she was forced to leave the shelter where she had lived since she was eight, when her parents died. There was no one in the world to take care of her. Her parents had several friends, but when she needed oneof them to give her a home, they all disappeared. So she was forced to share a bunk bed with a girl in a dormitory with twenty other children. The families were not interested in a girl of almost ten years old, aloof and reckless. She was angry at what happened, angry at losing her family, angry at the idiot who made the food for the wedding ceremony that gave them severe food poisoning. She was also angry about staying at a classmate's house, because her parents didn't want to take her along, so she didn't have the chance to die with them. Although the rest of the guests survived after some vomiting and stomach pumping. Marcelo and Marina Martins were not so lucky. Both agonized for two days until they succumbed, leaving her alone. And now, once again, she lost the ground beneath her feet. - It's a shame, Melissa, but I have the rope around my neck. It's a simple cost containment and, as you are the youngest employee with no responsibilities, you paid the price. - But I have responsibilities. I pay rent, electricity bills, water bills, food and clothes, and food... ― she sighed, resigned ― I repeated food, I know. I like to eat... ― she looked around, feeling defeated ― I'm the only employee who doesn't have a husband and children, I'm lost in the world. Please choose Marieta, who is a widow and receives a pension from the deceased. - Marieta has been with me since the beginning. - If you want this bookstore with a basket on the sidewalk to become a giant in the sector, you can't foster friendships at work. The corporate world is aggressive. - Desperation made her repeat phrases she saw on TV programs. - It's not a question of friendship, but rather the extremely high value of Marieta's termination. I'd rather she herself. Melissa slumped her shoulders feeling defeated. - You can reduce my salary. - No, I can not. - I swear I don't care, I'm going to eat less, skip one of the meals. - Labor laws don't allow that, honey. I'm sorry, okay? - she pursed her mouth, regretfully - I'll give you a good letter of reference for the employment agency. - Better than working with books? - Discouragement and fear showed in her posture. If something bad happened to her, she showed the disaster on her face and in the posture of her thin, short body.
Melissa lived. A woman in her forties, owner of the land where she had two houses, her own, and the living room for rent. - I was fred today. But don't worry, I have an interview scheduled at the employment agency. I
just let you know in case I don't get a job soon - she took the money out of her wallet and handed it to her -
Here's this month's rent. The woman was tall, fat and very blonde, clearly of German origin. She smoked a lot,
which gave her a thick, masculine voice. Bags under her eyes, straight disheveled hair, big breasts sprawled
across her loose t-shirt. She had a sinister and aggressive appearance. And when she drank, she embodied
the devil in a bad mood. - If you can't fnd a job, let me know straight away. Until the end of the month the house is yours, after that get out and I'll move on to someone else. - She spat on the foor. That look was a
threat, as if she were saying to him: You're not going to live for free, young lady. - I'm sure I'll get a job soon. -
she said, all dignifed. It seems like it, but you don't know, Melissa considered, terrifed. She turned her back to
him and put the key in the lock, turning it to open the door. She could feel the other's gaze boring into the back
of her head. She took a deep breath, controlling herself when the devil's key didn't come out of the hole. Okay,
no need to embarrass yourself in front of the smoker. She calmed down and fnally pushed the door. And, with the dignity of a frightened girl, she stumbled on the carpet and almost fell. - Oops! - the woman laughed
loudly. Melissa closed the door in her face. *** She sat down on the loveseat and leaned back, bringing her hands to her temples to rub them. She felt all the pressure throbbing there. Six months of doing the same
thing. Waking up early, showering and getting dressed. Breakfast was made standing up in the kitchen and
then she took the bus to the city center. I was waiting for Marieta to arrive to open the bookstore. She turned
on the lights, turned on the air conditioning and computers. She put water and coffee powder in the coffee
maker and washed the sidewalk from the pee of dogs, beggars and partygoers. She served customers, argued, sold, didn't sell, noted in the system. Now none of that. No one prepared her to face life outside the
shelter. Just as life did not prepare her for the loss of her parents and the house on the farm where she lived.
She lost her private school friends and the routine of an existence surrounded by love and care. She never
mourned the loss of her parents, as she feared she would go crazy if she gave in to extreme pain and intense
longing. Over the years, she survived opportunistic diseases, strict monitors, harassment from other orphans
and loneliness. However, she didn't want to be adopted by another family, she still belonged to hers... even in
death. She had a sandwich and a Coke for dinner, washed the dishes, took ten steps and entered her room.
