Chapter 114

Chapter 114

“The safe home”

It was an awful pain that crawled through all of my veins; it started with numbness and then this gnawing, electrified ache that felt like being pricked by needles. And my vision became blurry, and the pain increased like a whistling bomb about to detonate.
This concludes my story. Life is far too short for me, I reasoned.
Mea's screams were inaudible, I couldn't comprehend what she was saying, and the old haze was returning. Before collapsing, I saw myself being hit by a bullet from Roger's pistol, and then, on my wedding day, a female visitor fired her tiny pistol and hit me as well. I've survived death several times, as well as a fire.
But suddenly, I felt like luck had deserted me that day.
I'm going to die today. That was the last thing on my mind. But then I remembered what I did before arriving at the bay walk. I have something in my pocket. And then I blocked it out. I then heard some disturbance, a tremendous blast, and another smashing, and that was the last thing I remembered and said to myself. "Farewell, horrible world."
I accepted death wholeheartedly, but lights appeared from the depths of my recollection. Then I saw lights cross each other's paths, along with the voices, as steps ran over me, and Mea's voice began to clear.
"Don't touch me," she screamed, cursing someone.
It was still hazy, but someone had carefully lifted me. His arms were hard and familiar, and his scent was sending me a message that I couldn't understand because the pain was escalating and I felt like melting, so I closed my eyes and remembered what Dave had said, "Don't die without fighting."
Is my enemy dragging me, or is my spirit departing my body? And then my vision hazed again, and I felt sleepy and disconnected from the rest of the world.
I dreamed about my mother. She was standing by the window, waiting for someone. Maybe it was my father. Then I approached her and asked, "Mom, who is my father?" My mother opened her mouth as if she was giving me the name of my father, but I couldn't hear her voice. She was speaking quickly, but no words came out of her mouth.
"Mom, I can't hear you! Please tell me the name of my father! " I wailed.
She was sobbing and trying to speak, but nothing came out of her mouth. She then noticed a shadow approaching from behind her. What I saw was a faceless man. The man grabbed my mother's arms, embraced her, and dragged her away from me.
"Mom, don't go with him, don't leave me!" I screamed, but she ignored me. She was sucked into the fog and vanished, and I shouted and cried till I woke up.
As I strained to breathe, the sound of probably running water became audible. This was not a new experience for me. Then there were these flashing lights all throughout the place, almost like a kaleidoscope. That was a deja vu that hit me square in the face.
What am I doing here?
I was struggling to reposition my body when I noticed a window on the other side. A window with white drapes dangling from it. This was a reenactment of a previous scene.
My memories were so hazy that I couldn't even remember where it all started.
The room and the bed were brand new, but what was occurring to me was a never-ending cycle of recycling.
I fought to lift my hands and get into a sitting position, but I eventually succeeded. I sat at the edge of the strange bed. The sound of the birds was dominant, which was not surprising to me. I've been in a place like this before, but I can't remember where. My feet wobbled as they touched the hard cement floor.
I walked like a three-year-old kid taking his first steps. The window was open, and I noticed an elderly man sitting on the swing with a youngster on his lap, his back to me. The house was in the middle of the corn field.
My heart hammered as I recognized the child. It was Rafael Junior, but the elderly man's physique was unfamiliar to me.
After a few moments, I was strolling down the old house's stairs. I'm looking forward to seeing if my eyes through the window weren't deceiving me.
Whose house is this? I reasoned.
As I opened the door, the fresh air kissed my face and, I assumed, proceeded down to my lungs. The old man didn't know who I was. That was the first time I saw him, yet the way he cuddled my son was tender, as if he truly loved him.
I stood up and stared at them for a moment.
After a few moments, the elderly man turned to face me and smiled pleasantly.
"Come over here," said the old man, waving his hands at me. His movements demonstrated how well he knew me.
Do I have amnesia? But no, I was aware of my son, who was only sitting on his lap, but the old man was new to me. I strolled over to where they were sitting on the swing and came to a standstill on the side.
"I'm delighted you're awake; your son was looking for you," he said with a smile. He was quite familiar with both my son and me. I still have no idea who he is, no matter how hard I try to figure him out.
Rafael Junior was reaching out his hands to me, anxious to be hugged in my arms, so I grabbed him and cuddled him in my arms. My son giggled and touched my cheeks. It was a pacifying act of an innocent child trying to comfort me. We are really connected with each other, no doubt about it, but the man in front of me was a complete stranger. I wanted to ask more questions about his existence in our lives and in that place, but something was blocking my mouth from speaking.
I was grateful deep down that I was still alive and had my son in my arms. That means I survived the final blow of death.
