1 Chapter One
Life can be hard or even unfair, but it helps us to be stronger and cope with difficulties."
In a village in Sete Lagoas-Minas Gerais, lives Marina, a cheerful girl who likes to dance and sing.
She lives with her parents: Jaqueline and Alessandro, and her siblings: Aline, Ester, and Thiago. She is the youngest daughter and for this reason she is very spoiled by her parents. Everything she wants her parents give her, and when she doesn't get what she wants, she doesn't stop pestering them.
Her last request was to go to Disneyland with her friends when she was only ten years old. Her parents didn't want to let her go, so Marina started to cry and scream saying that she wanted to go, and because of her stubbornness her parents allowed her to go.
***
Today, on the twenty-ninth of May, she is turning fifteen and wants the best party in town and has even made a huge list of things she wants for her party: a DJ, a dance floor, an exclusive concert by some famous band, among others.
Realizing that her brother was laughing at her idea, she stuck up her nose like an adult and said:
"I'm the younger sister, so I always get what I want."
Her brother Thiago gets angry and says:
"You get it because you are spoiled and cry like a baby-They start arguing like most siblings do."
Suddenly, his father appears and says:
"That's enough fighting. Marina, I have to talk to you and it's something very serious."
Marina looks at her brother, grimacing, and follows her father into his office.
Once there, her father says:
"Unfortunately it will not be possible to have your birthday party. Something very serious has happened and the party will have to be canceled."
She gets angry and says:
"What's so important that you're going to have to cancel my birthday party? Dad, fifteen years old is a very important date in the life of a teenager." She is indignant at her father's attitude, but soon her face changes because she feels that something serious has happened.
Her father approaches her and says:
"Come here, daughter, sit here on your father's lap. I know you're upset, but it just so happened-he tries to hold back his tears, but decides to continue so as not to distress her even more-the hospital called just now and said your mother had an accident while driving. A truck hit her car. Your mother was taken to the hospital, but she did not survive her injuries."
Marina is in a state of shock, as she loves her mother very much and begins to cry and says:
"Dad, is this serious?"
"Yes, daughter. They just called me from the hospital and gave me this news."
Marina hugs her father, crying and sobbing non-stop.
Her father holds her by the face and says:
"We need to be closer now, my daughter. I know how much you wanted your fifteenth birthday party, but you understand me, don't you?"
"Yes, Dad, I understand. I want to see Mom, Dad. Where is she? She can't die and leave me here... she can't..." -And she leaves the office, running towards her room, crying non-stop.
Her father goes after her, but her oldest son says:
"Dad, leave her alone for a while. What happened for her to leave your office like that?"
His father understands and says:
"Okay. Call your sisters, I need to talk to you three."
His son Thiago calls his sisters Aline and Esther and asks them to come home, because his father wants to talk to them.
Aline and Esther are twins and are seventeen years old and Thiago is eighteen.
After twenty minutes, they arrive home and their father says:
"I need to talk to all of you. I have already talked to your sister, now I really need you to be strong, because the news is very serious."
Their father takes them into the study and says:
"A few minutes ago they called me and said that your mother was in a car accident. A truck hit your vehicle and the car flipped over and your mother-He starts to cry, but says-She had a very serious fracture in her neck. They took her to the hospital, but she didn't make it, and."
His children begin to cry and Aline says:
"Father and now, what will become of us without mommy?"
He approaches his daughter and says:
"I don't know my daughter, but I will take care of you as long as I can and heal myself.*
And Esther says:
"Get well from what? Are you sick?"
He takes a deep breath and says:
"I found out that I have a tumor in my stomach. I will have surgery next week, but I will be fine and please promise me that you will be strong if anything happens to me."
"But Dad-they said in chorus."
"Please promise me."
"All right dad, we promise"-Thiago says to his father-"But you'll be fine."
And Aline says:
"Father, where is Marina?"
"She's locked in her room crying, but please don't tell her. She is already suffering a lot because of your mother."
"All right, Dad. I'll go to her room and check on her. Ester, will you come with me?"
"Yes, sister." And the two of them go up the stairs, enter the room where Marina is and say:
"Marina, it's us, your sisters."
Marina runs out, hugging them both tightly and saying:
"Tell me it's a lie. Tell me that mommy is alive and that she is well."
"I wish Mom were alive too, but we don't always get what we want," says Aline.
***
The next day, their mother's mother is buried. They cry a lot and Marina practically throws herself on top of the coffin, because she doesn't want her mother to leave. Her father holds her and she begins to cry non-stop.
When they arrive home, Marina goes to her room and refuses to eat. Her sisters try to make her eat, but all she does all day is cry.
Her brother spends the whole day by her father's side, asking if he has taken his medicine, if he has eaten.
***
A week passes and the day of Alessandro's surgery arrives and he asks his son to look after the girls and reminds him not to tell Marina about the surgery. He does as his father asks and takes his sister to school.
On the way, Marina asks her brother:
"Bother, where is our father?"
"He went to work."
Her brother takes her to school, because her school is far from her home, and they walk for forty minutes to get there.
The twins study in the afternoon and Marina in the morning. Thiago has already finished his studies and is going to college to major in engineering, but he dropped out of college when his mother passed away so that he could dedicate himself more to his family.
He drives Marina to school and back home, but on the way his phone rings:
"Hello, hi Dad. How are you?"
"I'm fine, son. I had the surgery, but it didn't solve anything, because the tumor has already spread to other organs, but we'll talk about it later."
"What did the doctor say, Dad?"
"He told me to continue taking the medication because there are chances of it getting better, but the chances are very slim. I'll be released tonight, but stay calm and I'll be fine."
He ends the call and his son comes home and tells his sisters about what his father told him.
***
Over the months, Marina's siblings help with the housework and even she learns to do things like cooking, tidying the house, etc.
They try in every way to avoid as much as possible that their father does not make any effort.
***
But five months after the surgery-but necessarily in November- their father is taken to the hospital. On this day, Marina is in his room sleeping, because he becomes ill at two o'clock in the morning. Since the twins are underage, they cannot visit him, and Thiago goes with his father to the hospital.
He is admitted to the ICU. His son is in the waiting room and after thirty minutes a doctor comes out and tells Thiago
"Are you the son of Alessandro of the Santos Ribeiro?"
"Yes, how is my father?"
The doctor looks at him carefully before saying:
"We did everything possible, but he had two more cardiac arrests in the ICU, we did some tests and found that the tumor your father has has spread throughout his body and unfortunately he did not resist, I'm sorry. You can go visit him if you want."
Thiago tries to be strong as he promised his father and goes to the ICU where his body is.
Arriving at the ICU, his son approaches him and says:
"I will take care of my sisters father, I will try to be strong, I promise."