She threw herself on the bed, her legs hurt from spending eight hours on her feet, her back burned. She had a
shitty job that paid little, but it was still all she had. She cried with her face buried in the pillow. She felt lost,
insecure and miserable. She ended up sleeping. 3 Melissa left the agency with a referral for two job.
vacancies. She chose to go to the frst one, which was right there in the center. A dental clinic recruited a
receptionist for six hours of work, the salary was horrible, but it was enough to pay the rent and other bills. As
she turned the corner of the indicated address, she had a legitimate vision of hell. More than ffty unemployed
women lining up to be selected for the vacancy. And how did she know that they all wanted the same job?
Well, they had the same facial expression of despair as she did. Furthermore, the agency's recruiter said it
was a highly sought after position. In other words, in musical chairs, there would be one chair for ffty asses to
try to sit on. Still, she stood at the back of the line. The most depressing conversation that existed was among unemployed people. Melissa took the headphones out of the huge cloth bag she had slung over her shoulder.
But until she found them, she was forced to listen to what they said in line. She learned that they pay the minimum wage without benefts. Unemployment hit the entire country. Whoever has a job can hold him back,
because things are difcult. My cousin hasn't worked for two years. Look, there must be a hundred people in
this line here, right? Well, most of it is to fll space on the sidewalk. They told me that they will hire those who
have the most experience with spreadsheets. English, notion of English, I also heard. Music started playing on
the headphones, and Melissa separated herself from the conversations. Two hours later, she left the interview
with the impression that they would not call her for the second phase of selection. The HR girl at the clinic
asked: - How do you see yourself in fve years? - Older. Huh, what answer did she want? She had another
route, a second option, although she felt that in the end she would be left with no option at all. The position.
was that of a nanny on a farm. The last time she lived on a farm was on her parents' farm. That's why she didn't feel comfortable going back to the same kind of life, now, without them. Furthermore, she had lived in
the urban region for ten years. The idea was to continue living in the small house behind the angry woman,
enroll in a pre-university course and go through the days one after the other. Maybe she would fnd friends at
her new job and, who knows, a boyfriend. She learned too soon that life was a house of cards that we built
with great care, only to suddenly have the wind blow stronger and destroy everything. She decided to go home
and wait to hear back from the clinic recruiter. If he didn't contact her, he would return to the agency the following week. She would only have to deal with a dilemma of conscience, as she had a job referral in hand
and was snubbing it. Just before crossing the street, he saw the rental company talking to a couple and pointing in the direction of the small house at the back of the lot. The devil intended to evict her! The right
thing to do was not to clash with her. She then decided not to return home at that moment. But as she didn't
have the money to spend time having lunch somewhere, she came to the conclusion that the best thing to do
was look at that vacancy for a babysitter. She had some money thrown in her purse. She gathered all the
banknotes plus a bunch of coins and, discouraged, discovered that she was poorer than the day before. And
what's worse, she had little money in her purse to use for bus tickets to go to the address of the babysitting.
position, on a secondary road parallel to the federal highway, and then to return to the center. What was once
a dilemma of conscience turned into an obsession. Fear always drove her forward. A shelter worker had toldher that she was a survivor, a warrior. One day Melissa wanted to consider herself more than that. She wanted
to become a winner. And, success, for her, was living without fear of everything suddenly exploding in her head. The thing about giving a thumbs up to ask for a
Chapter 1 The same job
20/12/2023
Chapter 2 King of genetic
20/12/2023
Chapter 3 Heard The female
20/12/2023
Chapter 4 Blue eyes
20/12/2023
Chapter 5 Live in The city
20/12/2023
Chapter 6 Divine mensage
20/12/2023
Chapter 7 Mother of god
20/12/2023
Chapter 8 She wanted
20/12/2023
Chapter 9 Make money
20/12/2023
Chapter 10 You look
20/12/2023
Chapter 11 For letting you down
20/12/2023
Chapter 12 Next minute
20/12/2023
Chapter 13 She obeyed
20/12/2023
Chapter 14 I accepted
20/12/2023
Chapter 15 Unforgettable
20/12/2023
Other books by carmen esparanola
More