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Fabiana wandered
on the streets
of the city. She
felt cold and
lonely. She
admired
well-groomed
women, taking by
the hand happy
and neatly
dressed
children, who
were not aware
of her
presence.
From a poor
family, she
lived in the
outskirts of the
city. She wanted
to have a better
life, but her
father worked in
a factory and
earned a little;
her mother
washed clothes,
and she made
some money from
it, while
Fabiana took
care of her
small
brothers.
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Fabiana wanted
to study, to
have a
profession and
make money to
help her family,
but she was only
twelve.
Passing by a
garden, she sat
to rest. Soon,
she heard
someone crying.
She rose to her
feet, trying to
find the
sobbing, and
found a little
girl on the
floor, in
tears.
— What happened?
— she asked,
worried.
— I fell down
and got my knee
hurt. Look! —
she said, wiping
her tears away
and showing the
bruised knee,
where blood came
from.
Touched by the
girl’s
situation, which
was about three
years old,
Fabiana said:
— Never mind.
Soon you’ll get
better. Where
are your
parents?
— My dad died.
And my mom is
working. I left
home. I wanted
to talk to
someone who gave
me a little
attention.
You were the
only person who
talked to me!
They couldn’t
tell, but
Otávio, the
girl’s father,
disincarnated,
worried about
her daughter,
was there trying
to help her. He
smiled when he
saw the
attention
Fabiana gave
her.
— What’s your
name? —Fabiana
asked, feeling
sorry for the
girl.
— Sofia.
— What a
beautiful name.
And where do you
live, Sofia?
— Near here. In
that house! —
the girl
answered,
pointing with
her finger.
Fabiana,
followed by
Otávio, put the
girl on her lap,
crossed the
street and took
her to the gate.
She rang the
doorbell and
waited. Soon, a
maid showed up.
When she saw the
girl with a
stranger, she
got surprised:
— Sofia!
Did you leave
home? How come?
— It was when
the gardener
arrived. I left,
and he didn’t
see me!
Angry, the maid
shouted:
— That’s nice!
Leaving home,
aren’t you? And
hanging around
with strangers!
Don’t you know
you can’t talk
to strangers?
— Fabiana is not
a stranger,
Emma. She is my
friend.
As the maid was
so nervous,
Fabiana
explained:
— Don’t shout at
Sofia, please. I
found her lain
on the floor,
hurt, and I
brought her
home. She needed
a bandage.
Emma said:
— Well, do it
yourself. She
got hurt because
she wanted to.
Right inside,
Sofia!
The little girl,
though, was
afraid, and
didn’t want to
go in alone.
Worried about
her, Fabiana
went in too.
Coming into the
house, which was
a mansion
really, Fabiana
was impressed
with the beauty
and the
decoration.
Since the maid
didn’t worry
about her
bruise, Sofia
picked up the
first-aid kid
and, carefully,
Fabiana wrapped
a little
bandage, while
Emma kept
whining,
screaming.
But Clara,
Sofia’s mom, got
out of her job
earlier, and
arrived at the
time when Emma
opened the gate
and, without
being noticed,
heard it all.
She parked her
car on the
street, came
inside and was
standing by the
door, surprised,
observing the
scene.
When Emma saw
her, she got
scared. She gave
a little smile,
trying to
justify herself:
— Dona Clara, I
told Sofia that
she needed...
With a serious
look, she
interrupted the
maid:
— Don’t worry,
Emma. I heard
everything. We
talk later.
Sofia ran to her
mom, happy. She
hugged her,
begging:
— Mommy! I’m so
glad to see you!
Stay with me! I
don’t want to be
alone anymore.
As she saw the
stranger, she
greeted her,
kindly, when
Sofia explained:
— Mommy, this is
Fabiana, my
friend. I left
home and fell
down in the
garden. Fabiana
took me home and
look at what she
did on my knee!
With a smile,
her mom thanked
Fabiana for
taking care of
her daughter.
She invited her
to sit down and
talked to her,
asking some
questions. So
she learned what
she did, where
she lived, and
how poor she
was.
While they
talked, Emma
prepared
something to
eat, and her mom
noticed that
every time Emma
came closer, her
daughter would
be afraid. As
she noticed the
situation, she
asked the maid
to come back to
the kitchen.
When
Emma left the
room, Sofia
asked:
— Mommy, can
Fabiana stay
with me?
— This is
impossible,
darling. Fabiana
has her family
and needs to
come back home —
she said.
— I go if she
goes, mommy.
She’s my friend.
She likes me and
I don’t want to
stay her with
Emma — the girl
said.
Fabiana thought
that, for sure,
living in a
house like that
would be a dream
for her.
However, she
couldn’t abandon
her family, who
needed her.
As she thought
about her
family, Fabiana
noticed it was
getting late.
She said bye to
Sofia, left her
address and
promised to come
back to visit
her.
Going home, she
found her home
fixing dinner,
while her father
repaired the
iron and her
brothers played
in the room.
There was so
much love in
everything, so
much harmony in
that simple life
that she got
emotional.
— Mommy! Daddy!
I know I’ve
complained about
our life. But
today I’m not. I
wouldn’t change
my life for
anything. We may
not have
everything, but
here we have the
love of a true
family and no
money can pay
that.
Everybody
hugged.
On the following
day, at dusk,
Sofia and her
mother paid a
visit to
Fabiana, and so
they met José
and Anna.
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Clara noticed
how poor that
home was; she
talked to
Fabiana’s
parents, and she
liked them.
Later, accepting
Otávio’s
suggestion,
disincarnated,
who was there,
and she had an
idea and
explained:
— José and Anna!
I live alone and
I work a lot.
Since Otávio, my
husband, died, I
have to take
care of our
business. This
way, I’m forced
to leave my
daughter with
strangers. Sofia, ever
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since she
met Fabiana, liked
her a lot. Now
I’m here, I met
you, and I want
to propose you
something: I
have a small
house at the
back of my
garden. I
need someone
trustful to
take care of
my home and
my daughter
while I
work, which
Anna is
capable of
doing. As
for you,
José, you
can keep
working,
and, in your
free time,
take care of
the garden
and other
chores.
Besides, the
kids can go
to school,
which is
near; I can
take care of
it myself.
What do you
think? This way,
I believe we can
help each other! |
Everybody was
happy,
especially
Otávio who
suggested that,
and Sofia, who
would live with
Fabiana.
Besides, she
would have more
people to play
with!
The little
Sofia,
emotional,
feeling her
dad’s presence
that was living
in the
Spirit-world,
said wisely:
— I feel that
dad is so
happy.
In the
Spirit-world,
Otávio thanked
God the help to
his family,
touched by his
daughter words,
witnessing that
no one dies and,
after death, we
keep loving our
family and
helping them
whenever they
need.
Aunt Célia
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