The bride burst into tears. « I was 18… I got pregnant… I was alone… without support… I couldn’t keep it… I left it… But I never forgot it… I’ve kept this bracelet all these years hoping to find it again… »
She hugged the boy tightly. —Forgive me, my son! Forgive me!
Iktan hugged her. « Don Eusebio told me not to hate you… I’m not angry, Mama… I just wanted to find you… »
The white dress was stained with tears and dust. Nobody cared.
The groom remained silent. No one knew what he was going to do. Cancel the wedding? Send the groom away? Act as if nothing had happened?
Then he approached… and without pulling the bride towards him, he crouched down in front of Iktan, getting down to her level. — Would you like to stay… and eat with us? he asked her gently.
Iktan shook his head. — I… I just want my mother.
The man smiled. And he took them both in his arms. —So… if you wish… from today onwards, you will have a mother… and also a father.
The bride looked at him incredulously, weeping. « You’re not angry with me? I hid my past from you… »
« I didn’t marry your past, » he murmured. « I married the woman I love. And I love you even more knowing how much you’ve suffered. »
The wedding ceased to be luxurious. It ceased to be elegant. It became sacred. The guests began to applaud, tears in their eyes. They were not celebrating a wedding. They were celebrating a reunion.
Iktan took his mother’s hand. And that of the man who had just called him « son. » There were no longer rich or poor. No difference whatsoever. Just a whisper in the boy’s heart: « Don Eusebio… you see? I’ve found my mother again… »
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