CHAPTER THREE

May comes back home and bangs the door as the mom walked out from the kitchen "is that you Meri, what happened did you pick up a fight with someone?" Meri's mom asked inquisitively but Meri just walked up to her room without any reply Meri's mom followed her, worried about her daughter's sullen mood. "Is everything okay?" she asked, gently knocking on the door to Meri's room. Meri didn't answer, but her mom could hear muffled sobs coming from inside. Concerned, she opened the door and found Meri curled up on her bed, crying. She went over and sat down next to her daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You can tell me what's wrong, you know that right?" she said, her voice. "I want to be alone mom" she replied her mom and after some time, the mom left her to be alone and she stood up and brought down a box that contained the fathers belongings from her word rope and started going through them and watching all the pictures they took together even the one on the beach side. As she sifted through the photos, memories came flooding back to her. The sound of her father's laughter, the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, the smell of the beach on a summer day. She was transported back to those happy times, and for a moment, she felt a sense of peace and comfort. But as she looked at a photo of her father holding her on his shoulders, the sadness came rushing back, and the tears started flowing again.

Then she saw a picture which had a strange code on it ( 589G3H ) and she wondered what it was and immediately something came to her mind and she quickly stood up and went to the fathers room and brought out his box which was under his bed and inputted those codes and the box opened. Inside the box, she found a notebook, a flash drive, and a letter addressed to her. The letter was written in her father's familiar handwriting, and her heart began to race as she picked it up and began to read. "My dearest Meri, if you are reading this, then it means that I am no longer with you. I know this is difficult for you, and I am so sorry to have left you. But I want you to know that I loved you more than anything in the world, and I was so proud of the woman you were becoming…"She quickly closed the book in tears as she couldn't really hold herself as she read the text and tears gushed down from her eyes and she opened the letter again and continued reading the text"...You are strong, brave, and so intelligent. You have a kind heart, and you are always willing to help others. I know that you will do great things in your life, and I will always be watching over you. You are not alone, my dear daughter. Remember that I am always with you, in your heart. Love, Dad." Meri sobbed as she finished reading the letter, the words of her father ringing in her ears. She also found her dad's uniform and the badge of the "ASA" American secret agency and some pictures he took with his friends as they were all smiling.

Meri studied the badge closely, noticing the eagle insignia in the center. She had never seen this badge before, and she wondered what it meant. She turned to the notebook, flipping through the pages until she came to a page that was marked "ASA". She began to read the text on the page. "The American Secret Agency (ASA) is a covert organization dedicated to protecting the United States from its enemies, both foreign and domestic. We operate in the shadows, doing whatever it takes to keep our country safe…""Meri!" Her mom called and she quickly closed up the box and rolled it underneath the bed as it was and she took the note, the letter and the flash drive with her and closed the door quietly so the mother wouldn't find her in the room. She went to the kitchen where her mother was standing, making dinner. "There you are, Meri," her mother said, looking up from the stove. "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying." Meri tried to smile, but she knew it must have looked forced. "I'm fine, Mom," she said, trying to sound casual. "I just had something in my eye, that's all." Her mother didn't seem convinced, but she didn't push the issue." It's okay Meri come help your mom out we have a lot of dinner to prepare we are having visitors tonight. "Visitors?" Meri asked. "yes some of your fathers friends will be coming to pay their condolences and we can't let them starve" Meri's heart sank as she realized what this meant. Her father's friends were coming to the house to offer their condolences, which meant that they must have known about his death. She wondered how they had found out, and if they knew what had really happened. She tried to push these thoughts from her mind as she helped her mother in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and setting the table.

"But how did they get to know about dad's death I thought you said it was meant to be a secret?" She asked her mom. " Yes baby, I thought it would be a nice idea if we kept his death as a secret but since he really served his nation well, I think he deserved some Honor so I decided to make it public" Meri nodded, understanding her mother's reasoning. But she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread at the thought of all these people coming to the house, asking questions about her father's death. She tried to push these thoughts away, focusing on the task at hand. But as the time drew closer to the visitors' arrival, her anxiety grew.