Riccardo dreaded getting up this morning. He couldnât sleep at all the night before and the dry thickness of the morning weighed heavily in his eye sockets, sunken as they were. Even as he sat up on the naked, worn mattress in what was supposed to be his room in the orphanage, he felt a shiver of anxiety writhe in his ribcage. Today would be the last day he was welcome here.
All of his belongings had been stuffed into an old backpack, which he slung about his shoulder as he slowly stood and brushed himself off. The kitchen was sparse, save for Sister Maria in her habits, a bowl of cereal with banana slices on the side, and a glass of orange juice. She looked back at him from the sink as she washed her hands, offering him a slight, weak smile, âGood morning, mijo.â
No other children were in the kitchen. If they were in the building at all, he couldnât hear them. It took him a moment to respond, and when he did, it was quiet. Tired.
âMorning,â he said with a dull voice. Drying her hands, she approached him, setting the towel she used on the counter before taking him in for a gentle hug, âBreakfast for you, mijo.â He looked down at the bowl. It was a bittersweet gesture. Whether Maria wanted to out of love for him, or if she simply felt sorry for him and wanted him to have food in his belly before she kicked him out remained to be seen for Riccardo.
He was reluctant to sit down and eat, instead looking back to Maria, âWhere is everybody? Itâs⊠usually crowded. And loud. InâIn here.â Mariaâs smile faltered slightly, eyes darting down for a brief second before she took his hands, âSister Agatha took them out. I wanted to spend time with you alone this morning, mijo. You are become a man todayâit is a very special occasion, no?â
Riccardo looked back at the cereal prepared for him, âI donât feel like a man. I donât feel older or wiser. I-I just feel like⊠myself.â There was a brief moment of hesitation before Maria spoke again, âMijo, you are eighteen today. Youâveâyouâve grown into a fine young man, my son.â Riccardo shook his head, âMariaââ
âMijo?â she stepped closer, causing him to step back away from her, shaking his head and raising his hands up to stop her in her tracks.
It took him a moment to speak, and when he did, his voice was as quiet as it has ever been, âI do not need to be ostracized in order to be forced out when it is already written in the books that anyone who reaches eighteen years must be given the boot. I am not... I'm not stupid." Before she could respond, he shook his head and turned away from her, "I don't need this garbage. I don't need you to stand here and pretend like this is something to be celebrated. I'm sorry Sister Agatha forced you to condescend to make me fuckin' breakfast. I'm out of here--"
In that instance, she had grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him around and slapping him hard across the face. The sound of the smack echoed throughout the kitchen and he stared at her jaw dropped and cheek now stinging.
As if just realizing what she had done, Maria stammered as she tried to back up her actions with justification, "You, you do not speak that way in this casa de Dios--" Riccardo interrupted her, raising both hands, "No." She went quiet, the sudden anger in her eyes having faded into a desperate sorrow.
"Up until now, you were the only person that didn't beat me for any particular reason or no reason at all. Because of that, because you seemed to actually care about me, I actually held you in pretty high regard. Like, oh wow, this woman could be my actual mom or something, yeah? Well no. It took eighteen fuckin' years, but I finally see the person you really are, Maria. Give my regards to Sister Agatha, because I promise you, she will not want me to give them to her in person if she wants to live to tell the tale," he stared hard at Sister Maria as she began to cry, reaching out for him weakly as he turned to leave.
He wrenched himself out of her reach, hand going up to rub at his reddening cheek as he stepped out of the church proper, grabbed his bicycle at the rack, and pedaled off down the street.