Broken vows(completed)

I've lost everything

Mrs Wilson felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her. She was feeling numb for a second, before she started shaking her head. She held Fred's arms, and shook her head. She could not believe she had lost her grandson, her only grandson to the cold hands of death.

" No, no, no, no,... It can't be true. Tell me, it's not true", she chanted.

" I am sorry Ma, I am really sorry", Fred continued to cry. 

" When? When did this happen? How did it happen?" She asked.

" Yesterday. He returned from school and went out to play. But, some of the boys in the neighborhood brought him back, almost unconscious. We took him to the hospital. But, it was too late", Fred explained.

Mrs Wilson began to cry hard. She sat on the floor and began to weep. She wept for her grandson. She wept for her little boy. Mr Wilson who had remained silent, ever since the conversation about Junior started, run to his wife and tried to help her get up. She refused to get up. She wanted to remain on the floor and cry for the boy she will never see again.

Fred got up, and held her. " Ma, please, get up. I can't bare to see you like this".

Mrs Wilson continued to cry. " How can you do this, Martina? How can you do this to your only child? Come and see your son, Martina. Come and see where you have left your little boy", she wailed. Fred knelt beside her, hugged her and cried with her.

Everybody in the room, began to cry, including Mr Wilson. Linda was hugging her mother as they cried. After a while, Fred helped Mrs Wilson off the floor and helped her sit down on her chair. Fred turned to sit back on his chair, but Mrs Wilson suddenly got up and held his hands.

" My son, please find it in your heart to forgive my daughter. I don't know why she did what she did. But, please, forgive her. She is wrong. She was totally wrong to leave her family. Look at what happened because of that. Please, son, I don't want you to hold any anger in your heart. Just continue being the man we all know and love, okay?" she pleaded.

" Ma, I... I don't know if I can even be myself again. I just lost all the people I care about so much. I've lost everything. My wife, my son... Nothing matters anymore. I don't know what I am going to do without them", Fred sniffed.

Mrs Wilson hugged him again. Then, his phone rang. It was Fred's father. He looked at the caller ID and was shocked to see his father calling. His father rarely called him. But anytime he called, it meant something serious had happened. Fred did not know if he should answer the call or not.

" Why are you not picking your phone, son? Who is calling?" Mr Wilson asked.

" It's... It's my father. My father normally calls me when he feels I'm in pain. I'm sure that is the reason he is calling now", Fred explained.

" How does he know that?" Mrs Wilson asked, looking quite amazed.

Fred shrugged. " I don't know. We have always had that kind of connection ever since my mother died".

The phone stopped ringing. But it started to ring again after a few minutes.

" I think you should pick the call. Your father might get more worried if you don't pick the call", Mr Wilson said.

Fred breathed in and picked the call. " Hello father".

" Hello son, are you okay? Is everything alright?" Mr Mensah, asked.

" Yes, father. I... I am fine. How about you?" Fred replied, trying not to cry.

" Fred, have you been crying? You do realise I am your father, right? I can sense when there is something wrong with you. Last night, I felt so uneasy. I could not sleep at all. I felt like you were in pain, a lot of pain. Please, son. Tell me if there is anything wrong", Mr Mensah said.

Fred let out a cry. " Father, Junior. He died, father".

" What?! When did this happen?" Mr Mensah asked, sounding shocked at the news.

" Last night. He died last night. Father, it hurts. It hurts so much. I will not be able to see my son again", Fred cried on.

Mr Mensah remained silent for a while. The news had hurt and shocked him. He felt it last night that his son was in distress but he never imagined it to be the death of his grandson.

" I will be coming to Accra, first thing tomorrow morning. Are your in-laws aware of this?" he asked.

" Yes, they are here", Fred said.

" Can I talk to your father in-law?" he asked, again.

Fred handed the phone to his father in-law. " My father wants to speak with you".

Mr Wilson took the phone and put it on his ear. He and Mr Mensah spoke for a while before he handed the phone back to Fred, who was seated beside Mrs Wilson now.

" Your father wants us to take care of you, till he comes to the city tomorrow morning", Mr Wilson said.

Fred nodded. Mrs Wilson hugged him at his side, and leaned her head on his shoulder. " I know this is a hard time for all of us, but we will get through this. We will surely get through this".

Fred had stopped crying now. His eyes were red and swollen from all the crying. He seemed calmer now. Whenever he spoke to his father, it always seemed to calm him. Linda and her mother felt this was the right time to leave. They wanted to leave the family alone to mourn. Oh, if only Martina was here, how will she take the news?

They asked for permission and left. Linda did not want to leave Fred alone, she was not happy to leave him looking like that. But, she had no choice than to go. Fred offered to walk them out.

" Will you come around, tomorrow?" Fred asked, when they were standing near Linda's car.

" Yes, I will come see you, tomorrow. Please remain strong, okay? Your father will be here tomorrow. You will need your strength to welcome him. See you later, Fred. And please, eat something, okay?" Linda said.

Fred nodded. " I will try to eat something. I will always thank you for everything you keep doing for me. Thank you for always being here for me, Linda".

Linda hugged him and sat inside her car. Her mother was already seated in the car. Linda started the car, after Fred had opened the gates for her and drove off. Fred closed the gates and went inside.