A Changed Life

"I once had a younger sister you know. She was a beautiful and cute little girl. I watched her grow up. I changed her diapers. I fed her. She loved to draw. I remember fondly the time she drew a picture of me and her, sitting under a tree, her head lying on my lap as she gazed into the sky. A scene of serenity. However, unfortunately as with all things beautiful, just as there are many who covet it, there are many who seek to destroy it."

Sarah listened in silence, stunned as Mark closed his eyes and began to powerfully narrate his past.

Derrick, however sat there with a tinge of sadness in his eyes as he knew how the story would end.

"One day, it was just a normal day like any other, the sun was shining brightly, oh so very brightly. I was twelve and she was eight. We had just finished breakfast and my mother was washing the dishes. I was on rinsing duty, my sister on drying. Dad was reading the days newspaper."

Sarah listened, enraptured but she still managed to notice Mark's face twist in pain as she guessed the part to come.

"There was a knock on the door. Then a series of knocks. My father got up and yelled out 'I'm coming, I'm coming.' Just as he got to the door, it was kicked inwards off its hinges and knocked my father down. In walked three men and a woman. They were all very good looking. Too good looking. They all wore arrogant sneers on their faces. My mother was unusually calm. She quickly gathered us up and shoed us out the back door. However, there were another two men already waiting. They looked more like bodyguards, in suits and sunglasses.

The woman was the first to walk into the kitchen and she sneered at my mother. Before she sat down and asked.

"Oh, look how the mighty have fallen. Little ones, why don't you come and give aunty a big hug."

My mother hugged us tighter before she said.

"Mark, keep your sister close. No matter what happens to me and your father, promise to stay with her. You understand."

I could only nod and gripped my sister's hand tighter. I was scared, confused and did not know what was going on. One of the other good-looking men, the blond haired one approached my mother and they hugged. He whispered an apology to my mother and she nodded in acceptance.

The other two men then walked in dragging my father behind them. He was only a little dazed but was quickly slapped back into awareness and pulled up. The black-haired man laughed at my father before he asked sinisterly.

"Mr Li, you are a very lucky man, to be graced with our presence on such a fine day. Now shall we get down to business. Your wife, our sister has broken her promise. She said she would only have one child. But look, what do we have here. A little angel no?"

Both my mother and father were startled as the black-haired man turned his attention towards my sister. My mother then shouted

"What! I never agreed to anything about limiting the number of children I would have. When I left, you all agreed that you would give me enough time to see my child become an adult. Nothing of this idiotic condition."

"Uh, uh, sister. We said we would give you eighteen years of your child's life. No more. I distinctly remember us discussing a child, the one you were pregnant with."

"So, what? Mark is only twelve. We should have another six years."

"Oh, but sister, don't you think we have been generous enough. Twelve years here with Mark. Eight years here with little May. Twenty years is more than our agreed eighteen, no?"

"That is semantics. Our agreement was never like this. I refuse to accept it."

"Oh? And sister what are you able to do? The Covenant has accepted our interpretation, otherwise how else do you think we could be here?"

My mother stood stunned before the grim reality dawned on her and she fell to her knees weeping. The black-haired man then turned to my father and asked jovially.

"Now, Mr Li, since I am in a good mood today, I can offer you a good deal. We need to take away your wife today. However, I am willing to accept a substitute. Say one of your children instead?"

My mother heard this and panicked, she shouted at my father to not accept anything offered and just let her be taken. She said she knew this day would come, that she would have to leave, so he should just forget about her and look after the children, us.

But my father loved, no loves my mother dearly. I had always felt his jealousy when my mother would dote on me and my sister. I always got the feeling he felt us as intrusions to his time with my mother. So, I knew he would not allow my mother to leave him. And just as I expected he did not hesitate to offer us up.

"I need an heir. You cannot take Mark. Take the other one."

My mother lost it then. She shouted, cursed and then tried to run towards us. But she was unable to escape from the clutches of the woman and blond-haired man. I can still hear her cries today. The two bodyguards behind us quickly pulled me apart from my sister and like that they all walked out as if it was just any other day.

I was too weak to do anything. My father was hugging my mother as she shrieked at him, scratched him, punched him. He took it all without even flinching. His eyes were only for her. That was the last time I ever saw him as my father.

My mother managed to pull herself together a few hours later. But her eyes were so dim. They were so lifeless. I can never forget them. She told me about the other powers in this world. In fact, she was a champion of a god. She did not tell me how she became one but that her patron god was none other than Guan Yu. And the other four of her siblings were champions of gods that were very close to hers. They had known each other for many years and had grown close but she then met my father and they fell in love. As cliché as it was, that was how it happened and was how I was conceived.

The way her championship worked was that she would devote her life wholly to her God but here she broke it and so technically her life should have been forfeit. However, Guan Yu was fond of her and so she managed to get herself eighteen years to live with me before she would return to him and spend the rest of her life at his side.

My family was never the same after that day. My mother would occasionally cry out for May and break down crying. I spent the next six years learning as much as I could about that world and making myself stronger. I moved out when I was eighteen. I left China and came here. I don't know what happened to her since, I'm not even sure if she is still alive, but I have never stopped looking."

Sarah's mind was in turmoil. She was not sure what to say, she did not even know where to start. She heard her father speak up first.

"So that's what happened. I'm sorry Mark. I should not have said what I said before. I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but this talk of Gods, are they actually real?"

"Ah, that's okay. The official version always made me angry. But undoubtedly, they are real. You know how I said Sarah had died. Well she managed to come back only due to a God's mistake and another's 'benevolence'."

"Oh. Well this is a lot to take in. Regardless though, Sarah I lost you once. I won't lose you again. Your mother and I talked it out last night but she says that she is finally ready to move back. Her term as commissioner expires in half a year. We are going to make our family work."

Sarah felt touched and happy that her mother was on her way to recovery. However, the situation with Mark made her a little anxious about how she would deal with Athena and the whole situation with the Gods. She honestly felt terrible and sad for Mark and all that he had to go through. She heard Mark's voice become gentler,

"Sarah, my experience, my past may be very different to yours. But you shouldn't trust her blindly. I know you will make your own decisions and are perfectly capable of it. However, I thought I should at least tell you what happened to me, that way you know they aren't harmless. But I think I have said enough for today. Sarah, take care. Think carefully about what I said."

Sarah sat there before she made a decision that she hoped she would not regret. She grabbed Mark and pulled him in for a hug, before she kissed him. She saw him stand there stunned and non-responsive for a few seconds, before he kissed her back passionately.

He then pulled back and looked at her with surprise.

"Why? Sarah, are you sure?"

Sarah responded decisively as she felt that was the sweetest moment of her life well, two lives.

"Definitely."

Sarah then heard a cough and blushed in embarrassment as she had totally forgotten her Father was still there. She saw Mark laugh and smile very handsomely, she was glad she made that decision.

"Beep. Oh, your mother just texted me, she needs me to pick her up. Okay, Sarah, Mark I will be on my way now."

Sarah and Mark broke out into laughter as her Father pretended to get a message and acted with a deadpan voice, before he dashed outside.

The two left in the house spent a long time simply cuddling up and sharing each other's warmth for comfort.