Chapter 16

Margareta was wearing a thick blanket. The sun was already shining brightly, and the weather was quite warm, but her unhealthy body made her shiver from the cold.

"What about my animals? I have to feed them. But my body doesn't feel strong," she said, lying in bed.

Margareta has been sick for almost a week. Yesterday, she was still doing her usual activities, going to the garden and caring for the cattle. But eventually, her body couldn't take it. Today, she has been lying down since morning, unable to cook food for herself.

There was a knock on the door. Margareta wanted to get up and open the door to see who was coming. But her body felt so weak.

"Who's there? Just come in, the door is unlocked," she said in a rather loud voice. After that, she went back to warming herself under the thick blanket.

"It's me, Leticia," said a voice outside.

Leticia, who heard Margareta's answer, opened the door slowly and entered Margareta's house.

"Leticia, what's wrong this early in the morning?" asked Margareta, who was still on her bed.

"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. I'm just worried because you haven't left the house since yesterday. The last time we met in the garden, you complained of a headache; I came here to bring you some warm soup." said Leticia.

Leticia and her family were Margareta's closest neighbours. She was the one who cared the most about Margareta. But as long as Ferdinand lived and was treated in that house, Leticia did not dare to ask many questions and interfere even though she was curious.

"Thank you very much, you don't need to bother. I can still cook for myself." Margareta replied.

"Don't say that, I only meant to help. We're like family, so you don't have to be shy." Leticia said.

"You and your family are nice, I owe you a lot," Margareta said softly.

"What are you? You still think of everything as a debt of gratitude. We don't think of you as someone else," Leticia replied.

"Sometimes, maybe the people we think of as family feel like strangers and don't want to owe us much, so they just disappear." Margareta was suddenly convent with tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" asked Leticia, confused. The woman was momentarily silent, trying to understand the sentence she had just heard.

Leticia tried to turn her head towards the other room. There seemed to be no one else in the house but them.

"Are you looking for that young man? You'll never find him again," said Margareta, who realised Leticia's actions.

"Oh, sorry. What do you mean, the young man you helped is gone?" she asked.

Leticia and her family never knew that Ferdinand had left. They did not want to interfere too deeply in Margareta's affairs. They only wanted to help her when she was in trouble like Margareta always did to Leticia's family.

"Leaving without saying goodbye and never coming back," said Margareta.

"Where did she go? Did she find her family?" Leticia was getting curious.

"I don't know, but I'm very grateful if that's the case. I'm just worried that she's in trouble out there." Margareta began to cry.

"Calm yourself." Leticia took a glass of warm water and a tissue and gave it to Margareta. "Drink to make yourself feel better. And try to tell me what happened," Leticia pleaded carefully.

Margareta drank the warm water Leticia brought her. She wiped away the tears and took a deep breath.

"I can never forget what happened to my son Edward. That night, I dared to help that young man, treating him with great difficulty, hoping he would survive. I foolishly began to think of him as a replacement for Edward, who was a gift in my life. I was wrong; I shouldn't have loved him as deeply as Edward. He was just another person who could leave as he pleased." Margareta said with tears in her eyes.

Leticia was silent for a moment. The story saddened her. It had been a long time since Margareta had occupied herself and was able to rise from her slump after the death of Edward, her only son. Ferdinand's presence rekindled her memories.

"I understand how you feel, and we can't prevent him from leaving. Because maybe he longs to return to his family. However, he should have a little ethics to at least say thank you and say goodbye to you. Instead of leaving quietly like that," said Leticia, sounding annoyed.

"Don't blame her; it was my fault for not helping her meet her family immediately. Instead, I deliberately allowed her to continue living with me here," said Margareta, who did not want to blame Ferdinand.

"Never mind, whatever happens now is better for you to think more about your health. You have to go back to being happy like before. There's no need to think about that young man anymore. He's not Edward," Leticia said in a soft voice. She just wanted Margareta not to sink into depression. But she was also afraid of hurting Margareta's feelings.

Hearing Leticia's words, Margaretha realised. But the feeling of caring for Ferdinand was already challenging to erase.

"I just want to ensure he's okay," Margaretha replied.

"For what? That person is uncaring and ungrateful. Why are you still thinking about him? Where do you want to look for him anyway?" Leticia sounded even more annoyed.

"I want to go to the police station," Margaretha said.

"The police station? Margaretha, try to calm yourself down and think before taking action. Weren't you the one who said you didn't want to deal with the police anymore after that night?" Leticia reminded her again.

The night when Margaretha had been the sole witness to Ferdinand's accident, she had made her promise herself never to deal with the police again. Receiving persistent questions and continuing to be asked for information from various parties, including journalists, made her depressed.

"Don't you remember, you once said that the representatives of the victim's family were not friendly to you? And they didn't seem to believe your statement." Leticia reminded her again.

Margaretha was silent for a moment. Her heart was getting more and more upset.