"Wait, what do you mean? Why is she in the hospital? How did you know who I was?" Isa's questions came one after the other. John could not cope with her.
John scratched his head and tried to calm down Isa. "I'm sorry for the confusion, but what I meant was she rushed to the hospital because of your father." He saw Isa bob her head and started calming down. "She told me her sister named Isa could be back here waiting for her. Also, she forgot her phone at your house." He explained further.
"Oh, okay, please take me there." Isa asked John. He agreed and opened the trunk for Isa's luggage. "I will be staying here for a while." She commented apologetically about the trouble with her heavy luggage.
John smiled at Isa and replied, "It is always a welcome change, having a new face in this small town."
Isa was looking at the window and chuckled when she heard John's statement. "Well, I'm not exactly new here. I am actually one you could consider the old faces here." She said while she adored how the new and the old coexist here in Klane.
"Ah, really? I'm sorry I am so old. I can't really recall seeing you here before." John apologized to Isa.
"Hmm, it's okay. It's been eight years since I moved out of here. I'm not really expecting anyone to remember me." She said plainly and emotionlessly. Not even her sister nor her father remembered contacting her, if not for his declining health.
John glanced at the rearview mirror to check out Isa. "You know what… you actually look familiar to me." He commented while trying to recall where he had seen her before.
Isa was clueless. She could not recall the driver's face either. Perhaps aging has clouded the way he looks.
John gasped as he recalled, "Ha! I remember now. Weren't you master Cayden's girlfriend?"
Isa coughed hearing the name of the boy that should not be named. She wanted to completely bury every memory she had of that ghost. This town surely could not find ways to torture her already bruised and battered ego. "Ahm, no, I don't know anyone named Cayden." She said with a faint smile. Isa lied through her teeth, but it somehow felt good saying those words.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have been mistaken." John replied, although he really thought he got it right. "There is this resemblance between you and the girl my master loved dearly." He added.
Isa wanted to protest after hearing those words, but John spoke first even before she could.
"We're here." He parked his car and opened the trunk for Isa's luggage.
Isa walked into the hospital lobby. "Ugh, I could have just left these things first." She mumbled, dragging her heavy luggage to the front desk. "Hi Miss, what room is Mr. Tobias Moore admitted in?" She politely asked the information officer.
"Isa?" The voice of another woman spoke her name.
Isa turned around and saw a tall woman in her late twenties; she was beautifully dressed; classy, probably a little overdressed for this town. Her hair was tied in a messy bun but, ironically, her style still looked put together and somehow posh. "Isa?" The woman asked again.
"Yes," Isa answered in a low voice.
The woman rushed to her and embraced her. "It's me, Debbie." She said to her with a smile. They were both young when they last saw each other. The only difference is that Debbie's beauty continued with her age while Isa... she just aged.
Isa did not expect this warmth from Debbie, considering how much distance had grown in between them. "Oh, it's you." She answered briefly and lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with Debbie.
"Come with me, dad is waiting for you." Debbie said as she grabbed Isa's arm.
Isa kept quiet as she let Debbie excitedly grab her and was dragging her towards the elevator.
"I'm sorry it had to come down to this point before we…" Debbie said to break the ice between them.
Isa raised her hand to stop Debbie from starting another family drama on the elevator. "It's okay, no need to apologize." Her tone was cold.
Debbie showed a faint smile and agreed with Isa. "Well, about dad. He is not doing well. He actually said he wouldn't last any longer. That's why she asked for you." Debbie's face suddenly turned gloomy.
Isa does not understand why he asked for her. She is not his real daughter and they've been completely estranged for the longest time. Although she doubts this meeting will do her any good, she did it mostly out of respect for the two remaining family she is not even related to by blood. "I'm sorry to hear about that." She said with sincerity.
Debbie opened the door and Isa saw Tobias frail and old. He looks too far from the Tobias Moore Isa last saw. The two women slowly walked towards Tobias. "Dad, Isa is here," Debbie said in a loud voice. Isa.
Tobias slowly opened his eyes but raised his hands, trying to reach out to Isa. She instantly moved closer to holding his hand. "Isa, I'm so glad you are here." He faintly smiled. "My vision is so bad, I can barely see you."
Isa placed Tobias's hand on her face. "Here, I still look the same," Isa joked. She didn't know why, but her emotions were stirred, her eyes were starting to get watery. "Hmm, you look as handsome as ever." She commented.
