THE MAID OF MADRID

My mother always told me that I was a ghost. She said that in a house like the Alarcón mansion, the best thing a girl like me could be was invisible.

"Don't let the Patron see you," she would whisper while she tied my hair back in the tiny room we shared. "Don't let the boys see you. Just clean the dust and stay out of the light."

But I was six years old, and I did not want to be a ghost. I wanted to be real. And there was only one person in that whole cold, stone castle who made me feel like I actually existed.

That was Mateo.

Mateo was ten. He was the oldest son, the golden boy. He was everything I was not. He was rich. He was the sun, and I was just a shadow. But every afternoon, when my mother was busy scrubbing the master bathtub, I would sneak out to the back of the garden.

I would hide behind the red rose bushes. The thorns would scratch my arms, but I did not care. I would wait on the old mossy bench, my heart beating fast, listening for the sound of his footsteps.

"Valeria?"

I heard his voice before I saw him. My breath hitched. He pushed the branches aside and stepped into our secret world. He was not wearing his fancy blazer today. His white shirt was untucked, and his hair was a mess from running.

"I thought you were not coming," I said. I tried to sound brave, but my voice was small. "I thought your father caught you."

Mateo laughed and sat next to me on the mossy stone. He smelled like expensive soap and the fresh air. "My father is too busy counting his money to notice me. Besides, I had to bring you this."

He reached into his pocket. My eyes went wide. It was a bird. Not a real one, but a bird made of deep blue glass. It was so beautiful it hurt to look at. When the sun hit it, blue light danced all over my brown skin and the dusty hem of my dress.

"It is a secret," he whispered. He pressed the cold glass into my palm. His hand was so much bigger than mine. "A promise. One day, I am going to take you away from here. We will go to a place where nobody has to hide in the bushes."

I looked at him, and I believed him. I loved him with all my heart. To me, he was the only good thing in this world.

"We have to hide it," I told him. My hands were shaking. "If Diego finds it, he will break it. He will tell on us."

Mateo’s face went dark when I mentioned his brother. Diego was only eight, but he was mean. He did not look at me like I was a ghost. He looked at me like I was something he wanted to crush under his boot.

"Diego will not do anything," Mateo said. But I could see he was worried too.

He pulled a loose stone out from the bottom of the bench. We tucked the blue bird inside the dark hole. It felt like we were burying a treasure that belonged only to us.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled. I froze. My blood went cold.

"I see you!" a voice hissed.

It was Diego. He was standing there with a mean smile on his face. He was not looking at Mateo. He was looking straight at me. His eyes were different than Mateo's. Mateo looked at me with kindness, but Diego looked at me with a hunger that made me want to run away.

"Mateo is playing with the trash again," Diego sneered. He stepped closer, his expensive shoes crunching on the dirt. "Wait until Papa hears about your little glass bird. You are in big trouble."

"Shut up, Diego!" Mateo stood up. He stepped in front of me to hide me.

"Or what?" Diego stepped right up to his brother. He was smaller than Mateo, but he was twice as mean. His eyes never left mine. "She is just a maid’s girl. She does not belong to you, Mateo. She does not belong to anyone."

I shrunk back against the mossy stones. I felt my heart thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird. Mateo gripped my hand tight behind his back. We were both frozen, staring at Diego, waiting to see if he would run to the house and tell.

The garden was quiet. My heart was pounding. We didn't move.