"Only in the agony of parting do we look
into the depths of love." – George Elio"
We know it must be hard.
But don't think it's easy for us either.
Leaving I mean.
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Thirteen Years Ago
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"You have to keep her safe Rev."
Reverend Mike Andrews stood, confused as he looked at the little girl in front of him.
"You're asking me to take your daughter? Why?"
The young father, probably about five years younger than the reverend was, ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"You don't understand Rev...we know you're young,and this is so much responsibility. But she needs to leave us for her own good!"
"Mama...look at my bubble!"
The four year old shouted in joy.
"Mama!! Papa...LOOK!! Its going away!!"
The reverend shifted his gaze from the mother to the father,and then to the daughter.
"You have to promise to come back for her."
His voice was broken.
He was not worried about the responsibility of taking care of the girl,it was just the fact that her parents had begged him to take her away, when they clearly still loved her so much.
The father nodded,while the mother who was barely an adult, squatted next to the daughter.
"Tata..."
The bubbly girl,who was too caught up with her bubbles to turn.
"Yes Mama...mama look!"
Her eyes shone in innocence.
"Its beautiful Tata...just like you."
She gave a smile with her hardly toothy mouth.
"Tata...mama and papa have to go somewhere,and won't be back in a while ok?"
The girl looked confused at her Mama's words.
"Are you going to Santa's house?"
Her mom looked like she was going to cry,and could not answer.
Her dad squatted next to her,and and wrapped his hands around her.
"We'll be back Tata...we love you Tata. Just wait for us with this nice sir over here... he'll take care of you k?"
The girl smiled and hugged her papa.
"Tell Santa that I want mama to have another Tata for Christmas."
The mother then burst in tears as her father wrapped his arms around her.
"Honey... it's ok...it's ok..."
The couple gave their confused daughter a last wave before walking into the car.
"Sir...would Mama and Papa be back?"
The reverend gave a sad smile, clutching the faded blue diary that the man had given him.
"Come on in kiddo."
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True Faith Church
Premises
The Faith Home
Sunount Indianapolis
Reverend Mike AnderFaith was sure that the girl would give him a heart attack sooner or later.
He was just a forty year old, and the girl was already giving him grey hairs.
"Zibah Nava AnderFaith!!"
My heart skipped ten beats.
Ten whole beats I tell you!
If you thought that those guys earlier were scary, you needed to see Mike when he was mad.
I took a deep breath,and checked the time.
It was almost 1 am in the morning.
Oh no...that is not good!
"Where have you been?"
I bit my lip in, blinking my eyes, trying to think of something to say.
"I...I...I went to have some air."
"AIR!! At this time of the night?
Do not lie to me young lady!"
I fidgeted nervously.
"I was this close from calling the police! Do you have any idea how worried I was??!'
"I'm sorry Mike...I..."
"Is it about 'the diary'?"
My eyes snapped wide at the question.
The day Mike gave me 'the diary', he didn't say anything much.
He just said..."Your parents asked me to give you this once you turn 17.I didn't read it."
I felt weird because I thought my parents hated me,but now,Mike was telling me something totally different.
They left something behind?
I fidgeted nervously.
I had thought about telling Mike about the contents of the diary but after reading most of it,I didn't feel like sharing.
This was something personal.
This was something that was supposed to be between my birth parents and I.
Mike was great to me.
Infact,he is the best and only father I have ever known.
But there was just a part of me that wanted to just know who my real parents are.
"Mikey... please...it's late. We can talk about this tomorrow."
Muna's tiny voice called from behind him.
Oh Jesus... bless this woman."
He glared at me.
"Thank God for Muna... but tomorrow,or should I say,this morning...we are talking about this! Don't think that this conversation is over!"
I nodded my head, making sure not to look at him at all.
He made his way into the house, mumbling some words as he walked up the stairs.
"You know that you would have to tell him whatever it is,sooner or later."
Her African accented voice said clearly.
"Yes Muna.Thank you."