"haha, then, you are still funny as ever, my dear." Tobias said. He raised his other hand and reached out to Debbie.
She was silently weeping, watching the scene in front of her. Debbie moved closer and held Tobias's hand. "I'm here, dad."
"I'm sorry, girls. I don't have much left for you other than the home we had." He apologized to Debbie and Isa. "Please don't let go of this home whatever happens. It is the only memory of your mom that I have left." He begged the two. "Please."
"Yes, dad." Debbie and Isa said almost at the same time.
Just like that, Tobias drifted away as if he just waited for the two to leave him a promise.
*****
Debbie and Isa are in the mansion lying on the bed. Both are exhausted because of the past few days that they've been busy with the funeral. They are the only ones left in the mansion. Even the helpers have rested for the day.
The emptiness starts to creep up Debbie's heart. She looked in Isa's direction. "Are you okay?" She asked her with all sincerity.
Isa nodded. "I am, and you?" She asked back. These past few days that they were together, they had not really got the chance to talk about anything else aside from things to do with the funeral.
"Coping." She blew her cheeks out. "It's only the two of us left. I hope we don't grow apart again." She said, trying to control her tears.
Isa heaved a sigh. "Debbie, we have different lives now, I can't stay here forever." She spoke in a low voice, hoping Debbie would understand her decision.
"I know. I can't either, but I need your help, Isa. I can't do this alone." Debbie sat up and held Isa's hand. "Dad did not leave us with anything aside from this house and it will be forfeited by the bank if we don't pay the debt." Debbie wiped her tears away as she tried to stay strong to negotiate with Isa.
Isa sat up as well and tapped Debbie's shoulder. "Why don't we just sell it?"
Debbie was determined to negotiate with Isa. "We promised dad. Can we at least try?"
"We will be buried in debt if we do this!" Isa was trying to pour senses into Debbie. "I can't, I'm sorry." She added.
"Okay, hear me out first. The amount we need to pay is just around sixty thousand dollars." Debbie started her statement, but she saw the look on Isa's face as she stalled.
"Did you just say 'just'? I can't even earn that much in a year!" Isa raised her voice.
"We can sell it for five hundred thousand!" Debbie blurted out to get Isa's attention. "We raise the funds, then we get two hundred fifty each." She said shamelessly after first appealing through their father's wishes.
"What? How?" Isa asked Debbie, as if she also forgot the promise she made to their father.
Debbie stood up and went to her drawer; she browsed through the files and handed them to Isa. "Dad tried his best to save this house, he sold most of the properties to reduce the principal of the debt."
Isa accepted the folder from Debbie and looked at it herself. Her eyes grew bigger when she saw the latest appraisal of the house. Debbie was not lying. They will really benefit from this if they succeed. "But, why do you think dad does not want us to sell this house?" She asked, before she decided.
Debbie shrugged her shoulders. "I really don't know for sure, but most likely for sentimental reasons." She said her best guess. "You know how much he loved mom."Debbie added. It was an unbreakable truth for both of them. They saw how devoted Tobias was to their mom.
"Okay well then, where in the hands of God will we get that money?" Isa raised a very valid question, at least in her current financial state.
Debbie handed her phone to Isa.
Isa's jaw dropped. "How did you know about this?" She wanted answers immediately.
"I am your sister; do you think I would not know your voice? Your views, your outlook on love and life?" Debbie chuckled. She felt proud about figuring out her sister.
"Okay, well, what does this have to do with your plan?" Isa curiously asked.
Debbie excitedly answered; "Let's rebrand you. I will be your manager. I think you have a lot of potential." She laid out her plans for them.
"Ah, no thanks!" Isa panicked at her sister's idea. Isa is not the type that would like that attention.
Debbie butted in, "No, don't worry, you will still maintain your anonymity, but we will just aim for a bigger audience, even merch and sponsors." She held both of Isa's hands. "The possibilities are endless, and you will only need around six months if all things go well." Debbie added.
Isa turned her back from Debbie, she had to think about it for a minute. "Only six months and no one will ever know about me!" Isa said on her terms.
Debbie felt relieved. Isa is truly an answered prayer. "Agree! Agree! The entire nation should be ready for the rebirth of the sultry love guru; Bella Moore!"
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