The Countess (1)

Time is like an arrow.

Now that things have come to this point, there is no way to change them.

I thought I could live with the one I loved and share the sweetness and sorrows of the world, but now that this wish has become a luxury, I will not think about it anymore, perhaps it is all God's plan.

"Dear God, please, for the sake of my years as a nun, even if you can't let me live with Alexandre, please keep him safe for the rest of his life. ..." Anna stood in the small room and prayed to the small statue.

A knock at the door broke the silence of this prayer and Sister Mary's voice rang through the door: "Anna, are you asleep? ..."

Anna went to the door, opened it, looked at the person outside and said, "Sister Mary, can I help you? ..."

Naturally Sister Mary came into the room and said to Anna, "These days you have been preparing for your departure from the convent and you are almost finished, the Count will come for you in the morning ..."

It was Anna's wish to leave the monastery, but for some reason she could not be happy about it, she just said lightly, "Yes, I'm leaving tomorrow, I'm a bit sad about this moment, after all the years I've lived here ... "

Sister Mary saw Anna's blandness and reassured her, "Don't be so unhappy, it's time to cheer up, from tomorrow onwards you will be honoured. ..."

Anna forced a smile onto her face and said thoughtfully, "Sister Mary, don't make fun of me, I'm still Anna, I'm not interested in all those counts and dukes and so on. And I will not forget who I am, only I have always wanted to ask you a question ..."

Sister Mary tidied Anna's hair and said, "I'm sorry to see you get married, I'm sorry to see you get married, ask me any question you want ..."

Anna looked seriously at Sister Mary and said, "It's about my life. Do you know if they are still alive?"

Sister Mary recalled the first time she saw Anna and said slowly: "I don't really know about your parents, but I found you at the door of the convent, lying in a little basket, crying and crying. You stopped crying and seemed to smile at me. That's when I realised you were a lovely little family man. By the way, look, here is the little basket ...", Sister Mary said as she handed Anna the basket she had been carrying in her hand.

Anna took the tiny basket and smiled, "I can't even imagine that I was ever small enough to sleep in this basket ..."

Sister Mary said lovingly, "Of course you can't imagine, unless one day you have your own child. I have no children, but it is a joy to me to see you grow up every day."

Anna smiled, she looked at Sister Mary and said sincerely, "Sister Mary, thank you ... for your nurturing ..."

Sister Mary said reverently, "What is there to thank for? In my opinion, raising an orphaned child is a divine command, not to mention the unprecedented joy and satisfaction I feel in raising a child." Sister Mary paused and said, "By the way, the note in the basket is the one that was lying with you when I found you ..."

It was only then that Anna noticed the note in the basket, a corner of a page torn from some book, yellowed with age. But the words on the top were still clearly visible: "Please, please take my poor daughter Anna. The handwriting was scrawled, as if it had been written in haste. Anna looked at the note as if she had seen a loved one and burst into tears for no apparent reason.