The Moonflower Hotel

“Hey, Kain? How did you meet Aida?”

The man stopped cleaning the tables and turned to the guest. He looked to the side and tried to get back to work.

Victor wasn’t going to leave him. Kain saw him enter the restaurant and sit at a near table. He leaned back and got comfortable. Kain sighed and took a break.

“This place used to be a dump. People from the city would throw their garbage here.”

Victor nodded. She already told him that.

“Me and my brother, we’ve been thrown here by our family.”

Victor’s eyes widened. “What?” The guest couldn’t believe it. “Do people act like that in the 21st Century?” He mumbled to himself.

Kain sighed and turned his back to the guest. He knew he should keep his mouth shut so he quickly walked into the kitchen and leaned against the table.

“Mommy?”

A young version of Kain was standing all alone in the middle of the street. He came with his mother to buy vegetables but he got lost in the crowd.

“Mother?!” He screamed once again. Kain was young and scared and everyone seemed so big and bad from his height.

He had no other choice but to wander around and hope for the best. The boy did that for a few hours and it was getting dark. He moaned as his stomach grumbled.

His blue eyes scanned the place for something good to eat. He noticed a man selling different types of fruits; it might not have been enough to satisfy him but he didn’t have any choice. Besides, those pears looked really tasty.

He sneaked through people without a problem. Once he got close enough, he hid behind a lady. Her dress was big enough to hide a 5 years old boy; besides, she was pretty big too. The woman didn’t even see him as she was focused on buying stuff.

Kain reached out for one pear but it proved to be further than he calculated. He grabbed her dress in order to balance and only touched a pear when the seller noticed him. The woman turned around quickly and left him in the open. The seller glared at the kid and slapped him.

“Is that what you learn nowadays?! Get out!” He screamed and slapped the boy once again.

“Kain!” The boy turned towards his mother’s voice. “Where did you disappear?” When she got close enough, she saw the mad man scolding her son. “What happened?”

“He tried to steal, that’s what happened! Keep a firm hand on your son, lady!”

By the time she got a grip on Kain, everyone was staring at them, everyone was judging her as a mother. She grabbed his hand harshly and walked away with her head down in shame.

When he got home, Kain got punished by his father.

Kain flinched. He didn’t want to remember those times. Also, the boy was grateful to his mistress and would never do anything to harm her or the hotel. It was the only place he could genuinely call home.

Victor walked upstairs with a lot in his mind. He was still in shock that someone could throw two kids away like they meant nothing.

While he was walking down the first floor, he noticed something very familiar. It was a small portrait of a woman who looked very much like Amelia. His eyes moved on the lower part. He swore he saw the signature before, the only difference was the atmosphere. Amelia was a beautiful young woman and she was wearing pretty dresses and jewelries but the woman in the portrait was in a plain servant dress from the 18th Century. She looked a little bit younger and her eyes were sore. The girl in the portrait was empty.

“Do you like this painting?”

Victor jumped. He didn’t expect anyone to come and surprise him. Thankfully, it was Evan.

“She looks familiar.” Victor admitted.

Evan raised an eyebrow and took a step forward. He couldn’t be seen giving hints so he made it look like he was only passing by.

“Read the inscription.” He whispered before he left for the stairs.

Victor searched that inscription but didn’t find it. He was ready to leave when he noticed something reflecting in the mirror on the opposite wall. It was something on the frame, in a corner, was small but he could read it.

“Amelia Corelli,” He read. His eyes widened and he took a step back. “No way.” He checked the year written next to the signature. “A. Valenti. 1765.” Victor checked the year twice and still couldn’t believe it.

The first thing he felt like doing was going to Evan. He decided not to since it was crazy. How could Amelia be the same one in the painting?

“Maybe it’s someone from her family. Yes. Things like that happen. Right. The name, as well.”

He tried to accept that idea since it was the most logical but something wasn’t right.

Victor kept thinking about that painting for the whole night. He couldn’t even sleep properly and had a weird dream that woke him in the middle of the night. The strange part was Aida. She was in his dream in a portrait done at a really large scale.

