“Actually, he is not in jail.” Grace and I snap at Deep’s father. He is not in jail. How did… “My son told me the whole story. Sorry, Gia. What is getting me confused right now is how a dead mother is supposedly holding my son captive. What sense does that make?"
“Dead? That man is dead and not in jail." His wife snaps. “How come I do not know this?” She adds, glaring at her husband with questioning glances.
“Nobody was supposed to know. I only pushed my son into a corner to tell me the truth.” Mr. Azzua explained to his wife and gave her a look that said, ‘Do not ask for more’.
“So, if the man is dead, then who has my son because I don’t believe even in the ghosts of Mombasa, which are believed to be real? Explain yourself, Gia! Nothing is making sense here.” Deep’s mother speaks.
“We have suspicions that Ejay is alive! He is the only one who can do all these things that are happening to us.” Grace speaks on my behalf, shocking the hell out of them.
“Okay. I think we need to start things from the start.” Deep’s father speaks, his hand falling from his wife’s shoulder. He continues. “So, this Ejay died, and a lot of people, even police, witnessed him being shot countless times. And it has been believed so for days now. There was a trace of him. How is it now that he is believed to be alive?
“That is a puzzle that is banging our heads right now, Mr. Azzua. We are trying to figure out what really happened. The thing is, none of us who were present that day knows what happened to Ejay’s body. And all these recent events only point to the fact that that man’s body is missing because he is alive.” I explain as much as I can.
“Now I understand why they say that nothing that is done in darkness ends well, nor does it stay concealed by the darkness forever. So, you, Gia, and your brilliant plan to free yourself from that monster failed. How could you have assumed that someone was dead if you did not see the corpse, huh? Were any of you using your head at all?”
This man will not just leave me swimming in self-blame today. She will also impair my ears. If I don’t become deaf from all these screeches, then I don’t think I ever will.
“Believe me, ma’am, nobody would have thought of something like this. And no one, much less me, would have wanted this to happen. I did all I could to...
“You did absolutely nothing, Gia!” She howled, cutting me off. Silence engulfs the room, empowering her to speak more. “Do not embarrass yourself by saying that you did something to put an end to that nightmare of yours back there, because if you did, all this nonsense you are ranting about should not be happening. You…”
“My dear, please calm down! This is not entirely her fault. She…”
“Whose fault is it then, huh? My son’s? Stop defending this woman. She needs to take all the blame and responsibility for her failures!” She yells again.
“With all due respect, ma'am, my sister did more than you can ever imagine. She sacrificed a lot for the people with whom she did not even have a relationship. She put her life on hold and risked her own life to save us all.” My sister defends me.
“Ooh, I see how well she did it, huh! So, are you still safe even now? Any minute, a man can break through this door and take you hostage again. So, tell me, what exactly did your heroic sister do, huh?”
My sister yanks her hand away from me, taking a long stride that transports her right in front of Mrs. Azzua’s face. “Listen, madam, you better shut your mouth because you do not know what you are talking about. Say one more sh*t about my sister, and I will forget who you are.”
“Grace, calm down!” I pull my sister back to avoid things getting worse while Mr. Azzua holds his wife.
“Calm down, my dear. I know what you feel about this, but you cannot inflict fear on them like this. I am sure they are already worried about that man being alive as it is.” Her husband tries to calm her down.
She looks at him, her eyes bleeding with wrath. Wrath for me. “And who isn’t scared? A mother whose son is in the hands of that vicious man? An innocent man whom they dragged into their mess? They need to feel exactly the fear that I am feeling for what is happening to my son. This is even nothing compared to what this girl here deserves exactly.”
“I never meant for any of this to happen, ma’am.” I speak calmly, with a downcast heart.
Mrs. Azzua’s voice quivered with raw emotion as she turned to face Gia. "Yes, you did the minute you got my son involved in your mess. How could you let this happen, Gia? Now my son is missing because of you!"
My breath gets caught in my throat, shock and hurt flashing across my face. "Mrs. Azzua, I—"
"Don't you dare!" Mrs. Azzua's voice rises to a crescendo, her eyes blazing with accusation. "You brought this upon us, Gia. You and your cursed past! Let no one or nothing deceive you into believing that you are blameless. This is all your fault, and you better pray that my son is safe."
I think this is too much now. I know I made a mistake; I don’t need her to rub it over and over my face like this. It is killing me. I feel the tears well up in my eyes as I struggle to find the right words. "I didn't—I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Deep. I love him!"
"Love?" She scoffs bitterly. "Cursed love, I suppose, because your so-called stupid love has brought nothing but misery to my son and even us. Ever since you came into our lives, everything has been falling apart."
My hands tremble, and my heart breaks with every accusatory word I receive from her. Cursed love? My love for Deep cannot be a cursed love. It is pure love that heaven would bless without hesitation because they can see the genuineness in our hearts. "I've tried to protect him the best way that I could. I am still trying, and I will not stop. I swear. I never wanted any of this."
Her face contorted with anger as she discharged a bitter smirk. "You expect me to believe that? You and that cursed man you call Ejay have made our lives a living hell for the few days you got my son tangled in your web. You've endangered my son!"
Well, his life was entangled with that cursed man from long ago. Why am I getting the sense that they don’t know who this Ejay really is?