SOMEONE IN THE DARK

“Din’t you try asking Ejay why he hated Deep so much? Maybe this could have been resolved sooner. Maybe things would not have gotten to this.” Deep’s mother speaks again, scouring her tears.

“I did. Not just once. But he refused to tell me. All he kept saying was that he was better than Deep. The last thing he told me that day before I shot him in the desert was that he would take that secret to the grave. That he would never give me the pleasure of knowing why.” I explain, remembering his words so clearly. And now I understand why he said it with a sinister smirk. He knew how deep this tangle was.

Deep's parents exchange a glance, a mixture of shock and regret in their eyes.

“Deep did not know that he had a half-sibling?” I asked out of the blue.

Mr. Azzua emits a bitter, deep sigh. And he speaks with a deep voice tinged with remorse and shame. "No. He doesn’t. We thought it was best to keep that part of my past away from Deep. There was no point in telling him because I thought I had sorted out that issue the best way I knew how. I never would have known that my past would come to haunt me after so many years."

Yeah! Nothing stays hidden. The mistakes we make always find a way to catch up with us, no matter how much we try to hide. The secret they had concealed for years is now roaming in the light, letting the world know what happened many years ago in darkness. I wonder how this tangle will end.

And at this point, I ask myself some questions: who is to blame for this unending quagmire? Mr. Azzua, who started it with his infidelity and abandoned his son? His wife, who supported him in hiding their sins,? The monster Ejay, for seeking vengeance to ruin the lives of people who refused to acknowledge him despite his right, or for not addressing this issue the way it should have? Me, who could not reciprocate his feelings no matter how he tried to make me his? Is it Deep's fault for not knowing he was up against his own blood?

Ever heard of good intentions ruined by the way of approaching? This one is one of those. Everything was handled wrongly from the start. And now, Deep and I are suffering for the sins that we did not commit. We are the victims, yet we are paying the price they paid.

"We thought we were protecting Deep. But we made a mistake by not being transparent with him. And now he is in great danger. I wish we had told him. He would have known how to handle the situation from the beginning when he had crashed with his brother." Mrs. Azzua speaks.

“I know. I will never be able to forgive myself if the brothers end up hurting each other. Deep does not deserve any of this. He is so innocent.” Her husband retorts.

Mrs. Azzua wiggles her head, her demeanor darkening with rage all of a sudden. “That Ejay is such a rotten soul. So he knew exactly what he was doing when he bombed our motel. He did not care about hurting us at all. Not even you, his real father. He better not hurt my son, or I will hunt him down and kill him myself!” Deep’s mother speaks with so much fury.

“Come down, my dear. Don’t get yourself worked up. We will find a way out of this. We will find our son. I, more than anyone, would not let anything bad happen to Deep.” Her husband consoles her.

“Don’t tell me to calm down right now, as if you have not seen the despiseful horrible things that bastard of yours has done. He has no conscience at all. He is a real animal who takes pleasure in torturing and slaughtering people. How can I not worry?” She breaks down for real this time around. The reality has just sunk, and it is killing her, just as it is killing me.

“Look.” I speak, trying to guide the conversation back to the pressing matter at hand. Weeping and worrying will not help us at all, and I am not saying crying is a show of weakness. I have cried too. I just think that we need to get moving as soon as possible before it is too late. A single minute with that monster is hell. I cannot begin to imagine what Deep is going through in those four or so days he has been with him. "Right now, our focus needs to be on rescuing Deep. We need to locate him and rescue him.”

Mrs. Azzua sucks back her tears, blocks her hiccups, wipes away tears, and nods her head controllably in concurrence with me. "Yes, we need to find a way to bring my son back safely."

Mr. Azzua's resolve hardened as he spoke with determination. "We'll cooperate fully with the authorities. Ejay needs to understand the severity of his actions. If he needs to confront anyone, let him face me and stop taking out his unwarranted anger on innocent people. What he has done so far is unforgivable."

I agree with him on that one. Two wrongs never make a right. If he was hurt by his father refusing to acknowledge him, he should have chosen the right thing to do instead of venting his unwarranted wrath on other people. Nothing can justify his actions. "Time is of the essence. We need to work together to bring Deep home. I think we should alert the police to launch a search warrant for Deep."

“Sure. Let us do that. I will also speak to my connections to help with the same. We should not rely on just one source.” Mr. Azzua speaks.

“I will call one of the officers. Excuse me.” Grace offers, and she walks out when we all nod our heads.

Silence enveloped the room, punctuated only by occasional sighs and heavy breaths as we waited for Grace to return. Each one of us is grappling with our own emotions: the dumbstriking stupor, the choking guilt, the boiling anger, and the profound desire to ensure Deep's safe return. He needs to be safe. And we must rescue him.

Soon enough, Grace returns with one officer, Martin. We go straight to the main business: Deep's parents provide any details that might aid in the search for their son. Their faces are a mix of desperation and hope. Mine is the most important one because I am the only one who knows that monster deeply.