To the Father I never had

"I-I better get going" Ariel broke the awkward silence between us three moments after Dr. Chan's funeral.

"Wait! I have--" I know what's on Ed's mind so I stopped him by a dead stare. He got the message.

It caught Ariel's attention but I got it covered.

"He said thanks for coming"

"He's like a father. I'll never forgive myself if I had missed his final moments"

I took a deep breath.

I didn't know what to feel. I wasn't sure. I didn't know how to react.

My brain that's been working a lot had chosen to take a time off in that crucial moment.

YES. This is the woman that I hated for quite a long time. A woman that was chosen by Dr. Chan himself; the man thousands of people came to mourn for. She's a woman who finally had reached her dreams. Why have I hated her in the first place? Was it because she never saw me the way I saw her? Or was it because of the fact that somewhere deep inside, a part of me knew that what she did was for the best and I couldn't fathom the fact that I am the collateral damage of bringing what's best on surface. The sacrificial lamb for the greater good.

"Well, wherever he is. I'm sure he's happy seeing us three in here." Ed interrupted.

Ariel looked to the ground and gave us a sad smile before leaving the Villa.

But I know there's still a missing piece in the puzzle and I'm not gonna stop til I get it done for Dr. Chan.

Ed left from the Villa first saying he had things to take care for the Hive leaving me alone in Dr. Chan's grave.

I turned to Dr. Chan's grave...

"Thank you"

"It's my turn now to somehow repay you"

Cassandra, knowing what's on my mind called the Chief Justice.

It only took a minute. If only I knew what he was going through then maybe I could help but it was too late and this is the best that I could do.

An hour and a half later, as I sat on the floor staring at the white long candle beside Dr. Chan's portait, a convoy of three cars came. These were self driving cars controlled by Cassandra. A woman came out of one of the car and ran towards Dr. Chan's grave. She was wearing what appeared to be just house clothes. She had no make up on. As she rushed into the Villa, she left one of her brown sandals on the grass outside but it never bothered her. She rushed barefooted in front of Dr. Chan's grave and cried all of her heart out.

"I'M SORRY!"

"LOVE! I'M SO SO SORRY"

According to what Cassandra had sent me while waiting, Dr. Chan had filed an adultery case against her wife months ago. Her wife had an affair with one of their housekeepers.

In the defense of Mrs. Chan, she said she wanted a child so bad that she was willing to do whatever is necessary to have one. Dr. Chan wanted to adopt a child instead but his wife had another idea. Dr. Chan's impotent. The courts didn't take this excuse and decided in favor of Dr. Chan. But despite of what his wife had done, Dr. Chan had begged the juries to not imprison his wife. Instead, a home arrest was given and a Temporary Restraining Order against Mrs. Chan.

Since then, Mrs. Chan never had the chance to talk and to see Dr. Chan only until that night on his grave.

Despair.

Hopelessness.

Regret.

These things filled the atmosphere. Mrs. Chan's voice echoed throughout the villa. Her tears were endless as she begged for another chance to see him alive and well.

It crumpled my heart witnessing this poor old lady shouting for repentance. I was leaning against the glass just about five meters away from her and I couldn't take it anymore so I joined her in her mourning. Thank God some gentle pats on the back helped in calming her down. She was old. Crying her heart out that she was gasping for air.

Drones gave her a bottled water to help her stay hydrated.

"Thank you" She uttered as she put the bottle down and sat on the floor.

"Do you know that he's so proud of you? Everytime he and his colleagues meet, he wouldn't miss a chance of bragging about your accomplishments. He'd show photos of you and him together when you were still a boy and they'd be amazed of how close he was to you."

"You are the son he never had, Joe."

I was speechless hearing all these things. Tears ran down from my eyelids as if they were cars on the fastlane. My heart stopped a beat and I felt a needle prick in the chest. Again, I was too busy worrying of things that after all wasn't relevant to who I am and forgotten to take care of the things that would complete me as a whole.

And again,

I failed the 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 that I never had.

[𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚍]