MISSING: THE LAST FOSTER

Chapter 4

"Sheki!" Lizle screamed when Shekinah lost her balance and almost fell to the ground. Raixen was just within distance and caught Shekinah before her head could touch the ground.

Raixen carried his girlfriend inside the car and brought her to their house to let her rest a little. They couldn't blame her. Seeing her family's situation broke their hearts. Just imagine being in Shekinah's shoes right now.

The country's father, Mr. President, and his family were announced dead before they could be rescued. Cameras, reporters, and supporters of the Foster family were there to gather information about the death of the beloved President and to show their support to the remaining Foster.

News was everywhere; Shekinah heard everything but didn't understand a thing. She was alive, yet lifeless. She couldn't pull a word into her head; she did not know what to say, and she did not know what to do.

"Sheki, I brought some food. Here, please have some," Raixen said, reaching for Sheki's hand and squeezing it gently. If only he could, if only he had the power to take away the pain that this girl he loved was feeling right now—if only.

Seeing Shekinah in this state broke everyone's heart. This was so unlike Shekinah; she was known to be serious but bubbly. The media was coming at her, but they were getting nothing from her. She couldn't even open her mouth for food.

She was just sitting in her seat and staring at the four caskets where every member of her family lay inside. Friends and supporters came to attend the funeral of the Fosters and lend their support and condolences. But did Shekinah need all of that? She didn't. She didn't need that; she needed and wanted her family. She wanted her dad, her mom, her brother, and her little sister!

If only she had known this would happen. She wished she hadn't gone to school and had joined her family instead. Maybe she wouldn't have to go through this pain.

"Sheki," Lizle called her name. She looked at her friend, and she was not alone.

Felix, Hedeliza, and Raixen were also there. She didn't speak a word; she stared at all of them, and her eyes stopped when they reached Raixen, her boyfriend's eyes. Without a second's delay, her tears just came out without a sound of sobbing.

Raixen also didn't speak a single word and just enveloped his arms around her. The girls reached for her hands and massaged them gently. There, she had everyone—she had her friends—but losing her family meant losing everything.

"Rex, bring Sheki to the dining room; she hasn't eaten anything yet. Well, just stay here," Felix said, and everyone agreed. Raixen nodded his head and asked Hedeliza to come and help him get some food for Shekinah.

He didn't want to lose Shekinah from his sight, not even for a second. He could feel something strange and wrong; maybe he was just being a little exaggerative, but he couldn't just ignore it. One thing he had learned from what happened was to listen to your guts, listen to your feelings, and listen to your instincts.

Raixen looked toward the dining hall door when it swung wide open, and Lizle with Felix came in.

"Why are you here? Who is watching things out there?" Raixen asked. Well, their parents were there, and everyone knew the bond and friendship between their families and the Fosters.

The media went to their family and asked how they felt about what happened to the Foster family. Like, really? Even a primary grader would say they felt bad about losing a friend. How the hell did the media work? What information were they trying to get? Their feelings? That pissed them off!

Now that the Vice President was here, the media would probably be all around.

"Who?" Shekinah asked, and that made them all look at her.

"Mr. Vice President—he came to show his gratitude and support, Sheki," Lizle answered.

She just nodded, and that was all. She didn't want to face and speak with other people, not even the Vice President. She knew that this man and her dad didn't get along. So why would he come here? He would soon be the President; was he here to thank her dad for the opportunity for him to become the leader?

Hedeliza came with a tray in her hands and different kinds of food, mostly soup. Shekinah showed a forced smile, just tasted a bit of all the food, and was done.

"Babe—"

"I'm done, Rex. I'm not hungry," she said, cutting off Raixen's words.

"Sheki, just please finish this donut," Hedeliza said, offering the donut and hoping that Sheki would have it. "You can't get sick; you have to gain strength. You have to be strong. Jasmien wouldn't be happy if she saw you losing weight and getting weak," she added, making Shekinah freeze and stare at her.

Shekinah got teary-eyed remembering her little sister, the little Foster who always wanted to go on a trip for her birthdays. She was their happy pill. She was their stress reliever. Every time she went home tired and exhausted from everything she did at school, she would just go to the little Foster's room and check on her, hug her a bit, and everything was gone.

Her mom, dad, and brother did that too. Jasmien was their favorite person in the whole f*****g world!

"That is Jasmien's favorite donut, babe," Raixen said, taking the donut from Hedeliza and handing it to her with his comforting smile.

"I do not know why all of this happened. I am left—alone..." Raixen quickly grabbed Shekinah and covered her in a warm embrace. Hedeliza joined the hug, as did Felix and Lizle.

"Don't say that; we are hurting seeing you hurting, babe. We understand your feelings and everything. I actually admire you for being a fighter. If I were in your shoes, I couldn't imagine what possible things I would have done or what would have happened to me. So please, don't give up. You're not a quitter, remember? You hate losing; you hate quitters, babe," Raixen said while tapping her head and letting her burst into a bucket of tears.

