The Truth Berries

LVI

 The rest of the day was spent in a silent struggle of trying to figure out what the old key would soon open. When she was asked to take a shot at it, the old woman shook her head and she looked equally baffled as the two of them. She said she had never seen that key before and his brother never mentioned anything about it to anyone. And so after many hours of hard deliberation without getting any plausible answer to the hanging question, the three of them all stood up from the table and decided to call it a day. Miguel and Helen wished her a restful evening but she said that she still had to attend to one of her new plants outside. It took them almost half of the day and it made her forget about her other things. She said that she needed to give it some fresh supply of water or the poor thing would never grow and blossom one day. Miguel asked if she could not do that first thing in the morning instead for it was already getting dark outside.

       “Don’t worry. It won’t take me long.”

       Out of the sudden, Helen’s jaw stretched and her mouth opened. She let out a huge yawn and it left her with teary eyes afterwards. He immediately got the message.

       “By the way, I have talked to Aunt Inday. She told me that you could share the room with her. She said that the room was just too big for a lone old woman like her. And she would surely love to have someone to talk to right before going to sleep. You can wait for her to come back or you can come to her room now. Whatever suits you. ‘night Helen.”

       She listened to him with no sign of interest. That did not go unnoticed from him so when he realized that, he turned around and headed towards his room. Miguel wondered if he would ever get any sleep that night. He was still holding the envelope with the letter back inside in his right hand. On his other hand, he was holding the mysterious key and he kept on flipping it to its both sides as he walked. He was still intrigued with the key so he never noticed Helen walking drowsily behind him until they were almost at his room’s door. He suddenly turned around to face her and stood his ground. She, however, did not see him do that so she never knew he was standing there until it was too late. Helen let out a short shriek. She bumped into his broad chest and the sudden impact almost sent her falling sideways. But he was two seconds quicker than her. He already had his left arm wrapped around her, preventing her from falling to the ground. But his actions brought them very close to each other, with their noses almost touching. She looked at him with sleepy eyes and then she smiled, showing him her perfect, pristine set of teeth. Such sight of her melted his heart.

       “I’m sorry. I’m just real tired right now.”

       “I know. But where do you think you are going?”

       “To bed.”

       “Your new bed is that way. Mine is this way. Lady, I think you just got yourself lost.”

       “I see, Mister. Can you please tell me which way leads to the ‘I don’t think I care’ bed?”

        He tried to hide a smile and let her go when she was already feeling steady on her feet.

       “I thought you always wanted a separate room? I give you the next best thing. I got you a room away from mine, with a friendly old woman as a company.”

       “I don’t care what you got for me. I’m sleeping there tonight.”

       “So now you don’t mind that kind of set-up, huh?” he asked teasingly.

       “Please, can I lie down now? I really, really need to sleep.”

       “Very well, woman”, he nodded.

       So he opened the door to his room and flipped the lights on. She did not wait for any directions from him. Helen went straight to the bed, fixed the pillows and the single blanket a little and then she flopped into it. Miguel just watched her as she adjusted herself until she was facing the wall against their bed. When it was certain to him that she was serious about sleeping again with him, he shrugged his shoulders and went to his nearby drawer. He laid the envelope on top and then he pulled of his shirt. Normally, he would have slept with only his boxer shorts on but he kept the pants out of his respect for her. He lit up the small LED lamp on his table, turned off the lights and then he slowly and awkwardly lay next to her. Helen seemed not to care as he was lying half-naked beside her. She just faced the blank wall before her as her mind drifted back to the key which he received.

       “That key, what do you think is it for?”

       Miguel was slightly surprised to hear her speak for he thought she was feeling real sleepy already just a little while ago. But the thought of talking with her as they both lay only inches from each other brought an electrifying feeling to him, and he was sure that it was more than welcome for him. Miguel dug his hand into his pocket and took out the key from it. He held it up high and the faint light from the lamp brought an eerie glint to it. Then he felt her shuffling beside him until she was lying flat on her back like him now. They both stared at the key.

       “At first, I thought it was meant for that golden chest.” Miguel said.

       “No. it was already open when it was sent to me” she replied while shaking her head.

       “I know. Alex and I opened it. Which brings us back to what it is really for?”

       “Yeah, Auntie did not know about it either.”

        He looked at her with a silly grin. Helen glared at him.

