Page 16 of The Guardian

I actually let out a long, relieved breath.

Henry snapped his gaze over to me as he caught this visible relief.

I blinked at him then looked away. Things were getting so complicated here. I knew why Michael thought he knew me. I could clearly see that Henry would ask me about this too. Not out of curiosity but for the safety of the twins.

Chapter Five: Rags To Riches

Henry

Gabriela showed Hope her room first.

The teen girl stepped in and then when she gazed around at the room, she actually stumbled.

Her brother caught her before she fell. “Esperanza!” He straightened her up. “Be calm, mi hermana.”

She didn’t seem to hear him as she gazed around. Her face looked a bit white as her eyes were huge in her cherub like face.

The room was enormous; it had blush rose tones and some pink scattered here and there.

Staring all around, Maya exclaimed, “It is è meraviglioso!”

I stared at her as I realized she kept speaking Italian. Well, she did that when she was surprised. How interesting. I then followed her amazed gaze around the room. The place was very nice, from the rose-colored curtains to the light pink walls. Then the matching cherry colored mahogany dressers and bed were all gleaming. I took in the absolute wealth that was very apparent in the room. Well, the wealth existed throughout the entire house.

Hope simply stared all around too as her mouth dropped open. “T-this is m-my room?” she stammered.

Gabriela stepped over and took her hand. “It is. If you don’t like the colors we can change—”

Hope gasped and exclaimed, “No! I love it! Muy bueno.” Turning to stare at Gabriela, she gushed, “I have never seen anything like this! I-I feel like even my shoes are too dirty for the floor!”

Gabriela laughed “Mi chica. This is your room to do as you wish. You are good enough to be in it, enjoy it and make it yours.” She paused to see Hope staring at the canopy/princess bed.

“It is…” Hope gulped. “…Demasiado bonita para ser real!” Too pretty to be real!

“It is real, my girl,” Gabriela told her.

Hope kept looking around then she spotted a desk with a full out PC and speakers. Then a few feet over was a large screen TV. When I say large, I mean six feet by six feet along the wall, LED and a flatscreen. She again gasped.

The poor girl looked like she might pass out.

“Then this is your bathroom,” Gabriela announced as she pressed a button on the wall.

We all turned to see the wall slide.

No, this wasn’t a simple bathroom. It did have a formal bath with a large walk-in shower, just like she had told the teens earlier. All in a room larger than some people's living rooms. It might be larger than the entire house in Catemaco that these twins had grown up in. It had a large sunken tub with gold fixtures and lights along the wall above it that looked like candles. A semi luminescent kind of fantasy design. The counter was a gleaming rose-colored marble. Lined up with various makeup products of all kinds. Perfumes, body sprays and more were all under a very large lit up mirror.

Next, Hope spotted the unusual part. Flowers, growing in pots, all on shelves with different angles. The lighting in this room had been especially made for flowers to grow under them.

Hope laughed as she looked from one feature to the next as she jumped up and down. “Look Alex.” She pointed upwards. “There are stars on the ceiling!”

He looked just as stunned as she did as he nodded.

Gabriela stepped over and turned the lights off.

Both teens gasped loudly as they leaned their heads back to peer upward.

The ceiling glowed with stars. In fact, I recognized actual constellations up there. I even felt amazed.

“Oh, Dio!” Hope exclaimed as she let out a girlish squeal. “It is a dream! All of this is just a dream!”