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“Ignacio!”

I quickly turned around when Sir Ephraim said that. I looked at a man about Sir Ephraim’s age. My gaze remained on its face. Tears pooled in his eyes as he stare at me. I pressed my lips together trying to hold back my tears.

Is he really my father?

“Lineah son…” his voice croaked.

He quickly ran between the two of us. It wrapped its arm around me. I could no longer hold back my tears. It trailed down my cheek.

“My son…” he cried.

My mouth was just pitying, I didn’t know what to say. I only sobbed in response to him.

He pulled away. He cupped my face and stared at it. My eyes remained on him. His eyes are longing and gloomy but his lips are smiling.

“Is this really you? Are you my daughter? Are you my Lineah?”

I pressed my lips tightly together and nodded as my tears continued to flow.

“Oh Thank God! Lineah!”

He pulled me in a hug.

I also reciprocated it with a tight hug.

“I’ve been looking for you for a while … Twenty years Lineah. You were missing for twenty years!”

Twenty years? Twenty years I’ve been alone and feeling so unworthy. I don’t have my own identity, I was lost. I don’t know who I was. I was empty. I didn’t know what my life is anymore back then until now. I was lost but they are here telling me that I’m something else. Something more than I thought I could be.

“I can’t believe you came back to us. God heard my prayers … He brought you back to us! Here you are, son.”

“Papa…” I moaned.

“Yes, my Lineah. I’m your Dad.”

I have a father! I found him! I have found my true family! It’s not a dream because I’m just facing him! My father is real! Here he is … And it’s fun because he saw me again!

A smile tugged on my lips, salt crept on it. He pulled away and scanned me. He smiled.

“You’re so big! I can still remember when you were a baby. I was still carrying you then. Exactly right in my arm … You grew up beautiful like your Mother, my child. You look like her.”

Damn it!

I look like my Mother! I signed and smiled. I’ve found them! I have found my real parents!

All the pain and hardship I went through paid off because I could now be with my parents!

Fun creeps into my entire system. Things I wanted to do with the two of them quickly went by. We are whole! For over twenty years we have been separated, now together again! I’m sure my Mother can get along with Aunty!

We can live in a house! I can get them out of poverty! I will take them with us … I will work for my Mother and father as well as Tyang! Our family will be big! We will fill the next few days with good memories to replace more than twenty years of grief. We will all be happy… The suffering and pain are over… We will live quietly, happily and together. I can give back all the good things they give to me. I can live a normal life away from all the bad things that happened to me. Away from my nightmares. I will refuse to think that it really happened to me.

But why would I do that to myself? Why would I hide my trauma? It’s. A good ting that happened to me because it won’t push me to the edge. I would have never met Denard. Without him I would be able to meet my real father.

We are Aunty, Carolina, Carl and of course my Father and Mother.

I’m sure my smile widened on my lips.

I sniffed before speaking. I wiped the tear from my cheek. “W-where’s Mama? Why aren’t you with her? I-I want to see her.”

I stared at the door. My eyes caught Denard averting his gaze and Sir Ephraim, his eyes sad.

My forehead furrowed. Why are they sad? Shouldn’t they be happy because we’ve already met my dad? Her friend saw her missing child. So why do they look like someone has died?

I stiffened on the stand because of the thought. I looked back at my father.

It smiled bitterly at me.

I gulped.

“Y-yet… W-where’s mom? Shouldn’t she be with you? Does she know you’ve seen me? S-is she next here? W-where’s Mama?”

The bottom of my eyes got hot.

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks again as he did not answer me.

I pressed the lip firmly.

“Dad! Where’s Mom?”

Bear it.

“Pa … W-where is he—”

“Ignacio, he needs to know,” said Sir Ephraim.

He lifted his head and sighed heavily.

“She died, Lineah.”

I opened my mouth. My chest tightened and it was as if a million daggers had pierced it. My gaze remained on her as tears rolled down my cheeks.

“She died after the day you were kidnapped. Her heart could take it. She hoped we would see you that day. She hoped she would be with our only child … So when she found out that you were missing again she was attacked in the heart.”

There is no end to the tears flowing from my eyes. My knees weakened, my vision was slightly blurred.

“She could still be alive if you were kidnapped. If we had found you that day your Mother Lineah might still be alive.”

I put my hands on my mouth. I slowly fell to the office floor. The pain I feel doubled. My chest tightened. I gasped for air. I sobbed incessantly in front of them.

My Mother should still be alive if Theron and Thander hadn’t kidnapped me … I could have caught up with her! He wouldn’t have a heart attack if they found me papa! He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t have died if they hadn’t kidnapped me, Theron … Maybe I was wrong to think that my nightmare turn my life into something better. Because it didn’t. I was late. Too late to be with my parents…

He should still be with me now …

The three of us must be happy… He didn’t even see me… He couldn’t even hug his only child… I didn’t even see my mother.

It’s Theron and Thander’s fault! If they hadn’t kidnapped me my Mother would still be alive! He should still be with me now! I wish I could hug him!

We would have replaced each of his sad days and nights with happy memories.

It’s their fault, Theron! They never let me be with my family! They are greedy! Animals! They thought of nothing but business! They have no hearts! Animals! They are animals!

Every day I was with them, my father felt full of pain … He lost his only child and the Mother of the child died … Because of those siblings! That greedy sibling took his only child away from him and killed the woman he loved!

Damn it! Animals! I smiled at the hand. My breathing quickened and the heat of anger crawled all over my body. It slowly engulfed my system.

They’re driving me away! I can accept that they are pigging me but they have done too much. Because of them my Mother died! They killed my Mother! They are animals!

I was grabbed by my chest, my chest tightened. I caught my breath but my vision was blurred until it was all dark.

The unfamiliar room opened up to me. The sudden sitting made me close my eyes tightly. My head hurt made me feel better. I sighed.

I looked around. It is spacious and has furniture that looks new and expensive. I looked down at the frame on the table on the side of the bed where I was.

It’s a baby picture…

My baby picture.

“Lineah…” I turned in the direction of that voice.

Did he bring me here to faint?

“Where’s Papa? They’re Tyang and Carolina?”

“They’re outside. We told them the truth,” he said.

I sighed.

“W-what was their reaction? What did Tyang say? Is it okay—”

“They’re okay about it. They’re happy for you Lineah,” he said.

Somehow I felt relieved to hear that.

It looked down at my hand.

“I’m sorry about what happened Lineah.”