With Love and Regret

Lizzie slowly walked towards them wringing her hands in anxiety. Her inner heart kept telling her something was wrong and all of a sudden the world appeared to be a darker place. She went to her mother who appeared to be lost in her world.

"Mom, what happened? Why is dad so angry?" Alice who was sitting on the sofa resting her elbows on her thighs and her hands on the forehead turned to look at the girl speaking and tears started trickling down her cheek. She took the girl in front of her into a tight embrace "Oh- Lizzie...!" she sobbed hard.

"Mom, you are scaring me." her voice broke as she spoke. She was downright scared thinking of what she had to hear further.

"Lizzie, Uncle David is gone." faltered Lily bursting into tears.

"What do you mean by gone mom? Where has he gone?" asked Lily not letting the scary negative thoughts occupy her mind. She could hear her dad yelling "What do you mean by you don't know? I need all the answers in ten minutes." he was walking aimlessly up and down the hall.

"Lizzie, David is dead and we don't know where Lily, John and Kevin are." Lily managed to speak in the middle of her cries.

The hands that had been fastened on Lily's back were now trembling. The thoughts she shooed away turned out to be the reality. She drew herself back, staring into her mother's face, her expression telling her to speak more.

"Last night David died and we only knew about it today morning after you left for school. We got the news through your uncle's lawyer, James who is a common friend to your dad and uncle. When we heard the news, we rushed to the Taylor mansion only to find it vacant and came back home. We have no idea where they are now and all we could find out till now was that David had been suffering from COPD and no one knows about this except himself. We are still trying to track down Lily and kids. Your dad is doing everything he has to but we are not able to find anything. I am so worried about them."

Lizzie felt the world falling apart and the worst part was that she had no idea what to do. She could feel her throat tightening making it difficult to breathe for her. As she was drowning in the thoughts that succumbed her, she felt a person sitting right next to her. It was her dad who was totally furious at himself for not being there for his friend and not able to do anything except for sitting and accepting defeat.

"You must have tried their mobiles. Why aren't they picking up?"

"We don't know, honey. It is like they never existed. All their traces are erased. They plainly vanished into thin air." Michael said massaging his glabella.

Lizzie believed he would come back, he would never leave her like that and with a ray of hope, she scurried to her room and searched for her phone. She found it under her pillow and realized that the message she sent to tell him that she would be leaving early for school is still unread.

Earlier, in the morning when she was called by her teacher, she hastily left a message and did not check if he had seen it. She did not find any texts from him. She dialled his number hoping he would lift her call in the least. But all she heard was "The number you dialled does not exist anymore. Please check your number and try again." She lifted her head to the ceiling and closed her eyes still trying to process everything that happened.

Tears were the only thing that dwelled her side. She wished it were just a dream that went away after she woke up. But she knew it was only a wish. "John, please come back to me, please..." she whimpered with a heavy heart and tone.

She promised herself not to give up until she found his whereabouts. She went back down and saw her father still talking on the phone. She assisted her mom in cooking.

Hours passed and the moon rose flaunting its beauty by reflecting the rays of the sun. Lizzie laid on her bed staring into the air aimlessly. She had not the privilege to sleep when her thoughts consumed her.

In the office room, Michael was standing by the window, holding a piece of paper that contained the last words of David for him. Actually, this was the reason why James contacted him, to give him the letter David wanted to give him after his death.

He stared at the missive not wanting to open it. He did not want to believe that his childhood friend left him forever.

His vision went blurry as his eyes soaked in tears which dropped on the letter in his hands. He unfolded it and started to read taking a deep breath.

"Dear Michael,

By the time you read this, I may not be there with you. I am embarrassed and sorry for not telling you about this before. I wanted to tell you everything but I couldn't bring myself to make you suffer with me." Michael's heart screamed to see him for one more time.

"I still remember the time we were kids, and I was sitting on a swing whimpering because I fell and got hurt. How funny it was. Several kids didn't even care to look at me but you came to me, talked to me and made me your friend. You were the first friend I ever had and since then you never left me alone. You were my brother and you will always be. Life can be too unfair sometimes. I never thought we would have such closure through paper but trust me this is all I could do. I want you to be happy, live happily. Though I won't be there to witness, I still want you to fulfil our dreams. I am sorry to leave you in the middle of the walk of life and hope to see you again in heaven, brother.

With love and regret,

David."

By the time he finished reading the letter, he settled on the floor, leaning against the wall with one leg stretched and the other one half-folded. He remembered how they both planned to do their kids' wedding and travel to places once they had retired. He also recollected the times they laughed and the days they enjoyed at their young age. But never in his life, he expected such a moment where he couldn't see him anymore. He would always miss a part of his life as long as he breathes.

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