Pools of Blood

chapter 44

" Did you bang your head when you were young? ", Jasmine looked at me. " You don’t seem to remember anything."

I was too thinking the same. I didn’t recollect ever knowing the aged man in front of me but he was quite sure of our closeness.

"Sorry I don’t recollect anything before the blast", I confessed.

"Yes. That, I have well understood. If you had remembered me, you would have come to me before. Twenty years have passed and I almost gave up hope. I didn’t want to force you to return and confront your past. That’s your job, not mine. But today I am glad that at last, you have come."

I nodded. "I want to know everything. Can you tell me how that blast took place and my life before it? I don’t remember much. That blast made me sick and traumatized for years and the fear made me lose much of the memories connected to my parents."

He smiled at me. His eyes twinkled in delight as if he has found the star he was searching for for a century.

"Michael, you were the only child of Joseph Ting and Minerva Ting. They used to stay in the USA. But after your grandfather’s death, your dad inherited everything. He flew down with you and your mom and settled here. The whole bamboo forest that you can see from this hotel, belongs to your family. Your grandfather had a bamboo export business, so you can well comprehend the atmosphere here. Your grandfather had a huge mansion and a hell of a lot of servants to take care of. But immediately after your father’s take over, things started to change. Your mother couldn’t adjust herself into a family with servants and extravagance. She was a strong woman who loved equality and a life of self-accomplishment. She hated to let her hair be tied by servants. That’s why quarrels broke down regularly among the two. At last, your dad brought a small house nearby, a cottage by the look and all three of you settled there. Life was good. "

He stood up and walked slowly towards the crystal green waters of the pool. Then lighting a cigarette, he started again.

" I remember attending your eighth birthday. You were so small and mischievous. I know, you have forgotten everything, but let me tell you, you were a naughty boy at that time. Always playing pranks upon all". He laughed.

I smiled. I never knew this side of my life. I had always been the sulky gloomy man and Alfred was the prankster and naughty one.

"Once your mother wanted you to learn music. She was a beautiful singer. Her voice was as mesmerizing as the fountains and springs of the valley. An exquisite voice she had. But you never loved singing. So you thought to run away from home. All day we searched for you. Your mother was on the verge of tears. At last in the evening you came back home. When your dad asked why you came back when you had decided to run away, you said, that you were afraid to sleep alone for the ghosts would bite you off. So you had to return. Imagine your mom’s condition. Both of them couldn’t understand whether to laugh or to cry at your response. Such a boy you were!"

I started to laugh. Even Jasmine too broke into a smile. I was a happy boy then. Happy with his parents in this paradise far away from evils and villains.

"Then came the day when everything simply fell off. All hell broke loose. And everything shattered."

-"What happened? Please tell me."

-"Your mother got some news about the past life of your father. You know the truth always prevails. You can't hide it. The same thing happened to your family. Your father had a relationship with someone else back in the USA before he married your mom. It was a fling. He confessed to me that he and his friends attended a party one night and he was drunk and he had a go-in with a lady girl there. No one knew another and in the morning, both parted ways. They never met each other or tried to keep in contact. Two years after that night he met your mom, fell in love married her. He didn’t want to reveal his mistake because that didn’t even count as a fault. Neither he was with your mom, nor he cheated on her. That day, a lady came with a young boy by her side. She broke out the fact that the young boy was the illegitimate child of Joseph. It was like a bolt from heaven for us. Especially for your mom."

I was shocked too.

" What happened then? "

-" Imagine the situation. You are a grown man. How would you have taken this situation had you been at her place? Your mom loved your dad a lot. She left her country, her nation, her culture, and everything just for you and her husband. And that was the reward she got at last for her dedication."

-" But where was dad’s fault in this? He had a liaison when he was young, two years before he even met mom."

-"Exactly. She didn’t blame him. She blamed their destiny. She blamed God himself."

-"What happened with the boy and his mom? "

-"Your dad asked them to leave. She could have notified her unwanted pregnancy after that incident. But she didn’t. She could have come earlier before he got married. But she didn’t. He stayed so many years in the USA. She never tried to confront the situation with him. And then after a decade, she came all the way to Damyang gun just to say that the tall young slim freckled boy with golden hair was his seed. That was ridiculous. He simply denied the allegations and even called for a DNA test. But your Mother went into a frenzy and she threw both of them out. The boy and his mother. It was one day before you turned eight."

-"Hold on-", I raised my hand and stopped him.

"Did you say a young boy with golden hair? What was his name again? Can you remember?"

He nodded.

" Of course, I remember. Your mom ridiculed his name as an unbiblical one. Your mother was a very pious lady, a devout Christian who married a Buddhist. Your father never stopped her from following her religion and she respected his in return. You are named after God’s favorite Archangel."

-" What was the Boy’s name?", I dreaded the answer. Somewhere in my heart, I had already known what the answer would be.

-" His name was Francis. His mother called him Frank."