"My worst nightmare was the day you slept in death, mom." Jason Bourne mumbled, trying to force words out of his dried throat.
Jason's life had taken a drastic turn ever since his father left without saying goodbye to him and his sister, Sarah. Each time Sarah troubled him to tell her the whereabouts of their dad, he felt uncomfortable and wearied because he had no clue whatsoever and so, was more convinced that she had no idea as well. What his father did was to leave before the break of dawn in the morning and they woke up to find out that he had left them without any prior information.
"Jason, I am hungry!" Sarah whined, still playing with sand and pebbles on the beach where they were at. He was tired of hearing her complain because there was no cash left in his pocket. He shut his ears with his earpieces which had one part malfunctioning, while he kept looking up at the red sky and the evening sun which was directly below the horizon.
"I wish you were here, mom..." he muttered inaudibly and folded his arms around his chest while lying down there on the beach. He felt empty and very light because he had not eaten anything since the morning of the previous day, trying to sacrifice the meal they had left for his little sister, who was still five years of age. He was five years older and had no choice but to take care of his sister and assume responsibility for their lives.
"Jason… my stomach crumples!" she whimpered with a low intermittent sob this time and dropped the pebbles she was holding in her right hand before turning her neck leftwards to look at him while she sat down there still not thinking of getting up to go to him because she was weak bodily.
"…maybe dad left us because he felt it was difficult for him to look after us, but he would have asked me to help him rather than leave us here to die. Wonder what else made him leave when he had all the money and food!" Jason soliloquized angrily with his eyes closed this time and his forehead wrinkled.
"Jason, my belle is making noises and it is so painful, I think something is biting me on the inside!" she half yelled and threw a pebble at him because he was obviously not listening to her.
"Why did you do that?" He asked, grumbling the second he felt the painful effect of the stone on his right leg which made him take off the earpieces from both ears.
"Because you aren't listening to me, Jason!" She said pitifully and bent her head down to make him know how sad she was already.
"Okay, what do you want?" he asked rudely and soon folded his lips and eyebrows, feeling sorry for the way he sounded.
"I want pizza or anything else you can afford!" she whined again. The second he heard those words, he managed to get up from the spot where he was to go and meet her, for he felt she was beginning to understand that the reason he had not gotten anything was because of a lack of money.
"Hey, come here… Do you really know that there are some things I can't afford to buy?" He asked softly the minute he sat down close to her and with his right arm wrapped around her shoulders to comfort her. She nodded and waited for a second and a half before replying,
"Yes, I knew how you managed to buy food with the money in your wallet and when your wallet got missing, you took money from your pocket. Now I guess your pocket is empty of cash." She muttered in a dull and low tone of voice and as blunt as she could be to tell more of her sadness.
"If that is the case, then it means you are able to tell what has been going on in our lives ever since. Great!" He exclaimed mournfully and threw his face away to have a look at the rising and falling tide.
"Jason." She called his name because he was quiet again.
"Yes, Sarah. What is it?" he asked, bringing down his head to look at her, but was only able to behold her hair, for she bowed her head which rested on his chest while in his arms.
"What happened to your wallet?" She asked quietly.
"It was stolen in the park the other day." He replied sincerely.
"Sorry about that, but does that mean we are going to starve to death?" She asked again.
"No… who said anything about dying? We are not going to die now, okay? We are not even up to mom's age, so do not think about dying now." Jason sputtered in a way to instill confidence and hope in her mind.
"Okay. Jason, how long will it take for you to grow up into dad's size?"
"I don't know, maybe ten years from now. Why did you ask?" He replied thoughtfully because she was beginning to be very inquisitive.
"How long will it take for ten years to come, Jason… I asked because dad was able to buy anything I asked for, whenever I asked for it, and I can't wait for you to grow up to be as big as dad to be able to get me whatever I ask." She mumbled audibly, giving him a side hug to make him understand he was all she had left in the world and so was totally dependent on him. Jason chuckled and kissed the top of her hair, then embraced her for some time before taking his next step to leave the beach.
"Come on, Sarah, let's go." He said, rising up on his feet and cleaning his buttocks to make the sand fall off.
"Where are we going, Jason? I don't want to go back to that yellow building. The refuse at the back side of the building stinks a lot!" she complained and held his hand to be sure he agreed with her. They had slept there for the past two weeks because the payment for the hotel room they lodged in when their dad was with them had run out.
"Don't worry, we are going to look for somewhere else to spend the night. Besides, we do not have so much to carry with us except this bag. For now, you should come with me. Let me see if I can find anything for us to eat." He sputtered, including himself in the food plan as he lifted up the only bag of cloth they carried with them, on his back, crossing his hands on his shoulders. Jason held her left hand and led her away from the beach. As they were about to enter Dc Milan Street in the city of Milan-burg, the gunshots they heard about made them halt for fear and were both speechless at the moment. Their eyes dilated as they watched a baby fall out of the arms of a breastfeeding mother who dropped dead instantly, right in front of them.