"Death? Am I dead or alive?" I wonder if what I was feeling was a part of my dream.
He smiled warmly and said, "Of course, you are alive and well, and you are now with your son," the old guy said, adding, "And I am so grateful to have arrived in your life at just the right time."
His statement contributed to the enigma of who he was.
"Who are you?" I finally said what I needed to say.
"I am Mr. M," he said, staring at me with those lonely eyes.
His name startled me with paternal nostalgia. My mum mentioned Mr. M. as my dad's name a long time ago. My entire body trembled as I experienced some unfamiliar emotions. I never imagined meeting a man who claimed to be my father.
I had no idea tears were flowing down my cheeks. It was not in my dreams that I expected to see my biological father; in fact, I had forced myself to forget about him, but now he was in front of me, introducing himself in the manner that my mother had told me about him.
"What have you been doing?" I almost whispered.
"I'm just hanging around, pretending to be one of your mother's friends," he moaned and averted his gaze.
"Why did you act like one?" My voice began to shake. "I've waited so long for you to come visit us and claim me as your daughter; why didn't you come into my life when I was too young and curious about what you looked like?"
"We were too young, and I was jobless and born into a poor family, which your grandmother detested," he said, his voice low and hurtful. "She didn't like me being your mother's husband, and even when you were born, your grandmother resisted our relationship and threw me away," he added, his eyes welling up with tears.
I couldn't move while he was telling me what had truly occurred to us.
"I wanted to have you, to claim you, but your grandmother's voice was stronger than your mother's and grandfather, and I don't want to come between your mother and your grandma," he groaned.
I said, "I don't believe you were just around, watching for me as mom's friend."
He looked at me and asked, "Did you remember the brown teddy bear named Alice?"
"Yes, that was mom's second gift to me when I was six."
"I picked and bought it for you."
And then I remembered why my grandmother despised Alice so much that she flung her out the window when I couldn't set her down wherever I went. That was clear to me then. My grandma lied to me by constructing a negative image of my father in order to make me not want to know him. My mother continuously encouraged me to forgive my father for not taking responsibility for us. It was my grandmother's idea to make me resentful of my father. She put false information about him in my mind.
"My true name is Marvin Mendez," he stated firmly. "And your mother used to call me Mr. M." He smiled warmly.
"On the day of your grandmother's wake, I went to the funeral to see you, to talk to you, but you weren't there anymore." He sighed, adding, "You were sent by your grandmother to replace her in a billionaire's home, and I prayed that day that you would be guided in whatever decision you made," he added.
"You were there? At the wake, I had already left. "
"Yes, I'm sorry to say that your grandmother's death provided me with an opportunity to connect with you, but I was too late, until one day I ran into your grandfather and he informed me about a man looking for me."
"What do you mean?"
"No one knew him; he was looking for me, but we didn't get a chance to meet."
I wondered whether it was Mea's promised hire person finder.
"How did you get here, and what is this place?"
He smiled at me and said, "This is the dream house I promised your mother, but she didn't make it until I got it because cancer took her away from me, and marriage has been out of my dreams since then." And this place is for you, Catherine. "
"You knew my true name."
"A man named Dave told me and your grandfather about what happened to you and your kid, and as I mentioned before, I was at the right moment and the right place when Dave brought your boy, and Dave left your son with us at your grandfather’s house."
I was relieved to learn that Dave had returned for me. He was truly a friend on whom one could rely. And I remembered the commotion that occurred after Mea stabbed the knife into my chest. I saw men come in through my foggy vision, and Mea screamed. She was being snatched. It was without a doubt the instant when Dave snatched me and whisked me away from Mea and Carlo. I wish I could speak with Dave.
"What happened to Dave? Did he come to see me? "
My father stated, "This site was unknown to them," since me and your grandfather decided to hide you and your son here when you got out of the hospital."
"You mean Dave had no notion that this place existed?"
"Yes, except for your grandfather and me, no one knows about this place; it's the safest place for you and my grandson, Cathy."
I'm curious about what happened to Dave. "I need to visit Dave, and I need to thank him for risking his own life to save me."
"You can do that after your enemies are sentenced to imprisonment."
“What?” I asked.
"They were caught red-handed by cops, hurting and threatening you, and they were facing a trial for the crime they committed; two of them were imprisoned: a man named Carlo and a woman named Mea."
"So the cops arrested them."
"That has been all over the news."
I sighed, "I have to thank Dave for taking me home."
"He told us, you were already saved by someone when he got there."
"What? And who could that person be? "