Chapter Eleven

It was a quiet ride in the taxi as they returned home. Sultan was very sad. He missed his 'daddy' already. He looked at his mother who still looked upset as she looked outside the window.

"Mummy….is that man really my daddy?" he asked, looking at her with teary eyes.

Caitlin looked at him for a while, and her eyes filled with tears.

"No…he's not. He's not your father! whatever he told you was a lie!"

Sultan looked at her for a while. He didn't have the courage to ask her any further, but he did not believe her this time.

When they arrived home, she made dinner for them. He didn't eat much and Caitlin knew he was sad about everything that happened. She wondered how he would feel if she told him that they would move out to another city.

The next day, Grace came to visit after the disturbing call she got from Caitlin. She was shocked to see that Sultan hadn't gone to school. He ate star- shaped corn cereal with milk when she arrived that morning.

"Hello auntie." he greeted with a cute smile and she patted his head and pinched his cheeks playfully.

"Why isn't he in school Caitlin? Is everything alright?"

"Actually…. I called you to tell you that…we are moving to another city."

Grace was shocked.

"But….but why?"

"It's because of Kane. Can you believe that he's been secretly seeing my son in school?! It's a good thing the principal found out and informed me about it. Who knows what he would've done? Take my son away from me?!"

Grace was shocked to hear this. She sat the already tensed Caitlin down and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Caitlin…that's not a good reason to move out."

"It is! Kane wants to take my son away from me!"

"No he doesn't. He just wants to be with his child."

"No! Sultan is not his child!"

"Caitlin dear, i know how you feel about him and all that he did to you in the past but you can't change the fact that he's sultan's father. Blood is thicker than water you know, and soon Sultan would grow up and want to be with his father. What would you do about it then?! Caitlin, you have to forgive Kane and just let the matter die down because…you're hurting yourself by doing all this, and you're hurting Sultan too. Look how sad he is. Is this how you really want him to live a better life?"

Caitlin felt attacked. Grace was right. She wasn't being fair to her son. Him wanting to know his biological father wasn't wrong at all, she just felt insecure and was afraid that Kane would steal Sultan from her and she would be lonely and miserable again. All this thinking made her head burn. The only way to keep Kane away from her son was to move to another city. She had made up her mind, and nothing would stop her.

"I'm sorry grace….i already made up my mind. I can't stay here anymore. You don't have to worry about me. I will pay all the bills. You've helped me enough, and I truly appreciate it."

Grace shook her head sadly.

"You're really leaving?"

"Yes.….yes I am."

"When are you leaving?"

"Tonight. I don't want anyone to know that I left. You're the only one I'm telling because I trust you and you're like a mother to me."

Grace was touched. She stood up and hugged her.

"Well my dear, you have your own life to live and I can't control you or stop you. I just hope you find what you're looking for."

Caitlin smiled tearfully.

"Thank you so much Grace."

She took out a paper and handed it to her. Caitlin unfolded it. It was a check of a whopping ten thousand dollars!"

"What?! All this money for me?!"

"Yes my dear. It's all yours."

"No…no I can't take this. It's a lot of money!"

"Please….keep it. You need it more than I do. You're going to a new city and you'll need to settle down and look for another job. This little token is sure to be of great help to you."

Caitlin was touched. She smiled tearfully and they hugged.

After spending quality time with them, Grace left and Caitlin started packing up their belongings.

"Mummy….mummy why are we moving?" Sultan asked, watching his mom pack his toys in a suitcase.

"I don't want to lose you Sultan… that's why we're moving out."

Sultan didn't understand what she meant, but he knew that she was probably running away from that man he called daddy. Why did mommy hate him so much? He wondered. He seemed like a good man, and he was very kind and friendly. What did he do to mummy?

For a child his age, he was thinking too much and was too smart. He knew much more than kids his age, and it made being secretive a bit difficult for Caitlin. Nevertheless, she still loved him so much and cherished him as the only thing she had in this world and she would have to protect him from predators like Kane.

That evening at exactly eight thirty pm, they left the apartment with their belongings. They got to a bus station and boarded a bus to Lonesprings. It was a cold night, and it would be a long ride so they wore heavy jackets with hoodies to keep the cold out. Sultan felt sad to leave the city. He had gotten used to Allensouth and the apartment they lived in. He would also miss his school and the kind and friendly teachers. Most of all, he would miss his 'daddy'.

He thought about all the fun times they had, how he bought him delicious treats, how he always carried him on his shoulders so he would catch a butterfly or pick fruits from the trees, how he would make funny faces when eating ice-cream and how he held his little hands in his. He would really miss that strange man.

He almost cried remembering all the good times, but he didn't want his mother to feel bad again, so he wiped his cheeks. They got into the big bus that would travel to Lonesprings and had their seats. Caitlin wrapped Sultan with a small blanket to keep him warm and cozy.

"You should get some sleep. It's going to be a long ride." she said as she wrapped him up and laid his head on her laps, petting him.

The bus took off and she looked out the window, watching as the city went by with accelerating speed. Sultan soon slept off and her eyelids were also becoming heavy. She also drifted to sleep as the bus rode into the night.