A fateful encounter and the enigmatic note

My life felt like a rush. I had just graduated from high school and hadn't known what to do with my life yet. I couldn't apply for college because, my mum was sick. I had to take care of her. I was the only one she had. I never knew my dad. I met him twice but I never knew him. My mum had me when she was a teenager. They were high school sweethearts. He got her pregnant and denied being the father. Her parents weren't supportive of her pregnancy and drove her to the streets. She gave birth to me on her own and when I was like eight years old, my dad came back. My mum thought he had come back but, he only came to collect the money my mum borrowed from him. She didn't tell me he was my father but I knew he was. Well, I never felt his absence because my mum gave me everything I needed. She was a hard worker until sickness took hold of her when I was in my senior year. I managed to pay my fees with the savings she had made and my part-time job and graduated successfully from high school. Months had passed and I was still struggling with my mum in the suburbs eating from hand to mouth daily. My mum's condition seemed to worsen and my part-time job wasn't paying as before. The restaurant was going bankrupt, they were short-staffed and overworked their workers with meagre salaries. One evening, the day's income went missing. The manager and head waiter found the bag of cash in my bag. Ordinarily, I would have been arrested but she knew me to be a honest worker. She just fired me with much regret. She knew she wasn't going to find a devout worker like me. I left the shop with regret. I wished I had hidden the bag of cash in a better place. My mum was seriously sick and I had to buy her drugs, I felt stranded. There was no one to help us. I stood by the roadside thinking of what to do next. I was out of ideas. I wasn't really an idea man. I was unconsciously walking into the road. I could hear the horn of a car but I was already in another world. Or maybe I wasn't, maybe I wanted to end my life that moment. I stood still in the middle of the road with tears rolling down my face as I said my last prayers. I opened my eyes expecting to be on my way to hell or heaven, to my utmost disappointment, I saw myself on the other side of the road. How did I manage to get here? A lady was beside me. She was the one that saved me perhaps. She narrated everything and indeed, she was the one that prevented me from dying. She was the person driving the car that almost hit me. She blew her horn several times and came down when I had refused to give way. I don't know why she saved me, my problems would have been over by now. Then I suddenly remembered my mother, she hadn't seen me the whole day and she wouldn't have eaten by now. The lady offered to follow me home to ensure that I don't try to take my life again. We got into her car and she engaged in a conversation with me. She wanted to know why I tried to take my life. I was numb and the only words that could come out from my mouth was, "I…" We got to my house and my stuttering was accompanied with tears. I felt so embarrassed. The lady just looked me straight in the eyes and she could see a soul which was weary. We got inside my house and my mum was on the floor. I walked over to her and touched her. She wasn't breathing. I tapped her several times. She didn't seem to wake up. For a moment I saw her moving then she stopped. She gave up the ghost. My mum took her last breath right in front of me. I felt weak in my knees and lost my balance. She was gone. My whole world started falling apart. Who was I without my mother? What's the reason to be alive! I screamed and fell on the floor. A feeling of guilt started building up inside. If only I hadn't tried to take my life, I would have gotten home sooner and I would have been able to save my mother. Again, I thought to myself, if this lady had allowed me to take my life, I wouldn't have to bear the pain of losing my mother. The lady just stood there staring at me with no emotions. "What's her name?" she said to me. "Hilda Manis," I replied with a quavering tone. The lady quickly picked up her phone and called for an ambulance. Moments later, the ambulance arrived, flashing their lights and blaring the siren. The paramedics entered my house and conducted a primary assessment to check her vital signs. They performed a more detailed medical examination. They checked for responsiveness, breathing and pulse and finally declared her deceased. They assisted us with arrangements for transportation of my mother to the hospital for further examination and her cause of death was claimed to be liver disease as I had known. It took less than a day to complete the investigations and she was transported to the funeral home where I paid my last respects. I had called some of my high school friends but they claimed they were busy since they were in college. I did my mother's funeral with only that lady by my side. She seemed concerned about me but she never once gave me words of consolation but that didn't bother me. "Your mother is gone now what a pity but life goes on," she said to me just as the funeral had been concluded. Life goes on? How could she be so heartless? She brought out an envelope and handed it over to me. "After you open the envelope, whatever decision you make, I hope