"Why? Why mom? Why dad? Why Gio? Why Jasmien—why all of them? They were happy. Jasmien was so excited to swim, and Gio was pissed knowing that he was required to swim with Jasmien. If I only knew! If only I knew!" she said, sobbing hard.

Raixen's mom, who was also the best friend of Shekinah's mom, Carmen Foster, faced and greeted the Vice President, who had several bodyguards behind him.

"Hello, Mr. Vice President," she greeted and bowed her head.

"My condolences, Mrs. Gregor. This news was so sudden, and my office—the office of the Vice President—was so saddened by what happened to our dear leader," the Vice President said while looking intently at the closed-eyed and lifeless father of the country, Mr. President, Alexander Foster.

"Accidents give no warning; this is so heartbreaking. My best friend, Carmen, she was so excited for that vacation. It was supposed to be the celebration of the fourth birthday of their youngest, Jasmien Foster," Raixen's mom said, stepping forward to the sleeping little angel of the Fosters, and the Vice President followed.

"This innocent little angel here... I am so sad about what happened. My family extends their deepest sympathy to this family. I wish I could have a word with the eldest Foster, but maybe some other day. This is just so fresh, and I understand what the kid is feeling right now," he said, smiling weakly at the camera that was following him while giving a glance to each member of the Foster family in their caskets.

As much as Shekinah wanted to have her family's funeral private, she just agreed that since her father was the President, the state or the country was dying to know updates about the President's funeral, and that made her sick of it.

Those people who had tried to ruin her father's image and tried to block him from becoming the President were coming, keeping on coming, and showing their documented sympathy.

"Are you sure you don't want to greet the Vice President?" Raixen asked in his soft voice. He was holding Shekinah's hands while she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Let's go back there. I need to be there. I need to see them twenty-four-seven," she said and stood up. She didn't look back and didn't wait for her friends to speak a word; she just walked through the dining door and came out to where her family was lying.

She just couldn't handle the pain; her heart heaved as her eyes landed on the caskets in a line—her whole family.

"Babe, Mr. Vice President is there, next to mom," Raixen said, and she nodded. She slowly walked toward the Vice President, who was busy talking to Raixen's mom.

Shekinah was still not comfortable with the cameras around, even if she knew that paparazzi were always behind her; at least those people didn't show themselves, or maybe they showed themselves but in disguise. These cameras were explicitly set up in this place.

She badly wanted to take them down, but she didn't want to make a scene in the final days left for her to be with her family. She wasn't a minor anymore, so her voice could be heard, and she was the one planning for her family. She would never let other people force their views on her.

She weakly smiled as she approached the person who would soon take the seat of her father. Shekinah greeted the Vice President and even bowed her head as a sign of respect. Her dad would always tell her to bow her head to someone who was in a high position, even if they were enemies or opponents.

This man had loudly and proudly said mean words and things against her father during the election. Of course, he had his own presidential candidate, and their party was one of the many parties her dad had declined to be a part of. So, don't blame her for not being so pleasant in welcoming this person with bodyguards at his back.

"Hello, sir. Thank you for coming," she said.

Raixen guided her to a vacant chair beside the Vice President, while Raixen's mom sat on his other side. Shekinah simply scanned the place to see familiar faces from politics and other people from other cities who had supported her dad all throughout his candidacy.

Her dad had run independently, but some of the declined parties hadn't held a grudge against her father, and they had cheered for him when his name was declared as one of the presidential candidates. Some of her father's opponents became his friends—the ones who ran representing the parties his father had rejected.

"My family and I extend our deepest sympathy, Ms. Foster—my condolences. I am not in your shoes, but I understand how you are feeling right now. Please remember that we have God above, and He will be guiding you. Your siblings, your mom, and our beloved President, your father, will be guiding you from above in your daily life and throughout your future," the Vice President said with a smile on his face.

Shekinah gulped hard. She doubted that; she doubted she could go on and have smooth days ahead.

"I'm sorry for declining the government's offer to have a state funeral for dad. I just don't want to focus only on dad; I also have my mom and my siblings to look after," her tears were just too heavy to hold on to. They just came out fast and fell like running water.

She had declined the state funeral the government offered, and some people reacted by saying she was being unreasonable. For them, because Alexander Foster was the President, he had to have a state funeral, but she was the guardian, and she didn't want to leave her mom and siblings out. Those people forgot that it wasn't just her dad; it was her entire family.

"I understand; we understand. We respect your decision. All we want for you is better health. We all know that the President would also wish such good health for you," the Vice President said while looking directly at the casket where her father lay.

"Thank you, sir," she politely said.

"Accidents happen at any time. It is just so heartbreaking that it happened to our dear and beloved President," she heard him say. Shekinah gulped and glanced at her hand, which Raixen was holding and gently squeezing.

She wasn't looking at the people beside her, but all of them who heard what she said looked at her.

"Dad would never go without making sure of our safety—especially if Jasmien was there with him."