Prologue: Three Days Later {pt.2}
1513 Words
Three days.
It took three days for the hospital in Boston, Massachusetts to schedule an appointment for Ryker, Christian and Aqua to visit Marina.
They lingered in the reception for hours; impatience, boredom and trepidation plummeted on their shoulders heavily. They dully watched the staff by the reception desk obtain constant calls, answering them and rejecting them. People left the building and were replaced by new strangers, hurrying inside and imploring for appointments. Christian paced back and forth; his fingers interweaved; murmuring incoherent words with an apprehensive sparkle twinkling in his blue eyes.
He enquired the receptionist when he can see Marina. The receptionist either didn't hear Christian, or purposefully and rudely ignored him. Christian glared at the woman tapping on the keyboard. He seemed as if the edgy ferocity churning inside him will explode until a commotion detained his, Ryker's and Aqua's gazes.
The cops.
They were suddenly entering the hospitals with grave, sombre expressions, lowly chitchatting with their partners and co-workers. She heard the mention of her mother's name, and her inquisitiveness escalated.
"So, how exactly does this situation link to Marina Lordaire?" One of the officers "I don't know."
"Are there any evidence?"
"No. Except for the knife."
"Fingerprints?"
"No fingerprints . . ."
Their voices faded off as they buried themselves deeper into the hospital, and a familiar man impeded her vision. Eddie Moore. One of Christian's friends. His blonde hair was neatly combed backwards as customary; his skin is pale as a thin sheet of blank paper.
"Ed." Christian's intolerant aggravation expired almost immediately at the sight of his good friend. "Finally. These bloody receptionists have been ignoring me and –"
Ed shoved past Aqua, who exclaimed the man's name with enthusiasm and threw her arms out for a friendly hug. Aqua huffed, the rejection hurting her. She's used to it, though. Ed is definitely like Grumpy from Snow White.
"We need to talk," Ed blurted, cutting off Christian's words. "In private."
Christian looked bewildered. Ed glanced at Ryker and Aqua, and a specific, solemn sentiment flooded his grey eyes. Ed tugged Christian to a quiet corner, swiftly beginning the conversation with whispers.
Aqua narrowed her eyes at Ed and Christian, fighting off the temptation to eavesdrop. It was recently when she held a suspicion that her father is enigmatic, mysterious and . . . atypical. She just couldn't figure out why. A part of her is telling her to let go of it, that all fathers are secretive whatsoever . . . Hopefully, she'll discover the answers to her father's odd behaviour soon.
Ryker is gawking at the ceiling, his lips thinly compressed together. He seems to be reflecting on a few things, and Aqua decided to keep her mouth shut. An exasperated sigh heaved through her nostrils, bored.
Her hand dug into her cardigan pocket and towed something out – a grey feather. Earlier this morning, Aqua found a grey feather resting on her bedroom pillow. She contemplated how it got there. Her window was completely sealed shut. And nobody comes into her room – her father has been busy calling his friends for unknown reasons, and his brother uncommonly kept silent for the past three days.
She asked her father about the grey feather. Christian told her that the feather is from the angels. That the angels heard her prayer. The meaning? The feather is a sign, apparently. A sign of an answer – yes or no – to a question Aqua asked the angels.
The angels heard her prayer. Therefore this grey feather, which was discovered in her bedroom, could either mean a yes or a no. She doesn't want to believe that the angels said no to her. She wants to believe that they've said yes.
Her lips raised into a small smile at the positive thought –
"Your mother will be fine," a manly voice said beside her.
Aqua flinched, looking to her right.
A man is sitting two seats away from her, dressed in a loose sweatshirt, faded jeans and sleek trainers. His velvety, shoulder-length, lustrous hair concealed the side of his face, until he pushed tresses of them behind his ear. Aqua's breath hitched up in her throat when her eyes assembled with his. They're like orbs of fire. The irises are the same colour as his golden hair, but they're much darker in a sweltering, blazing, turbulent manner. They're the type of eyes that makes you consider as if he can see your soul.