it's the best for you. I'll depart from you now. Goodbye," she said as she strode away with an air of unyielding confidence. The clicking of her boots left an ineffaceable impression of a truly badass presence. I got home later that evening and arranged some of my mother's things. I found her old journal in a box and kept it aside. I planned on going through it after I had gotten in the right state of mind. My mum's death still seemed like a dream to me. "Lamar, dinner's ready," my mom said softly from the dinning room. I stood up from the couch to meet her and gave her a mild kiss on her neck. "You made chicken casserole? My favourite. I love you mum," I said as I sat down to eat. "I love you more, sweetie," She was beaming with a smile. I missed that smile, I said to myself. Things had been going rough since, we had been unable to pay our rent and the landlord almost sent us packing. I had to take up a part time job and with that, we were able to complete the rent. My mum opposed to it at first so, I took the job secretly and gave her my salary. She was surprised and she also scolded me for going against her. But she was happy that I did it for a good cause. She told me to never work again and I stopped working. While she was still looking for means to pay the rent, she was always moody and would feign happiness sometimes but this smile was real evidence of being at peace. Little did we know that her genuine smile was only going to last for a short while. I loved my mother, she was very calm and kind. She was stubborn like me. I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. She wasn't tall but she had a nice stature. She looked young for her age though. Whenever we went out together, people would think she was either my elder sister or my girlfriend. I found it funny and often teased her with it. Sometimes, I even called her babe and when she was in the mood, she would call me her boyfriend also. I kept reminiscing about all our good times together when I heard my phone ring. The phone was in my room and it ringing oddly loud. I went to my room but before I could pick up my phone, it had stopped ringing. The caller used a private number so, I couldn't even tell who the person was. As I was about to step out of my room, my phone beeped. It was a text message. "I can see you're ignoring our calls. You had better not do that if you don't to end up like your mother," the text message read. "End up like my mother? Didn't she die of a liver problem? And who could these people possibly be? What are they talking about?" All these questions kept ringing in my head. Was I in trouble? I had never done anything bad to anyone before so, why would people be threatening me? I sat on my bed and I kept looking at my phone if the person would call again but I didn't get any call, not after like an hour or so. I was dozing off when I heard my phone ringing and I jerked because I was startled. It was the same number. I picked the call and didn't speak because I wanted the person to speak first. Everywhere was quiet for more than a minute until I finally decided to speak. "Who's on the line?" "You don't need to know for now. All you need to know is that you have been recruited for The Special Forces Alliance. It is a secret organization that teaches bad guys lessons. You'll get to know more when you come. I expect you to arrive tomorrow. Mind you, if you do not show up, you'll be killed," he said and hung up immediately. The voice sounded really deep. It seemed to have been modified by a voice changer. "What kind of psychopath was that? I didn't even understand what he was talking about. Where would I even go? And what the heck is Special Forces Alliance? Is this a prank? I guess it is," I said to myself and laughed loudly. People are so funny nowadays, looking for new ways to scam civilians. My phone beeped and I checked the text message. "You're a fool to laugh at something so serious. Be mindful Lamar," I was shocked. Were there people watching me? I got really scared and started searching my whole room hoping to find a secret cam but I didn't see any. This was getting really scary and I didn't know what to do next. What if they actually try to kill me? And how did they know my name in the first place? These questions needed answers. And I was going to get them. I then remembered the envelope that that lady gave to me. I didn't even know her name. I went to my cabinet and brought out the envelope. I opened it and I saw a small note. The note was empty. Was she nuts? She gave me an empty note. I decided to try something I usually saw in movies. It was silly but that seemed like the only reasonable thing to do at the moment. I brought out a lighter from my cupboard, and lit it. I moved the lighter round the note in a way way that the flame touched it lightly. It indeed worked. Some writings started appearing on the note and after a while, the whole writings appeared. "13 St Louis Street, NSW," that was the address that was written in the note. I took a picture of it in case I misplace the paper later on. I didn't even know if it was right to go to that place or not. Maybe if I go there, I'd see the person that was trying to play funny games with me. I went back to my mother's room and continued arranging her things. After that, I went to arrange a few things also to be set for my journey tomorrow.