The small African lady with her low haircut,curvy hour glass figure,and her heavily pregnant stomach, smiled at me.
"Come help me in."
As I held her hands, and walked with her inside the house,I could feel emotions that broke me inside.
This was the first home I had ever known.
It was the first and only family I had ever had.
Deep inside,I didn't want to leave,but I knew that sooner or later,I had to find out about my past.
The diary said I needed to.
"Goodnight Muna."
I pushed the door of the room she shared with Mike,her husband.
"Goodnight Zibah... don't forget to thank the Lord for protection."
I nodded and turned.
"Ah...Zibah... please,tell Dasha that she should get Evva ready early tomorrow...I'll be going with her for a health check."
"Sure."
The story Mikey had told me a thousand times, was that my parents had left me, without any explanation, 13 years ago.
It baffled me that they left me.
I always wondered what could have happened.
I was sure they loved me.
Until the diary, I harboured a toxic feeling towards them- hate.
My memory was hazy,but I could still remember them telling me they loved me.
It was just that one memory of them I had.
I didn't even remember how they looked.
I was just four years old.
Honestly,I was grateful to the Almighty for giving me such a wonderful guardian and family.
I had grown to love the kind reverend,and look up to him,just like many others teenagers who knew him,like a father, a friend,a mentor and a sustainer.
He had taught me every good virtue I knew.
He taught me and my siblings,the meaning of love,and had given the broken ones,a chance of hope.
That was the beauty of family.
Our family house was a large one, situated in a very big compound. Reverend called it the Faith Home.
The church,True Faith Church,was at the front of the compound, closer to the entrance,while the house was located at the back.
It was a 2 storey building,with 15 rooms,a big kitchen,and a really large family room.
There were a total of 12 fosters, although if Evva was counted, we'll be 13 living in the house.
Love ..the only truth we need.
Zibah and Dasha's room.
The card in front of my room door read.
I smiled a bit as I remembered the time when Muna had forced us to make a 'philosophical' quote,and post in on our doors.
I opened the door slightly,to meet Dasha, crossed leg on her bed,with her baby Evva sleeping peacefully,next to her.
"Dash..."
The small Russian dirty blonde, snapped out of her day dream,and stopped biting her nails.
"Oh slava bogu ... ya tak volnovalsya."
(Oh thank God...I was so worried.)
She leap off the bed,and made her way towards me.
"English,Dash."
She smiled slightly, showing her beautiful teeth set.
"Where have you been sestra?"
I shrugged and face planted on my bed.
"Give me a break Dasha...I'm tired."
She scoffed and jumped back to her bed, pouting like a child.
"I stay up all night waiting for you,and this is what you say huh? Eeish...Neveroyatno!"
"I'm so sorry Dash..."
I sat up and buried my face in my palms.
"It's just that so much is happening,and they're all happening so fast. I just can't wrap my head around them."
"Is it about the 'thing' you can not tell me about?"
I nodded slowly.
"Yes Dash...it's the 'thing'."
"The thing about the diary?"
I nodded slightly.
"You know that Sestra...you can tell me what ever problema it is,and I can help you!"
I fell back on the bed with long sigh.
"Maybe not this one.
Dash...maybe not this one."
Only if she knew how much trouble I was already in!
"When I had this tiny malen'kiy over here..."
She motioned to her baby Evva.
"When I had her late last year,you stood by me. So...I just want to repay."
"There's nothing to repay, Dash...I just want you and our malen'kiy Evva over there, to remain happy always."
Dasha and I had known each other for almost 11 years.
She had come into the reverend's home,as one of the first 3 fosters aside from me.
It was just me, Roy,Dasha and Flourish of blessed memory.
Dasha and I grew really close, mainly after she had gotten tired of me teasing her Russian accent when she first came,that she dumped an entire bowl of spaghetti on my curly and wooly hair.
When her father escaped from prison a year ago,she grew very scared.
I could not really understand why,but we convinced Mike to get a restraining order against him.
