Chapter 6 OUR LITTLE SISTER

A girl was sitting pensive with puffy eyes, in her room.

Quietly looking at the morning sky from outside her bedroom window. Karina took a breath and threw it away slowly, her thin smile expanding suddenly.

"How are you? May you be happy," she whispered.

Her meeting with Leo yesterday afternoon was enough to make his longing disturbed again. A sense of longing for someone who has made her the heartless girl she is today.

Her mind raced, recalling the events of a few years ago. The clear spikelets in her eyes flowed again, her hands clenched tightly, there was a feeling of tightness inside her chest.

"Leo is back, but ... So, where are you, Andares?!"

*****

Ddrrtt....

Shenina's cellphone vibrated, spontaneously she stopped chewing the meatballs. His broad smile was engraved there, leaving her friends bewildered.

"Hello," said Shenina

"Where are you?" there's a voice over there.

"On campus."

"Yes I know, I'm waiting at the gate

"What?" She spontaneously got out of her chair, leaving her friends confused.

"Angel, where are you going?" shouted Pablo.

"Wait a minute," said Shenina.

Her pace accelerated, not far from her sight she could see the man who had just contacted her, the man smiled warmly while waving his hand.

Shenina ran over, immediately embraced the man's lanky body, held him tightly like a baby koala, making people flabbergasted to see Shenina's interaction with the stranger.

"Aaarrgghh!" Shenina screamed. "I miss you so much, Keanu."

The man laughed broadly, amused. "Me too, Shen." He took Shenina down from her arms.

"When did you get here?" asked Shenina.

"This morning," he replied. Sheninas's eyes widened and she was always amazed at the man in front of her.

Alvander Keanu, this guy is athletic but small-faced. This man's smile and speech are always sweet, but he also has another side just like Shenina. The other side is revealed if indeed the time has come.

"Home at what time?" asked Keanu.

"Another hour and a half, " Shenina replied, glancing at her watch.

"Well, I'll wait for you and we'll go home together."

They talked for a long time until they did not realize that someone was secretly watching them. Hiding behind the wall, his face wistfully gazed at Shenina and Keanu's closeness.

He rubbed his own chest while, smiling bitterly. "Why does it feel cramped?" softly. He hurriedly corrected his expression when he saw Shenina about to turn towards him.

"Shen," Joshua scolds, the girl turns her head, looking at him confused.

"Joshua? Where have you been?" asked Shenina.

The man shook his head. "Can you smile for me?," he said.

Shenina was silent, she felt confused. But without asking much, she just obeyed and then developed her smile.

"Beautiful," Joshua praised and smiled faintly. The girl just shook her head, amazed at the behavior of this person in front of her.

"I'm going to class first," Shenina said goodbye and just left.

Joshua nodded slowly and turned toward the gate. The man was still there, sitting on the bumper of the car, playing with his cell phone. The whispers of the students began to be heard, this time not praising Joshua but fascinated by the sight of Keanu in front of there.

The man overcome with curiosity moved forward towards the gate, his heavy footstroke interrupting Keanu, making him turn his head towards the source of the coming sound.

"Who are you?" asked Joshua.

Keanu smiled, I don't know what kind of smile but obviously it was a smile that could not be interpreted.

"I just live around here," he replied.

"You ... know Shenina?" The question just escaped Joshua's mouth.

Keanu was silent, then nodded loudly. "She's my everything."

Joshua sighed, the hue of his face turned red, there was a sense of tightness when he heard that answer. Without warning, he walked away from Keanu. The man just smiled sarcastically at Joshua, then opened his phone again, typed something, then put it in his ear.

"Hello, Andares, the boy is here."

***

The bell rang, Shenina hurriedly tidied up her stationery, her face looked cheerful shining differently than usual.

"Shen, are you coming home with us?" asked Amanda.

The girl shook her head. "I was invited."

"Really?" she didn't have time to ask, Shenina had already walked out of the class.

"Ah, sucks!" said Amanda then took Karina's hand and hurriedly followed Shenina, whose traces were already invisible. From a distance not too far from the gate, they could see Shenina and Keanu's interaction very closely.

