It was Halloween. Elizabeth had her knee in a cast and a scooter so she can move around easier, she just came last week from surgery. Henry stopped by her house a couple days after her surgery.
———
Five days ago......Henry approached Thornton's house and knocked on the door to be greeted by any old woman. "Can I help Ju?" The woman asked in a Spanish accent.
"Yeah, um hi I'm Henry" he took out his hand for a shake but she just looked at his hand and at him, he pulled his hand back "okay." He started thinking to himself 'this is awkward.'
"Is there a reason why ju're here El Niño?" She asked, slightly irritated and disturbed.
"Um I'm a friend of Elizabeth's I thought I'd just stop by and say hi."
"Josie, who's at the door?" Mrs.Thornton said descending down the stairs in camouflage nurse's scrubs, she looked over the woman's shoulders to see Henry standing in the doorway. "Oh, Henry, what can I do for you?"
"Hi, I just came by to see how Elizabeth was doing."
"Oh okay she's upstairs in her room. Would you like to come in?" Henry stepped into the house and looked around he saw a bunch of pictures hanging on the wall by the stairs he walked over to them. He looked at a picture with an old couple sitting on a porch swing. The man looked to be tall, possibly muscular, he was wearing khaki pants, and a blue plaid shirt with suspenders. But the woman looked a lot like Elizabeth, the man had gray hair but the woman's was possibly the original color from when she was younger she had red hair, and Elizabeth's eyes too, sky blue. He looked to see a black ribbon on the lower right corner of the frame he assumed they must have died. Then he kept looking at the pictures. There were two pictures side by side. The person in them looked like they were around his age and they looked like Elizabeth with the blue eyes. The boy had caramel brown hair, and the girl looked exactly like Elizabeth could it be Elizabeth? No it couldn't have, the black ribbon at the bottom of the frame just like the boy's so that meant they died, but they looked to be his age though.
Henry looked by the door to see a beautiful painting of horses in a meadow, Mrs.Thornton noticed Henry looking at the painting "Do you like it?" She asked, smiling.
"Yes ma'am the artist does know one with textures and colors." Henry said smiling trying to compliment Mrs.Thornton.
"My...Daniel," she said smiling, fighting back tears, "God rest his soul." She said walking away towards the kitchen, Henry looked at her with shock, concern, and sadness across his face. Did he hear her right? The words that she spoke in between my and Daniel kept replaying in his head. 'oh my god it's all starting to make sense' Henry thought. He read the name at the bottom out loud to himself at a whisper.
"Daniel Thornton."
The old woman sat down on the couch and began to talk. Henry looked over at her as she began speaking. "Elizabeth-Lillian has had it harder than others, her story has had so many ups and downs, great joys and deepest sorrows. Though no matter what happened she always found the strength and courage to fight it, she became a role model and inspiration for people all over the world. Until July, when she gave up." She looked at Henry and smiled. She patted the seat next to her and he sat down and listened to the story.
So what do you think Mrs.Thornton said between my and Daniel? What role did he play in her life? And a matter of fact who is he!? Who do you think are the people in the photos? Did they really die about Henry's age or is it an old photo? Most importantly what is the story that the old woman is going to tell? What did she mean by greatest joys and deepest sorrows?
Rita Moreno as Josefina Thornton-Dé Riara