"I'm scared Sestra...Moy otets...my father... he's really dangerous."
We did not really understand what 'dangerous' meant until he kidnapped Dash.
When the police found her,she was beaten, wounded and pregnant.
Three weeks later,her otets was found trying to sneak out of the country.
It was a really trying time for everyone, especially her.
But as family,we stayed with her because that's what family does...that's what family is supposed to do.
"Uh Dasha...Muna said you should prepare Evva early tomorrow cos she's taking her along for hospital check up."
I couldn't make out what she had said next as my mind slowly drifted back to barely 2 hours,when I had been given a deal,a term,a condition,and I needed to act fast!
Two hours ago
11:23 p.m
House No. 6
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I sat in the front of the 400 pounder in front of me, trying hard not to wet my pants.
"Calm down Nava...if I wanted to hurt you,I would have done that."
Oh yeah... that's very comforting.
"So..."
He sat back down and took a sip of coffee.
"I'm a really busy man, Nava. The only reason I allowed you here is the fact that Lass recommended you."
"How'd you know Lass?"
"I ask the questions here. So...what do you want?"
I gulped hard and placed my knotted fingers on the table.
"I need to find my parents!"
From the looks on his face,he did not look impressed.
"You think the Mafian under ground is just some flimsy lost and found? ¡Increíble! ¿Crees que somos una broma?!"
(Unbelievable...you think we're jokes?)
I flinched at the ruggedness of his voice,but I was too far in to just back out.
"Listen...13 years ago, my parents disappeared. They didn't die, didn't fall ill,but just left me there...just like that!"
"How's that any of my business?"
"Listen...I'm willing to do whatever it takes to find them... including joining the cartel."
His eyes narrowed at me.
"We do not need your services."
"Yes you do!"
I slammed my palms on the table.
"Lass told me that you needed young minds to train for the future generation of the mafia.
I'm offering myself. Train me,use me,but all I ask for is that you let me access your databases,files and other helpful information."
I really wanted to tell him about the diary. But, I didn't trust him enough.
That was the first and only thing I have from my parents.
I was not going to give it away like that.
He took in a deep breath.
"Listen girl,it's not that easy to do. You can't just pick a form,fill the form,and GBAM! You're an agent."
I sighed deeply.
Maybe I can play this card without revealing too much.
"Death and Ice"
His eyes snapped open.
"What... what did you just say?"
"Death and Ice."
I repeated calmly,even though my heart was literally pounding out of my chest.
"How...how do you know those names?"
I shrugged.
"Snitches get stitches."
He glared at me.
"They were called Dice. A terrible duo in the Infierno."
"What happened to them?"
He scoffed.
"Stiches get snitches."
"I think it's the other way round."
After an awkward moment of silence.
"You have to tell me how you know them."
"Well...I have a price. You have to let me in first."
"Fine!"
" You have the resources that could help me get in,right?"
He nodded slightly.
"There are four main mafias in the world...Infierno,Abismo,Inframundo and Pozo Sin Fondo.
Inferno and Abismo are the strongest,located in Mexico,some parts of Africa,and most Midwestern U.S.A cities like Indianapolis.
He paused for a second
"Before getting to the Lords,there is a process.
I AM the process. I am an Intermediaro which is Middleman in English.
But I would let you in,based on a f ew conditions."
My eyes widened in anticipation.
"I'll do anything!"
He smiled,but it wasn't real.
"You have to prove yourself,niño."
"Prove myself?"
"Yeah...we have a really simple task for you. Nothing too big!"
"What is it?"
He smirked at me.
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"Take this number...call us when you're ready. You have 48 hours, starting from 6 o'clock tomorrow to agree or disagree.
Then you have an additional 24 hours to finish the job.
The ball is in your court now...niño."
***Author's Note***
So...how y'all like this chapter?
Zibah's in for something big!
I really like Dasha. She's so nice.
Anyway...so far,who's ur best character and why?
Please dearies... I'd really appreciate it if you voted and also commented.
Have fun.
Byeee