Allora

He is Back

The next morning, I was getting ready for a shower when there was a sudden knock on my door. I opened the door and there stood my aunt Lucy, my mom's older sister. Lucy and her husband Abeo raised me after my mom's death. They have a son named Clement, who is fourteen.

" Hey aunt, what is it?'' There was a look of confusion on her face which was unusual . She is silent for a moment and seems to be contemplating how to say whatever that is bothering her. She stepped forward and held my hand and gave me a gentle pat.

"Lorrie baby ... I never imagined or was ready for this day because I thought everything was over for the best. But..." I'm not able to follow her , but this unusualness from her is making me worry.

"But what is it, aunt, just tell me what it is." Is somebody ill? Are we gonna go bankrupt or something?

she was still not saying anything. "Aunt Lucy what is....''

"Your father is here."

I don't know what to say . For a moment, I even forgot to breathe. Did I hear her right or were I imagining things? I looked at my aunt and I could see her waiting for my reaction.

"My father?"

" Yes, dear your father. "

I have a lot of questions on the tip of my tongue but I cant ask any , it feels blurred. Its natural, I think, for a normal girl to be like this when she hears about her father's appearance in her life after nearly one and half decade. Its been 14 years since I last heard from him.

"Why now ? Does he need something?"

"I don't know, sweetheart. He didn't tell me anything . He said he wanted to see you.''

I could feel pressure on the corner of my eyes , but I blinked them away. There were certain memories from my childhood that flashed through my mind . I had many happy moments with my father , but what stood out most was that day. The day I lost her and that alone brought me back to reality. A certain kind of heaviness and annoyance filled my chest.

''He wants to see me, right? Well, I will see him". With that, I walked towards the living room. Aunt Lucy was calling me but I ignored her because I wanted this to be over as soon as possible.

I stepped into the living room . There with his back to me stood a man in blue shirt and dress pants, Alessandro Ortiz, my father. Seeing him after all these years, I never thought that I would get this feeling. The annoyance left and there came another feeling, longing, a longingness to say the word that was on the tip of my tongue. To my disappointment, I let out a loud shaky breath which announced my presence to him. He turned around and I felt something wet dripping down my face.

My father changed a lot. He has grey hair and looks a lot tired, but is still handsome for a man in his late forties. I should be mad at him and that was my intention until I looked into those grey eyes, the same eyes I see every day when I look in the mirror.

Tears streamed down his face and those eyes held a lot of emotions. There was sadness, happiness, longing and most importantly, love gleaming in them.

We stared at each other for a few minutes. I unconsciously took a step forward and that was the only sign he needed because, in the next moment, I was in his hands. He hugged me like he was afraid I would vanish in the next moment. I couldn't hold it any longer. I started crying. We stood like that for a few minutes, me crying and him patting my head.

I only spent four years of my life with my dad, but I still remember clearly how he would read bedtime stories every night while patting my head. Those memories brought more tears and the sting in my eyes told me that my eyes must be puffy now.

"I'm sorry baby", that is the first thing he said when we pulled apart. For what exactly was he sorry? For everything maybe. But I didn't have the energy to confront him. But I did have one question that I needed to answer.

" Why didn't you visit me? I used to hopefully wait for your arrival every day until I started believing that you might've forgotten me."

This made my dad cry more. " It's not like that sweetheart, it was for your safety."

I looked at him with a confused expression " what do you mean? I didn't get a phone call or even a letter from you. Does that have something to do with my safety?" I asked him sarcastically.

" It does''

Now I'm more confused. My father ushered me to the couch and made me sit with him. My uncle entered the room along with my aunt at the same time. When I looked at my aunt's face I couldn't see the confused look I saw earlier, instead there was only worry.

" I talked to your uncle earlier about things and, from the looks of it, Abeo told everything to Lucy," dad said.

" What is going on?"

" Sweetheart, I sent you with your uncle and aunt here because New York is dangerous for you. Now it turns out you are not safe here either."

"What kind of danger are you talking about, I don't understand."

My dad looked at my aunt and uncle a second and let out a sigh. From the looks of it, I'm not gonna like whatever is gonna come out of his mouth.

" Our family is one of the oldest mafiosa in the country and you are the only heir left . That makes you .... "

" wait", I cut him off " you mean mafia with guns, illegal business and all..."

" Yes, something like that", I let out a laugh. But my aunt, uncle nor dad did find this funny. So I stopped.

"You are in danger since the situation in our family is critical now''

" I don't want to leave here."

" If you don't leave, then you are putting your uncle, aunt and cousin's lives in danger. "

I looked at them and they seemed to be contemplating the situation. If it means keeping them safe, I don't have any other option.

I thought about it for a few minutes and came to a decision.

" I will come with you , but what about my studies?"

" You don't have to worry about anything else , it will be taken care of."

I let out a sigh, this is it I'm moving. " Where are we going?"

" New York"

At that, I looked at him more confused and he understood it.

" No more hiding baby. You are gonna become who you are meant to be, so start packing."