His kindness was not unfounded.
He was absorbed by a family that carried too many burdens anyway.
When spring came, Isaiah began to speak more.
He told Victoria his name.
His
He admitted he wanted to go back to school for good because he liked the numbers and also because the numbers stayed where he put them.
He told her that his mother had assured him that things would improve when he found a permanent job.
Victoria told him that her favorite teacher is just as cruel to everyone, which showed she was honest.
At that moment, he laughed for the first time, and she saw what it would be like if life had relaxed his embrace over him.
In April, Colleen found a job as a cleaner thanks to her cousin’s help in Indianapolis, and the church paid them to take the bus.
Isaiah walked up to the fence for the last time to tell Victoria he was leaving the next morning.
He seemed terrified by the thought of saying goodbye, as if gratitude had become more dangerous than hunger.
“I’m not always like that,” he said.
Victoria tilted her head.
‘For example?’
‘Weak.’
The little girl’s words were so strong that she burst out laughing before she wanted to.
She blushed tightly, but she didn’t give up.
“I’ll be back,” he said.
I’ll be back when I’m rich and married you.
Then he started laughing even louder, not because he was cruel, but because children often promise impossible things in the same tone in which adults predict weather forecasts.
