The Disappearance: Chapter 5: The Last Straw
THE
Disclaimer: The characters are fictitious and no reference to any particular organization has been made. The story is a work of fiction and should be treated as such.
The Last Straw
I woke up at 6 am. And for a second I forgot why I’m here. For a second, I forgot what happened that led to this. I mean how many times have you woken up from a dream that felt so real that you could have sworn you really drowned in it? Infinite times. But this was not a dream. And everything that happened, happened.
I went to the doctors to talk about the recovery of my dad. They said he is awake but his condition is still critical. I asked them if I could meet him and they allowed me. I went into his room, ready to kill him with my questions.
“Hello sweetie”
“No you don’t get to sweetie anymore dad, mom died because of you”
His face turned from disappointment to shame. As he should.
“You don’t understand”
“Then make me understand dad. You’re the only family I have now.”
I couldn’t believe the man still had the nerve to talk down on me. He looked away from me...I could feel the regret that held him back...and I wanted to know...I wanted to know why...
"Please don't leave me to hang dad"
"Sweetie...I want you to remember that your mother was a loving and caring human being...and she would do anything for you...anything..."
He turned to look towards me...
"Years ago, she and I worked together as security analysts for Blift corporation that handled the intelligence of the country....they...came and threatened her if she didn't give them the information regarding a terrorist...everything...they threatened to kill you...and so she gave them every bit of info they could...it still kills me"
"Dad..."
"I didn't know about the deal until it was too late and the only way the corporation could tie her link to the consequences followed by those days...those terrorists were freed...they...she was the reason they were freed and disappeared without a trace...and I was the only one that could tie the link to her. The corp made the link to me and so I ran away...they knew they couldn't build a case against her without me... So they deemed me as a terrorist too... Although the information wasn't made public because it would be admission of guilt for the corporation itself..."
"I am so sorry dad..."
"You don't have to be sorry sweetie; your mom did everything to save you... I ran away so they couldn’t link me to her and I came back because I was under the impression that they have forgotten about me...and the moment I came back... She was shot for harboring a fugitive, the second I walked through the door, I signed her death warrant myself…I never should have came back...and in few hours they'll be here... to take me away... You need to leave... Katie will help you...leave..."
"I don't want to leave you dad, you're the only one I have left"
"No sweetie, go to Katie, she will help you... Look for her at the cafe Dellica. Go, NOW"
I started crying and hugged him...maybe for the last time and I went to cafe Dellica.
On the way, I asked myself the scary questions, "how did they make the link to him? was he hiding something else from me? where was he all the time? what was he doing? how did he manage to survive? why did my mother cave into this? why didn't my mother inform the authorities?"
So many questions I wanted to ask him and her... but the only inevitable question that needed answer was...
How could I ever put this nightmare behind me?
-The End-
-Gayatri Aggarwal
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