "You say that to protect yourself, but deep down, like any ten-year-old, you want to have a family."
José frowned, shaking his head vehemently.
"No! I don't want a mom and dad! I don't need them!"
The boy's words echoed painfully in Liana. She had also tried to convince herself of the same thing. She had spent years telling herself she didn't need her father, that her life in the convent was enough. But the knot in her stomach told her she was lying, just as José was now.
"Don't hold hatred in your heart, José. God doesn't like that," she said, feeling a wave of sadness envelop her.
"God doesn't love me," the boy murmured bitterly. "If He did, my parents wouldn't have abandoned me, and I wouldn't be here."
The raw truth of his words hit Liana like a dagger in the chest. She knew that pain, that emptiness you feel when the people you love most abandon you without explanation. She had spent three years in the convent, wondering why her father never visited, why he had left her there to fade into loneliness.
Her mind drifted to memories she had tried to bury:
"'Dad, why are we here?' Liana asked with a trembling voice, fear growing in her young heart."
"It's for your own good, Liana," Vittorio replied, his voice laden with a sadness she was too young to understand. As he took the suitcase out of the trunk, he avoided looking her in the eyes.
"For my own good?" she repeated, feeling panic begin to take hold of her. "I don't want to stay here. I want to go with you."
He finally looked at her, and in his eyes, she saw infinite sadness, but also an unyielding determination. It was the first time Liana noticed how aged and weary her father looked, as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Liana, this is a safe place for you. Here, you'll be well cared for."
"But I don't want to be here!" she cried, feeling the tears start to roll down her cheeks. "I want to be with you! Please, Dad, don't leave me here!"
Vittorio hugged her then, a hug that was strong and desperate, as if he were battling his own feelings. Liana could feel his heart beating fast, and for a moment, she believed he would change his mind.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he whispered, letting her go and stepping back. "This is what's best for you."
Liana clung to his arm, refusing to let go.
"No, Dad! Please, don't leave me! I promise I'll be good, I won't cause any trouble! Just don't leave me here!"
With a gentle but firm gesture, Vittorio moved her aside and headed toward the convent door. He rang the bell and waited in silence while Liana sobbed beside him, unable to comprehend why he was leaving her there.
The mother superior opened the door and looked at Liana with a mixture of compassion and authority.
"Welcome, Liana," she said, extending her hand. "Here you will find peace and refuge."
Liana looked at her father one last time, hoping he would say something, that he would change his mind. But he only lowered his head, unable to meet her gaze.
"Goodbye, Liana," he said with a choked voice. "Never forget that I love you."
And with those words, he turned and walked away, leaving behind his only daughter at the convent's entrance, with a broken heart and a sense of abandonment that would mark her forever.
Liana returned to the present, looking at little José with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"José, how about we do something?"
The boy looked at her with interest, his eyes shining with a spark of curiosity.
"What?"
"How about I adopt you?"
José looked at her incredulously, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"You? But you're a nun, Sister Liana."
Liana looked at him seriously, with a determination he hadn't seen before. It was an impulsive decision, but she felt she had to do something meaningful, something to fill the void in her own heart.
"I'm going to talk to the mother superior. Maybe she'll accept you into the convent. That way, you can live with us until you're an adult. And then, you can dedicate your life to God by becoming a priest."
"What?! Be a priest? No way!"
Liana pressed the wound deliberately, and José winced.
"Don't say that. Dedicating your life to God is wonderful. You feel an infinite peace, the love of God is..."
"Boring," the boy interrupted. "Sister Liana, just tell me, why did you become a nun? I'm ten years old, but I'm not blind, and you're very pretty."
Liana lowered her head and took a while to respond. Her thoughts wandered to her past, to the last time she saw her father, to the abandonment that still haunted her. She had spent years trying to convince herself that her place was in the convent, but she had never managed to silence the voice that told her her life should be something more.
"It wasn't something I decided, José. My father brought me to the convent when I was younger. I guess he wanted me to take this life."
"But do you like it? Do you like being a nun?"
The boy's question echoed in her mind. Did she like it? Just days before taking her final vows, doubt consumed her. Did she really want that life? Or had she just accepted her fate because she had nowhere else to go, because she had convinced herself that her father didn't love her, that he would never come back for her?
"Let's not talk about me," she finally said, trying to change the subject. "Listen to my advice: behave well, and when someone comes to the orphanage, pretend you're a good kid. After they adopt you, you can be yourself. Though I feel sorry for them; they'll have to put bars on their windows, you're too mischievous, José."
The boy laughed, and Liana joined him, though her laughter was tinged with a melancholy she couldn't shake. After finishing her tasks at the orphanage, Liana returned to the convent. Her steps were slow, dragging, as if each step sank her deeper into uncertainty.
She had barely set foot inside when the mother superior was waiting for her with a stern expression.
"Mother Superior," Liana said nervously. "I... I swear I won't do it again. But please, don't make me pray 100 rosaries. It's all Benito's fault, I told him that darn cow didn't give milk, but he insisted and insisted that it did, and I..."
"Stop babbling, Liana, and come with me. Someone is waiting in my office."
"Huh? Aren't you going to punish me?"
"No, come on..."
The mother superior grabbed her arm and led her down the hall.
"Are you sure? We're out of milk for a week."
The mother superior sighed deeply.
"Dear God, give me strength and patience. And, for the most sacred, grant me what I've asked for so long: for someone to come for this girl."
To the rhythm of the mother superior's prayers, Liana was led to the office.
When they entered, an intimidating-looking man was waiting inside.
"Liana, this is Mr. Castelo," said the mother superior. "He's your father's lawyer."
The man extended his hand, and she looked at the mother superior, hesitating. The mother superior gave her a nod, granting her the permission she needed. Liana shook the lawyer's hand, noticing the firmness of his grip.
"Pleasure to meet you, dear," said the lawyer. "I have... news about your father."
Liana's eyes lit up immediately, and a smile formed on her lips. It was the first time in a long while she had heard anything about her father.
"News about my father?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. "How is he? Why didn't he come with you?"
The lawyer lowered his head and hesitated for a moment, as if searching for the right words.
"Unfortunately, Liana... your father has passed away."