"I didn't know if I was meant to say life was being unfair to me, even with what I was facing at the moment, but that was exactly what it felt like.
Sigh!
I found out the first girl I ever loved left me the night after we made out, and to my greatest surprise, she was a thief and a member of the most dangerous female cult group in the whole of Liberia.
This would have been something I would have let go, even though I would have felt hurt for some time, but she stole the only thing that brought me this far in my life. The wristwatch, or as the system calls it, 'The Mantle.'
I was heartbroken but also full of rage. Mostly full of rage. And so far, everything worked out faster when I worked with that rage in me. It always made me go straight to the point. And right now, the point to me was Amara.
I prayed I wouldn't break my rule of hitting any female once I met her, cause I felt like I was gonna send my fist to her face so hard she was gonna fall into a very long coma. No cap!
But first things first, finding her. And she happened to leave her number behind, huh? I don't know why she would do that, but that's the least of my problems now. Let's see how this goes.
I took the paper from Franca, opened it, read through it before sliding it into my hoodie pocket. It was quite a confusing living room, so I had to ask for my way out.
'Where's the exit?' I asked, looking at Brent. 'You don't plan on leaving barefooted, do you?' he said, pointing at my feet, as he made his way upstairs immediately.
Yeah, I forgot I wasn't wearing any footwear.
Sigh!
I was still looking at my feet when Franca tapped me on the shoulders, seizing my attention for a moment, as little Emmy ran into the kitchen.
'Be careful,' she said. 'I don't know what that watch means to you, that you are willing to risk your life for, but I just want you to know that you have a whole lot of good things waiting ahead of you in the future.
You are still a young man, and you seem free to make decisions of your own now. Make them wisely. Do be careful.' Her words rhymed with the expression on her face, and I felt her concern in every word she uttered. I was about to reply when Brent made his way into the living room with some leather palm sandals.
'Ok, lad, here you go,' he said, as he let them drop to the ground. Sandals weren't my type of thing, but I didn't have a choice, so I just put them on immediately."
"Thank you," I said, as Brent nodded in response. "Come on, I'll show you the way out," he said, just when little Emmy rushed back in with a backpack. "Wait, wait, Uncle Raph, I got some pancakes for you for your journey back home. I don't want you to be hungry on your way home," she said, holding up the bag pack with difficulty.
As she pulled it towards me, Brent scolded her, taking the bag from her. "Oh my baby, how much pancakes did you put in here?
Everything," she replied cutely, with a finger in her mouth, as she looked up to her father.
"And you didn't think of asking Daddy first?" Brent asked, slightly surprised. "Honey, just let it be, we couldn't finish it all on our own anyway," Franca said to Brent, as she took the bag from him and gave it to me.
"Here."
It was quite heavy, and I couldn't believe the little girl showed such care I was touched and I wanted to let her know that I cared for her too.
I went down on my knees before her and took her hands softly, looking into her eyes.
"Tell me, Emmy, what do you wish for the most?" I asked. "Do you mean my biggest wish?" she asked, raising her hands in the air. Franca and Brent smiled as she said those words with a smile on her face.
"Yes, Emmy, what do you want the most?" I asked again, looking into her pretty eyes. "Well, I made a wish before blowing out my birthday candles last night," she said, giving her dad a glance.
He looked back with a slightly surprised expression. "He claimed he wasn't crying, but I don't believe him. I saw the tears in his cheeks."
I asked, "What was it?" "Well, I saw Daddy crying in his room one night," she said, her voice filled with concern. I asked, "Why?" But she just kept changing the topic anytime I asked her why Daddy was crying that night. But I knew for a fact that it's because I was sent away from school because he couldn't meet up with the fees." "Emily," her mom called out softly to her, but I stopped her. "No, please let her speak... just trust me," I said, raising my open palms towards Franca.
I noticed tears in Brent's eyes as he kept a fixed gaze on his daughter.
"Please continue, Emily," I said. She hesitated, taking a glance at her mother before continuing. "I just don't want Mommy and Daddy to cry anymore," she said, as I noticed tears gathering below her beautiful eyes. She almost made tears leave my eyes too, so I just stopped her there.
"That's okay, my love," I said, pulling her softly into my embrace. I noticed her sob softly for some seconds. I also noticed tears gathering in Franca's eyes, even though she tried hiding it; I still saw it. She was touched too. I raised Emily's head from my chest and wiped the tears from her eyes with my hands. Her eyes were already red from the little sob, and it touched me.
"Okay, Emmy, you stop crying now," I said. "What if I told you that you could go back to school and make Daddy happy again? What if I told you that Daddy would be able to fend for the family more and handle the bills without stress from now on?" I asked, as I raised her gaze to mine.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes wide with hope.
"Well, yes, really," I replied, as her parents just stood and watched the whole drama unfold.
"I would love that," she said, wiping her eyes with the hand of her cardigan.