Chapter 5 - A WOMAN WITH HER OWN DREAMS
Luna found work at a neighborhood literacy center.
The pay was modest.
The hours were long.
But for the first time, she was helping other adults learn the language she'd once struggled to understand.
She loved watching someone read a sentence independently.
Loved seeing confidence replace embarrassment.
Loved knowing that her work mattered.
One afternoon, a little girl named Daniela approached her after class.
“Miss Luna?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Can grown-ups go to college?”
Luna smiled.
“Of course.”
“Even if they don't have money?”
“There are scholarships.”
Daniela thought about that.
“Are you going?”
Luna opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
She had never allowed herself to imagine college.
Her money went home.
Her time went to work.
Her dreams were things she folded carefully and put away.
That evening, Luca arrived with takeout.
They ate on her apartment floor because she didn't own a dining table.
He looked around.
“You seem happy here.”
“I am.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
Luna studied him.
“Do you mean that?”
“Why wouldn't I?”
“Because I left your mansion.”
Luca set down his fork.
“Luna, I don't want you back there as an employee.”
She nodded.
“Then what do you want?”
He looked at her.
“To know you.”
She smiled faintly.
“You already know me.”
“I know you like cinnamon in your coffee. I know you send money home. I know you sing when you think nobody's listening.”
He paused.
“But I don't know what you want your life to become.”
Luna stared.
No man had ever asked her that.
Not seriously.
She looked toward the window.
“I want to study education.”
Luca smiled.
“Then you should.”
“I can't afford it.”
“There are grants.”
She laughed.
“You sound very confident.”
“I've been reading.”
She looked at him.
“About education grants?”
He nodded.
“Apparently, I've spent my life knowing far too much about shipping and far too little about useful things.”
Luna laughed.
Then, unexpectedly, she reached for his hand.
He looked down.
She squeezed his fingers.
“Thank you for asking.”
For a moment, the dangerous world outside disappeared.
But the following morning, Luna arrived at the literacy center to find its front windows shattered.
May you like
Across the door, someone had painted:
STAY AWAY FROM MORETTI.
