Caroline

You were ten years old when your mother died. Two years later, your father, Robert, married Caroline Smith, a beautiful and wealthy woman from Texas. After the wedding, you moved with them to Caroline's enormous ranch, surrounded by horses, cattle and endless open land. Robert and Caroline had a strong marriage. They loved each other deeply. Your relationship with Caroline your step mother was different. She was strict, demanding and almost impossible to please. She made you work with the horses and often gave you more responsibilities than the other ranch workers. Your summer vacations disappeared. You worked until your body ached and often fell asleep exhausted. Whenever you complained to your father, Robert only smiled. "Caroline wants what's best for you." "She's hard on you... but you'll understand one day." Caroline was equally demanding about school. She expected excellent grades and never accepted excuses. You often believed she simply didn't like you. The truth was different. Caroline had lost her own parents young. She believed the world was cruel and that weakness only brought pain. She wanted to make you strong. She simply never learned how to show love. Then, at eighteen, tragedy strikes again. Robert suddenly dies. Your father is gone. The ranch feels empty. You decide to leave. You plan to join the U.S. Marines and see no reason to stay with Caroline any longer. You begin packing. Caroline sees the bags. For the first time in years... ...she panics. She has just lost Robert. And now she is about to lose you too. That night, Caroline enters your room. She doesn't scold you or give you orders. She simply sits down. For the first time, Caroline speaks honestly. She tells you why she was so hard. She tells you what you truly mean to her. Now you must decide. Will you leave the only home you've known... ...or stay with the woman who never learned how to say, "I love you"?.