"You have nothing to fear for now, little one," the golden-haired man said. The softness in his voice peculiarly calmed her nerves for a moment. "Your mother will be fine."
Aqua did not counter. She's too confounded to even murmur incoherent noises. Who is this man? Why is he speaking to her?
The man slanted forward, precariously close. 'Your mother will be fine,' he repeated smoothly. "OK? She's a strong woman. She can handle the dangers of this immoral world easily. She will return to you soon, but for now just keep alert of this world." His flaming eyes meandered the hospital, eyeing the people. "This world . . . it's full of dangerous people–"
"Aqua?" Firm hands grasped Aqua's shoulders, capturing her attention. Her father's head hovered above hers. Confusion took over his face as he absorbed in her expression. "Hey, are you OK? You look pale . . . And who were you talking to?"
"I wasn't talking to anyone. A man was talking to me."
A man?" Christian examined the men in the hospital, suddenly wrapping his arms around his precious daughter, alarmed. "Which man?"
"The man next . . ." She stopped, noticing that the chair two seats away from her is blank, empty, unoccupied. ". . . to me."
Ed, who was standing behind Christian, arched his thin eyebrows at the vacant seat. "Chris, I think you gotta get your daughter some glasses. She's obviously losing her sight."
Chris shot Ed a look. "She's not losing her sight. You of all people should know that." Chris returned his gaze to Aqua. "Aqua, who was the man?"
Aqua described the man. Ryker, who's sitting next to her, carefully sucked up the information. After she was done, Chris straightened his figure, rubbing his forehead.
"We're screwed," he muttered to Ed.
"I don't think you are," Ed responded. "From what Aqua said, the man doesn't sound like a . . . bad man at all."
"But, Ed, last night . . . Others . . . they might've known . . ."
"Then you're screwed as f**k," Ed interposed.
"Language, Ed! My kids are here!" Christian snapped.
Mystified about what on Earth they're chatting about, Aqua demanded: "Dad, what's going on?"
Christian looked at Aqua, and then at her brother. Aqua realised that Ryker has been quite silent for the whole day. She wondered why. But her concern for Ryker's silence evaporated as she examined the way Christian's shoulders were broadened, and the way the nerves in his neck were more observant.
"Your mother is gone."
"Gone?" Aqua echoed. "What do you mean?"
Christian glanced at Ed, as if silently asking him for permission. Ed nodded.
"There was a break-in last night," Christian explicated. "Your mother disappeared and the police theorized she was kidnapped. Ed, are you sure that's what really happened?"
Ed nodded again. "Positive. The police are investigating. Hopefully they will find answers." There was doubt when he said the last sentence. He looked at Aqua and Ryker. "I'm sorry about the incident. You have my condolences."
Gradually, Aqua's eyes moistened. She lowered her eyes to the grey feather clutched in her hand.
Regardless of what that weird man told her, she believed the angels said no to her.
The angels said no to her.
Her mother isn't safe.
She's been kidnapped.
She's gone.
A fume of fury combined with disenchantment and melancholy formulated inside her. She let the feather flutter to the floor, and stomped on it, aggravated. The sizzling tears glided down her cheeks. She's angry. Angry at the angels. At the Holy Trinity. Why would they say no to her? Do they WANT her to cry? Do they even care about how she's feeling right now?
She cursed at them. She knew that's bad. She doesn't care. In her head, she screamed "I HATE YOU!" to God. The tears clogged her throat and she swallowed hard, feeling the smouldering in her chest becoming stronger second by second.
Christian immediately knew what she was thinking. He could tell by the tears. He squatted to his knees in front of her, wiping his eyes. "Everything will get better eventually, Aqua. And don't you even think that God will say no to your prayers. He won't do that."
"Then how comes Mommy is gone?"
"He has a reason for all things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust Him. We have to let Him organize His plans."
His words were comforting. Slightly.
She doesn't know whether to believe them, or not.
- Writer
