CHAPTER 6: THE MAN WHO STOLE HIS LIFE
1179 Words
John slowly shook his head.
"No..."
"It can't be."
He tried to smile, but the smile died before it reached his face.
"My love..."
"It's me."
"John Jacob Dickson."
"Look at me carefully."
"I know I'm covered in blood and dirt."
"But I'm still me."
Johanna remained standing there.
She did not move closer.
She did not smile.
Instead, she hid further behind the guards.
Her eyes were filled with fear.
John felt his heart breaking apart.
"I must..."
"I must not look like myself."
He looked at the guards.
"Please, give me some water."
"Please."
"I just want to wash my face."
"Even just one glass."
The guards did not respond.
One of them frowned.
"Water for what?"
"Remove this dirt from me."
"My wife will recognize me."
The other guard shook his head.
"We're not bringing you anything."
"Leave this place."
John pleaded again.
"Please..."
"Even a little."
"I'm hurt."
But the guards remained standing there without mercy.
John lowered his head.
For the first time in his life...
He had asked for something as simple as water...
And he was refused.
Slowly, he turned his eyes around the area.
He was searching for any sign of hope.
Then his eyes landed on a plastic bucket beside the garden.
Inside it was water that had been used to water the flowers.
Without saying a word, he slowly walked toward it.
One of the guards tried to stop him.
But Johanna raised her hand.
"Let him."
John knelt beside the bucket.
He picked it up with trembling hands.
Then...
He poured all the water over his face.
The water mixed with the dried blood and black dust.
It ran down his face, neck, and torn clothes.
He began rubbing his face forcefully, as if trying to remove all the suffering he had endured.
After a few seconds, he stood up.
His breathing was heavy.
He looked at the guards.
Then his eyes fell on Johanna.
This time, he smiled with hope.
"Now..."
"Look at me carefully."
"Do I look like myself now?"
Johanna stared at him carefully.
Seconds passed.
John felt his heart beating faster.
He was certain she would recognize him now.
But...
Johanna slowly shook her head.
"I'm sorry..."
"I still don't know you."
Those words broke John.
His legs weakened.
He leaned against the gatepost to keep himself from falling.
Tears began flowing uncontrollably from his eyes.
"No..."
"You are my wife."
"Your full name is Johanna Maiko Dickson."
"And I am your husband... John Jacob Dickson."
"We lived together."
"We cried together."
"We laughed together."
"And we had our child, Amara Dickson, in January 2022."
"Johanna..."
"Do you remember when you told me that when Amara started walking, I had to be the first person to see her first steps?"
"Do you remember every night when you put her to sleep, you said there was no father in the world who loved his child the way I loved Amara?"
"These things..."
"No one else knows them."
"Only you and me."
Johanna froze.
Her body trembled.
Her eyes widened in shock.
She looked at the man in front of her as if she were seeing something impossible.
How did he know those details about their lives?
How could he mention their names correctly?
How could he know memories she had never shared with anyone else?
But despite all of that...
The face in front of her was not John's.
In a low, trembling voice, she whispered to the guard:
"This man..."
"How does he know about our lives?"
John remained standing in front of the gate.
His body was exhausted.
His strength was almost gone.
But inside his heart, there was still one thing keeping him from giving up.
Amara.
His child.
He looked at Johanna with eyes full of pain.
"Johanna..."
"Okay, if you don't believe me..."
"Then I only ask for one thing."
Johanna said nothing.
"I need to see Amara."
"I need to see my daughter."
His voice trembled.
"Maybe you don't recognize me because I have changed."
"Maybe you think I am someone else."
"But my child..."
"My child will know me."
Those words made Johanna tighten her expression.
For a brief moment, she seemed to hesitate.
But fear overcame her.
"You came here knowing things about my family."
"You said things that a stranger could never know."
"But that doesn't mean you are John."
John held his chest.
The pain was greater than the wound on his arm.
"Johanna..."
"How can you say that?"
"I am the one who stood beside you every day."
"I am the one who held your hand through difficult times."
"I am the one who waited for Amara before she was even born."
Johanna shook her head.
"I have tolerated enough."
"I don't know who you are."
"But you came here and frightened me."
"Now you want to see my child?"
She turned to the guards.
"Guards..."
"Remove him."
"I DON'T WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN."
The guards began moving toward him.
John felt the world collapsing once again.
"No!"
"Wait!"
He raised his hands.
"I didn't come here to hurt anyone."
"Please, just one minute."
"Just one."
"Let me see her."
"Let me hear her voice."
"And then if she sees me as a stranger..."
"I will leave."
Silence filled the air.
For a few seconds, no one said anything.
Then...
A small voice came from inside the house.
"Mom..."
"What's happening?"
Everyone turned.
John froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
He knew that voice.
Even after all the suffering.
Even after losing everything.
That voice could never be forgotten.
Amara.
A small child appeared at the doorway.
Holding her favorite toy.
She looked at the man standing outside the gate.
John no longer heard the guards.
He no longer heard Johanna.
He no longer felt the pain in his arm.
He only saw his child.
Tears began falling from his eyes.
"Amara..."
The name escaped his mouth in a broken whisper.
The child stood there staring at him.
John took one step forward.
"My daughter..."
"Your father is here."
The guards moved quickly.
"Stop right there!"
But John didn't look at them.
He was only looking at Amara.
"Don't touch her..."
He said softly.
"I didn't come to harm her."
"I came for her."
"I went through everything just to get here."
His tears flowed even more.
"Amara..."
"It's me."
"Your father."
Johanna watched him silently.
For the first time since he arrived...
She saw something that confused her.
This man was not pretending.
The pain in his eyes was real.
The love he had for that child looked genuine.
But before anyone could take another step...
The sound of an approaching car was heard behind them.
A black car stopped in front of the house.
The doors opened slowly.
And the person who stepped out...
Was someone John never expected to see.
Someone with his face.
Someone wearing his life.
John remained silent.
Because for the first time...
He saw a truth more painful than death.
The person inside his house...
Was himself.
- Writer