Victor was standing in front of the big mirror but instead of the mirror was a portrait; Aida’s, to be precise. Victor was amazed by the details on it.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The architect looked to the side at the man who came out of nowhere. The younger man tilted his head to the side and watched the red haired man walk down the stairs.

“It’s very detailed. The one who painted it used the same kind of brush for the whole thing.” Victor turned his head back to the painting. “It must have taken a lot to finish it.” He added.

“Two years.” Victor raised an eyebrow as the man stopped next to him and continued. “It took two years but it ended up being above any expectations.”

The way the redhead was looking at the painting meant only one thing.

“You painted it.”

The redhead chuckled and nodded.

“For a very good purpose. I never got to see the finished product, though.” The redhead reached out and touched a certain part of it. “The hands.” He mumbled.

That was everything before Victor woke up. That dream shook him up for some reason and he wanted answers.

While he was going down for breakfast, he stopped for a few moments and stared intensely at the mirror. He shook his head and continued to the restaurant. It was stupid and he was getting himself worked up over a dream.

But that wasn’t what Guillermo was thinking. The young boy noticed the few seconds Victor spent in front of the mirror and noticed the way he was looking at it. Actually, that was the thing.

“What’s wrong?”

Evan was passing by when he saw the expression on Guillermo’s face.

“He looked at the mirror.” Guillermo said, looking down at his hands.

Evan raised an eyebrow and leaned against the reception desk.

“And?”

Guillermo looked down at his papers before he looked up at the older man.

“He wants to leave.”

Evan sighed and glanced at the restaurant. He could only see half of Victor’s face but it was enough. He could see him take everything in but also scanning the room.

“It’s about time he figures it out.”

Guillermo frowned. “What if he dies?”

Evan chuckled. He couldn’t believe how innocent the boy was after all the time spent in there.

“He’s been dead from the moment he got here.”

Those words meant more than any of them could think. Those words didn’t go past Aida. She knew everything and the moment was approaching; the moment for a new portrait.

Abel was outside, staring into distance with those cold blue eyes. Winter was a harsh period in terms of weather but it was perfect for the business. He looked up at the sky and remembered the winter he and Kain entered the hotel.

“We have no choice, Peter. We need to leave.”

Abel wasn’t supposed to hear anything that night. He was supposed to be asleep.

“Do you understand what that means? Leaving with children?” The woman sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Abel’s blue eyes were staring intensely through the little space between the door and the door frame. Those big eyes were much aware of what their parents were planning.

“Then let’s leave them here. We can even sign them into the church. They have an orphanage, don’t they?” Peter wasn’t talking like a father. Then again, they never acted as parents to their children. If anything, Abel and Kain were born from a mistake.

“That costs money, Elena! We can’t afford that!” He screamed at his wife.

Abel flinched at that sound. He heard it a lot before and it usually led to beatings.

“Then let’s just throw them. There’s that place on the outskirts of Rome. We can leave them there.” Elena’s eyes were shining with a glint of hope. She was genuinely thinking of throwing her sons into a dump. “I heard Theodore threw his old servant there and no one asked him anything. It’s normal in these days. We’re poor and we have the collector coming after us.”

The man narrowed his eyes at his wife.

“Whose fault is that?” He asked calmly. “Whose fault is that, Elena?!” He screamed and pulled her closer by the hair. “You let Kain wander around and he stole! That’s how they found us! You little bitch!” He spit on her face and threw her on the floor. He didn’t leave her in her misery and started to kick her harshly under the eyes of his son.

“Abel.”

The boy turned quickly when he felt the warmth of a blanket being placed over his shoulders.

“It’s getting cold. You should enter and we will talk about the new guests tomorrow.”

He looked into those green orbs and nodded. She didn’t let him go until they got in front of the stairs. She smiled kindly and ruffled his hair before she walked away.

With slow moves, he placed his hand on his head while with the other hand, he grasped the blanket. The comfort and safety he was getting from her was something he will never forget. Dying for her was worth it. Becoming part of the hotel staff was worth it.