Teine Sā Series - Sacred Guardian

‘This is the final boarding call for passengers Manu Rowland and Sasulu Nazari on flight NZ992 to Apia, Samoa. Please proceed to gate 16 immediately. The final checks are being completed and the captain will order for the doors to the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes’ time. I repeat, this is the final call for Keil Rowland and Sasulu Nazari. Thank you.’ With my luggage in tow, I made my way to Gate 16 which is still 4 minutes away. I cursed myself for not packing earlier resulting in this madness. Too focused not to miss the flight, I didn’t realize the elevated floor and I tripped myself. Landing on my on my elbows stung, but the idea of missing the flight because I was clumsy pushed me to quickly get up and grab my things. I rushed to the gate, waving my hands in the air so the check-in agent saw me. Just my luck, the brunette check-in agent saw me and came over to assist with my luggage. ‘You’re just in time. May I have your passport and boarding pass please?’ She asked in a soft voice that compliments her small frame. Handing over my passport, I inhaled a sigh of relief that I didn’t miss the flight. I would be very disappointed if I were to remain here in this place, the place that holds so many painful memories of my last moments with my late father in the past few months. The place where I found love and lost it, the place where I found my purpose and where I was drowned in sorrow and grief, the place where my only family loved and kept me safe from harm, that is until three weeks ago – when I lost my father to cancer, the only person who truly loved me and saw me for who I was. MEMORY: 24th February Hoping against hope that what the doctor will reveal is something close to a minor infection or something similar that caused my dad’s condition to deteriorate as the days went by. When the doctor walked in, I tried to seem optimistic and positive, but one look at his expression and my heart sank. Shoulders dropped low and his eyebrows furrowed, I knew it was not to be. I braced myself for what came next. ‘I think you should take a seat and listen very carefully to what I have to say,’ the doctor began with a sad expression. ‘Your father’s results have come back and we are very sorry to say that he has stage 4 cancer. He may only have a few months left, at best. I’m very sorry. We do have treatments available that may improve his quality of life, but unfortunately it cannot be cured. I’ll give you some time to process this news, and please do reach out if you have any concerns or questions.’ With that, the doctor stood up and left the room with every bit of hope I had, crushing any optimism I had about of a possible future with my dad. Grabbing my things I left the clinic and headed straight for my car. I drove for about 2 hours before I found myself on the coast overlooking the ocean, just as the sun was setting on the horizon. I was the only soul there, without holding back my tears I let them flow freely, letting out the unspeakable sadness that has built inside me. There was now an emptiness in me that will never go away, knowing that I don’t have long before my father will no longer be here with me. I should have known it was something this bad, I should have seen it coming. But deep down I knew, I have known for a long time, but I kept denying the possibility, I kept pushing the thought away to the most secluded part of my mind. And with the doctor’s revelation, it’s come back to slap me in the face, crushing me full force that I do not have room to breathe. My best friend only has months to live. PRESENT: ‘Here you go ma’am, please proceed through the gate and you will be shown to your seat by one the attendants,’ the brunette spoke, interrupting me from my chain of thoughts. As I walked through the entrance, the brunette was just about to close the doors when I heard someone yelling, ‘Wait, wait please don’t clos…’ he was cut short when the doors shut closed. I could see that he was pleading with the check-in agents to let him through, he looked real desperate. When he realized that they wouldn’t let him through, he just there and looked straight at me. He looked at me, his silver eyes fixed on me, as if he could see into my soul. There was something captivating about this stranger, something about those sliver eyes had me in a trance. ‘Ma’am, we’re going to close the door, please come through,’ a pretty flight attendant rushed me along when she saw me staring at the door. Despite the weird encounter with that gorgeous stranger, I’m quite grateful that I did not miss my flight, I too would have pleaded like him. How unlucky he must be. Once I was shown to my seat, I put my bags away and buckled my seatbelt, getting comfortable for the 13 hour flight to Samoa. A place I know nothing about, except that my father met my mother there while he was working on some project. He never spoke of her, except for the one time when he told me she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, and he was the luckiest man alive to have been with her. He never told me what happened to them, all I know is that my father loved my mother just as much as he loved me. When he passed away, I went through all his things and came across some letter that he wrote for her apologizing about what he had done, it was addressed to her with the name of the island, Samoa, written on it. He must have meant to send it to her but never did…so I decided to find more about the woman who birthed me and the one my father fell in love with.