THIRTY-TWO

"... haven't seen you in the longest time, dreaded sorrow fills this heart of mine. I hope you are still safe... Because I'm...Scarlet Sapphira..."

"Amane don't stop, that was beautiful... when did you write it?"

He smiled slightly then showed her the song, it was written in two handwritings with perfect use of musical notation, but, neither of them his.

She looked at him confused, then asked,"Then who wrote it?"

"Are you sure you don't remember?"He asked.

She had never heard that song before...right?

Then it hit her...Mark wrote it...

***

She remembered me reading the song in a poetic manner to everyone else as everyone including I knew I sounded like a pubescent frog with a sore throat, then looked at him and said,"This is the song that my uncle wrote when he was looking for my dad..."

He rested his elbows on the railing, closing his eyes and inhaling the fresh breeze as she asked,"How did you get it?"

"Actually... it was the same way I got your songs..."

"Jack gave them to you..."

He nodded as she also leaned on it then asked,"Why is it all creased?"

"Because Mark didn't write all of this, Luis also did."

She looked at him, confused as he pointed to a small inscription on the border of both the different handwritings, it said,"Till I find you again, big brother..."

He then pointed to the bottom, which said,"To you Lucille, wherever you are..."

She looked at him as he said Luis had thrown it out after he found Lucille, but she never knew he found her.

"Who is Lucille by the way?"He asked.

"My cousin...my aunt Lucy's oldest daughter, she was the only person apart from Lucy who saw some good in Luis, and the only in general who worked tirelessly just to win his affection..."

"What happened to her?"

"Well, they don't like to talk about it much, but what I heard from the triplets; Markella, Thomasina AND Lucinda, is that when her acting and singing careers were at their peak and still rising, she was the most talked about teenage celebrity and one of the most messaged on all social media, but things began to fall apart when my aunt Ruby's first daughter was murdered under her watch and she blamed herself for it... she was never the same till she met a guy, Carlos by name, I think, while acting a movie, they began dating till he later on tried to murder her because she was outshining him in the spotlight. She was able to escape and he got arrested, then the years flew by and her heart began to mend till she got engaged, but Ethan also committed suicide on their wedding day, she never recovered after the heartbreak and one day, she was gone, none of us have heard from her since..."

"How long ago was that?"

"When I was really little, could you please sing the song again?"

He smiled then gently kissed her forehead and said,"Anything for you...~noisily clears throat~gaggles~sings opera high note~..."

She nudged his elbow angrily then he said,"Okay, okay, I'll sing for you my queen...My beacon's still beaming and I am still dreaming of what it would be like..."

"Those aren't the lyrics."She frowned.

"...if only you will sing with me, for a duet is my only plea, would you please help me?"

"I'm out of here."

"I couldn't handle all of this, all this pain and agony it stings, you leaving me, alone to solo tango, please baby I can't do this alone..."

"Okay, okay, fine...but you'll lead."

"Gladly...My beacon's still beaming, come back home I'm screaming, follow my compass..."

Scarlet Sapphira continued,"... Haven't seen you in the longest time, dreaded sorrow fills this heart of mine, I hope you are still, SAFE...(unison)...Cause I'm leaving someone lost behind, missing you I'm losing my mind...(Scarlet Sapphira alone)...when you were gone, I had nowhere to find...(unison)... separated by a thousand miles or death, I'm giving you my last breath, (Amane alone) flashlight on I'm coming back, to make sure we're united once again..."

Memories flooded her mind of the confusion Mark felt as he wrote this song, anxiously waiting and hoping for my return, as she sang,"...Nkumnijiante- death brought this confusion...(Amane alone) I'm still filled with hope...(unison) for the day we're united once again..."

Getting to Luis' part of the song, the rhythm changed ever so slightly but conspicuously, especially at the third and sixth verses and going as they sang,"Cause I'm losing someone else behind, looking for you I'm losing my mind. Never again our connection will bind..."

Lucy woke up from her bed and slowly followed the sounds coming from nearby...

"...Hidden in the lands of this world or next, without you I will not rest, running to you but this chase will never end..."

Lucy slowly opened the door and saw Luis as he cried with his palms on the sink, it was a horrifying sight to behold, the only times she had ever seen him cry...

Luis looked at his wife, as in tears, she came into his embrace and he gently kissed her hair, forgetting his own tears...

"...(Amane) Because I'm leaving someoooone looost...(Scarlet Sapphira) I'm leaving someone loo-uooost...(unison) Crying again and again and again, (Scarlet Sapphira) but I can't taaake...(Amane) I can't take all this (Unison) ...pain, Cause we're leaving someone looost..."

Luis sat before Lucy then said,"I'm so sorry, I failed."

She cupped his cheek, barely seeing his handsome face due to her own tears as she wiped his then said,"You don't have anything to apologize for, it was her choice...and I know she's happier now..."

"...but I miss her..."

"We all do, and we all love you."

She hugged him as he tightly closed his eyes, remembering all the cards she gave him, the times she said,' I love you... ', the times she called him her dad, if only he had known this would happen earlier, he would have cherished every single moment with her...but he still had another chance, with his three daughters and single son...