The value of family  

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.

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.

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

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