"Do you know her, Beth?" asked Pablo. Betrand shook his head.

"Do you know, Ben?" Bennedict also shook his head.

Seconds later, Keanu opened the car door and invited Shenina to enter. Something caught Archen's attention, he again saw a faint engraving that looked exactly like Shenina's right on the man's left wrist.

"Tatto ...," murmured Archen who could still be heard.

"What tattoo?" parrot Pablo, make all turn towards Archen.

The man shook his head strongly, sighed then approached the motor. His mind was racing again, his curiosity returning. His heart kept wondering who Shenina was and what she had to do with the tattoo.

"What are you doing?" Joshua asked Archen, clearly aware of his friend's strange behavior.

"Be careful with Shenina," he replied ambiguously.

"You mean?"

Archen closed his eyes. "There's something she's hiding from us."

***

Archen put the bag in any direction, then took the laptop from the father's workspace.

"What are you doing?" asked the father.

"I borrowed your laptop."

The middle-aged man just nodded and went back to sipping his coffee. While Archen was busy looking for something on the website, his face bent seriously. Sometimes he looks frustrated sometimes also looks a little relieved, until finally he found something he was looking for all this time.

"Scalazzar?" The man's forehead is wrinkled. "Why are you looking for it?"

"You know Scalazzar?"

The man was silent, then shook his head slowly. "It's just a fairy tale," he replied.

"What kind of scary fairy tale is this?" muttered Archen while looking at the snake emblem circling a triangular crown with a jewel-circle-shaped shoot on top.

"I was a teenager, " the man began. "There is one group that has never seen its form, but it is very dangerous. What I remember is the leader of an old, rich mobster. The Mafia lives in Canada."

Archen's eyes bulged, he was a little flabbergasted between believing and not believing the story.

"The Mafia had a pair of twins, one boy and one girl. The men lived in Canada for a long time, the women lived here until they finally married a man who also came from the mafia."

Archen was more and more interested in hearing the story. "Then?"

The man took his coffee back to the toilet. "The group hasn't been heard from in a long time, but-"

"But what?" asked Archen excitedly.

"Some say, his descendants still exist today. Each of them has a tattoo carved by Scalazzar," he replied and paused.

"Never mind, it's just a fairy tale," the man said as he patted Archen's shoulder softly.

Archen is silent, the story of his father makes him even more convinced that Scalazzar is still there and Shenina is one of them.

***

The girl sat sweetly in a room of gray shades. Many snake paintings and sculptures in the form of snakes there. She was clearly laughing because she was too happy to meet Keanu.

"Don't scream, Shen!" exclaimed a voice emerging from the second floor. Suddenly the girl turned her head, her eyes brightened even more. She quickly ran over and grabbed the man.

"Andares" she almost cried. "I missed you so much."

"Don't overdo it!" the man's name was Andres.

He is Andares Jhovan, has the same small face as his younger brother, Keanu. A man with a strong personality, even unexpectedly.

"Don't cry my beautiful cousin," Andares said, wiping tears from Shenina's cheeks.

"He's always crying, man," Keanu said.

"You made her cry?" asked Andares.

Keanu shrugged. "She said it was tears of joy."

Andares smiled, again embracing the girl's body. He missed his cousin so much after not seeing her for so long.

"Wow, our little sister," a voice behind them rebutted.

Shenina was flabbergasted looking at the four people who were now standing in front of her.

"Kim, Renier, Leo, Salma?" Shenina exclaimed, It feels like she is getting a surprise, the arrival of Keanu and Andares has been enough to make her happy today.

The arrival of four other people who were equally important in her life, certainly made Shenina's tears could not stop flowing.

"No need to be surprised. Yesterday we already met" said Leo, ruffling shenina's hair slowly. The girl nodded, then hugged him briefly. She gaze interrupted Kim and Renier, then hugged them both.

"How are you, Shen?" Salma's voice gave it away. Shenina wiped away her tears again, Salma's arrival again made her chest feel tight, but it also became an antidote to the pain in her chest.

"Sister, don't go anymore ...." Shenina hugged the girl.

Salma nodded. "We're all here for you, Shen."

***