Chapter 65
TWO years later…
“WHERE’s Sara?” Connor asked Maria when she stepped out of the house without her daughter. “Isn’t she coming with us?”
“Wendy is still fixing her hair,” she said and laughed. “They’ve been doing it for almost an hour.”
“We’re done!” Wendy shouted from the house. “Sara’s hair is too long, we should bring her to the salon for a haircut before school starts.”
“No, Mommy, I want my hair long,” Sara told her when she came out of the house. She held her braided hair and looked up at her. “I want to be like Rapunzel.”
“Rapunzel is locked on top of the tower for seventeen years,” Wendy countered. “Do you want to be like her?”
“Wendy, stop ruining the child’s imagination,” Maria told her and caressed her daughter’s long braided hair. “As long as Sara is comfortable with her long hair, it’s fine with me.”
“Let’s go,” Connor said then looked at Wendy. “Are you coming with us?”
“Nah. Robert and I have plans,” she said and waved at them. “Enjoy your day.”
Sara waved at her Aunt Wendy before she got in Connor’s car. Maria called Connor to ask him if he could give them a ride today. Luckily, Connor doesn’t have any scheduled operations today. He can’t just drive for them, but can also accompany them to where they desired to go.
Two years have passed after the incident inside their house that changed Maria’s lives for the better. All the people that made her life miserable were now in jail and have a small chance of getting out. Chief Alvarez was demoted from his position and was sued for being the mastermind behind PO1 Chris’s murder case. Marcus was also convicted for multiple counts of murder and drug trafficking. And, Mr. Fortuno, being the man behind the drug cartel in Cebu and the assassinations of numerous persons working under him, is now spending his twenty-year sentence inside the City Jail.
Maria never felt as free as now in her whole life. She felt as if the heavy shackles tugged on her ankles were gone now, and she can move freely with peace and grace. She opened the car window and enjoyed the air in the last days of summer.
“Have you talked to your mother?” Connor suddenly asked her.
“I tried to call the number that Agent Fred gave me when I asked him to track her, but when I told her who I was, she dropped the call,” she said. “Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to me.”
Connor stopped the car when the streetlights turned red. “Maybe she’s just surprised to receive your call.”
“Maybe…” Maria said in a low tone. “Maybe she’s afraid that I might sue her too for doing the things that put me in the situation I was before.”
Connor looked at her. “Will you do that?”
Maria met his gaze. “Do you think I can do that?”
Connor smiled. “No,” he replied and laughed. “You wouldn’t try to talk to her if you have plans on filing a case against her.”
“That’s right,” she said and managed to put a sad smile on her face. “She’s still my mother, and I love her. But, I guess, she still hates me for being the daughter that she doesn’t want to have.”
Connor reached for her hand. “She’ll soon realize all the things that she’d done to you,” he said and drove the car. “You just have to be patient.”
Maria heaved a sigh. “I know, I’ve been patiently waiting for her affection all my life. Still, I am hoping too that Sara could meet her someday.”
“Mommy, we’re here!” Sara announced excitedly. Her face was pressed on the window as she looked outside. “I’m right, you’ll bring me here!”
Connor parked the car in front of the building. He got off and opened the door for them. “I’ll wait for you and Sara in the car.”
Maria looked at him with a knotted forehead, but then she realized why Connor doesn’t want to come with them unlike before. “Okay, we’ll be quick.”
He shook his head. “Take your time, I’ll be just here.”
Maria smiled and hugged Connor. “Thank you for being such a good friend to me, Connor.”
After a series of inspections and data filing, Sara and Maria have entered the visiting section of the City Jail. The guards were fond of Sara because of her bubbly attitude and being a heart disease fighter. That’s why every time they go there for a visit, they have a simple gift for her like paper dolls, toys, and the likes.
“Princess Sara is here again,” one of the guards greeted her and gave her a small paper bag. “Look, my daughter told me to gave you this gift.”
Sara excitedly checked the paper bag and gasped what she saw inside. “Mommy! It’s a fairytale book!”
Maria smiled. “Wow, we’re going to have a new bedtime story,” she said and thank the guard who gave it to her. “She loved the books that you gave her on our last visit here.”
“My daughter is a book lover, but she’s growing up fast, and her taste on books is changing,” he said and smiled. “Next time, I’ll ask her to debunk all of her children’s books and give to Sara.”
“That’s so generous of you, officer,” she said with a smile and looked at Sara. “D’you hear that, Sara?”
Sara nodded. “Thank you, Officer Keller!”
“You’re welcome, baby,” he said and turned to her. “By the way, Mercado is already in the visiting area. He got an on going visitor.”
Maria knotted her forehead. “Who visited him?”
“Mommy, come on!” Sara pulled her inside the visiting section of the City Jail before the officer could answer. “Let’s go!”
The officer just laughed and waved at them. Maria told Sara to slow down, but she wouldn’t listen. She ran to the man sitting on the farthest table excitedly.
“Uncle Marcus!” Sara called him.
Marcus looked up at her surprisingly. “Sara, you’re here!” he stood up and gave Sara a big. “I thought I wouldn’t see you today.”
“Happy birthday!” Sara said and kissed his cheek. “Mommy brought me here because it’s your birthday, but she said that gifts are not allowed here, so I made you this…” Sara put out a small powder pink envelope from her pocket. “I wrote here all the things that I wanted us to do when you get out.”
Maria felt a lump in her throat as she listened to her daughter. Euclid told her about Marcus’s request to hide his identity from Sara. At first, she’s against it. Still, she realized that Marcus is right. It’s not the right time for Sara to know the truth about her father. Everything has a suitable time, and they just have to wait for that moment to happen.
“Thank you for coming, Sara. And, I’m sorry…” Marcus told her daughter with tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry…”
Sara shook her head. “Why are you saying sorry?”
Marcus touched her face. “Because I’m a bad uncle to you.”
“No, you’re not,” Sara said with a shake of her head. “I’ve already forgiven you, Uncle Marcus. Mom said that life is too short to spend it with hatred. We have to be a good person because that’s the key to happiness.”
Marcus wiped his tears. “You’re right,” he said, then looked at her. “Thank you for bringing Sara here, Maria.”
Maria walked towards them. “She wanted to see you,” she said. “I don’t have the courage to resist my daughter’s request.”
“Oh! Mommy! Uncle Euclid is here!” Sara ran to her suddenly and pulled her dress.
Maria’s heart started to hammer inside her chest. She looked at the table where they saw Marcus and found a man sitting on the other chair. When he slowly turned around to face them, Maria’s tears fell from her cheeks.
“I’ve waited for this day to finally see you again, Maria,” Euclid said as he walked towards her. “Don’t cry, you promised me that you won’t cry again, right?”
“Euclid…” she murmured and wiped her tears. “Why did you take so long to come back?”
***END***