       “Why?!”

       “Oh, nothing. I just love how you adopted that Auntie thing. Makes a man wonder, you know.” Miguel’s silly smile was still on.

       Without any warning, she hit him with a light punch, but it hit him next to his gunshot wound. He sounded weird for he was trying to laugh while he was groaning in pain.

       “I’m sorry to tell you, lady, but you missed the bull’s eye by just a hair’s width. It was real close, but no cigar. Still, that is not yet counted as a hit.” He kidded while he was still feeling the pain fading away.

       “Oh really? Well, let me tell you this, Sergeant. Next time won’t be so lucky for you. I promise you that.”

        He was still chuckling with his hand covering the dressed wound, as if he was expecting another assault to it, when she asked something that really made sense to him. And it also made him wonder how stupid he could get sometimes.

       “What does the letter say?”

       “I haven’t read it yet.”

       “What?! Are you serious?”

       “I’m still figuring out everything about the key, you know. That thing could wait.”

       Helen blinked her eyes several times for she still could not believe what he told her. And then she shook her head in disappointment.

       “Is that an excuse so that I could not see you crying while you’re reading that letter from your missing father? Or your brain just got plainly dumb after these past days?”

       “That’s a little harsh, even for me. Why did you think it was like that?”

       Helen turned sideways so that she ended up facing him while on bed now. Then she gave him one of her meanest looks before speaking very slowly to him.

       “Didn’t it even hit you that the reason for that key could just be plainly stated on the letter? That your father was wise enough to write that down for his playing-dumb son to simply read it?”

       He realized she was right, insultingly right.

       “No ma’am, I don’t.”

       “Your pathetic, Sergeant Miguel.”

       Despite of her words, he knew that she had a seriously valid point. He jumped to his feet, flipped the lights on again and darted towards the letter. Then he furiously tore the envelope itself and grabbed the letter back to their bed. Helen was already seated when he got back, with the blanket draped on her belly down to her feet. He sat next to her and eyed her. Helen understood what his eyes wanted to say so she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and nodded slowly to him, urging him to open and read the letter now.

       He greatly appreciated what she did so he took a deep breath of courage and unfolded the letter. Both of them were quiet for a minute as they both read the letter in total silence. Miguel and Helen opened that letter in hopes that it might shed some, if not all, truth and light to the key in their hands. Miguel also expected a letter of explanation from him or even something that expressed how he truly loved his only begotten son. He wanted to feel and know something that could tell him he was not an unwanted child for he partly believed when he just disappeared. But the letter gave them nothing of their expectations. In fact, they were left more muddled than enlightened after reading it. For the letter was a short one and it contained no signs of what they both wanted. The letter, however, gave them one more thing to think through.

       “What is that?” she asked, more confused than before.

       “I really don’t know too.”

        Miguel closed his eyes as he felt his temples starting to throb. He wanted something far from this. But his father only gave him a bunch of words that only he could understand. But now that he was gone, the meaning of the words probably vanished with him too. And he was left with just a piece of meaningless sheet of paper. Miguel wanted to scream his frustrations out. Yet he was afraid that after doing that, he might find himself losing his sanity and Helen as well. So he fought back the boiling rage inside him and tried to think. It was then that he remembered his aunt’s words.

       Your father was a calm man of precision and methodical research.

       Suddenly, Miguel saw the words from the letter taking a clearer form in his mind. He started realizing that everything was not meaningless, after all. With his eyes still closed, he gave out an adoring smile and explained it to her.

       “It’s not just an ordinary letter, Helen.”

       “Wow, I know that. Thanks for reminding me, Sergeant.” she said sarcastically. She was still pissed for she felt like they have been both cheated by the letter.

       “It’s some kind of a map. An instruction on how to get to something. He purposely did that because he knew that other people were also interested to it.”

       “But we already got the chest. What could that key be hiding?”

        “I don’t know but I’m sure it’s significant too. My father wouldn’t go to such extents if he wanted everyone to see and know what he was hiding.”

       “I guess you’re right. But can we do that when no one can decipher this letter?”

       Miguel slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. Helen was surprised, for there was a new kind of fire burning in his eyes. And when she heard him spoke again, she was sure what it was.

       “Don’t worry about that. What my father made, I could certainly break”, he said confidently.