“Maman,” a girl said. “Is this your hotel?”
That voice broke through her focus. She turned away from what promised to be a battle royal, to look at the young girl with brown curly hair holding her mother’s hand. The child was clearly a younger version of her mother, who was staring at hotel her child was pointing to.
The mother smiled, and kneeled down to be at her daughter’s eye level. She brushed away a stray curl and kissed her tenderly on the forehead.
Clara never had children, and was incapable of having them. Watching this heartfelt exchange made her momentarily question all of her life choices. I wonder if I’d feel the same seeing a child screeching and tearing apart the room.
“Non, Tessa,” her maman replied. “It was named after a famous poet. One of your ancestors.”
“Really?” Tessa asked.
“Yes, really,” maman replied.
Disclaimer: This excerpt from The Van Helsing Impetus is currently in development. There may be typos, errors, omissions, inconsistencies and so forth. The image is sourced from Pexels.
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