In the heart of a hidden village, surrounded by beautiful

wooden houses, huge pine trees and many flowers lived

Lucecyta; together with her father and a woman we shall call

her stepmother.

Lucecyta was a very strange child; she never played or

laughed, and even though she enjoyed being five years old,

she was surprisingly mature.

He stepmother would watch her, sad at their lack of

closeness. Even though the little one was not

affectionate with her, she was nice enough and

always helped to maintain the beautiful garden that

both of them loved. The little girl’s heart would jump

for joy every time she was with the beautiful flowers,

and she would carefully hug them.

One day, as the little freckled child was among her favourite

flowers, she didn’t notice her father come up to her. His

daughter looked so serene and innocent that he wanted to hold

her shoulder, but upon seeing his shadow, she turned around

to tell him:

“Father, I wish to plant a new flower. Can I have permission to

go into the forest and choose a pretty flower for my garden?

Please?”

Her father looked at her lovingly; although he seemed to have

a tough exterior, he was always willing to grant her every wish.

“Go on my daughter, go into the forest.” He replied.

He never showed a smile to give himself away, but he softly stroked

her hair, and then Mr. Diego fled; away from his daughter before the

sadness became too much. As he walked towards the house, he felt

a strong breeze on his skin, making him remember his wife. At that

moment, just as he remembered her and felt a tear fall, his

conscious awoke.

“I am a heartless coward. I didn’t tell my little one how much I

love her, just as I adored her mother; and how scared I am of

losing her too.”

Almost always, the little girl was to be found among her

precious flowers, remembering all the times she watched her

mother take care of them with such love, carefully removing

any old, dry leaves that ruined their beauty. Now Lucecyta did

the same, never taking a rest from attending the flowers.

The flowers seemed not to hear anything, only watching and

remaining distant from what was happening outside of their

lovely home. Lucecyta would talk to them every single day,

always wishing that they would speak back to her.

“Hello! How are you today? Is there any sadness here?” she

would ask them, and always reply to herself.

“Yes, there is a lot of sadness; I feel it here in my tummy.”

This time, when she realised that no flower

would ever speak to her, the little girl felt

terribly sad. And so, with her spirit full of pain

and unanswered questions, she got up from

the flowerbed to find her father and with her

sweet, quiet voice, asked him:

“Daddy, where’s my mummy? I need her to teach me about

what is right and wrong.”

Lucecyta’s need to know about her mother was so big that Mr.

Diego couldn’t find the way to explain, and fell into a deep silence

as he held her closely.