SAVED

"What should we do now. It looks like the bird can't swallow it all."

"Yes. It really won't. Her soul is still hot since she just died. We need to cool it down first."Vina said.

"How."

"Your blood. Yes, you need to cool it with your blood for some seconds. Afterwards this bird would swallow it."

Are you sure grandma?"

After assuring me, I chose to believe her words and did as she said.

Without asking any more questions, I picked up a sharp knife from the fruit basket and just like that I cut my left palm without hesitation.

It wasn't long before blood began to flow like a river on the floor till it reached where the exhausted bird laid.

After sometime, the bird swallowed it up before it fell unconscious.

All I could muster right then were three words, "what's this Vina?"was all I could ask.

She would tell me to have patience. "The bird just passed out. I'm sure it's going to come around though I'm not sure when."

"I hope it wasn't too late". She mumbled but I heard it all.

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing. I think you misheard me. You don't have to lose hope my dear. All will be fine I promise."she was comforting me yet she was in tears as well.

I was left alone with the bird in the room after Vina had moved out.

Looking at the helpless bird on the floor, I felt so attached to it. I felt very bad seeing how it laid on the floor.

Standing up, I took some steps towards it.

Suddenly a heavy tear fell straight to the bird's eye and just like that, I saw it move its legs and wings.

Deep down I could feel the urge to call out for my mother before I remembered she wasn't there anymore.

Recalling about it brought tears back in my eyes that I couldn't help it.

The urge became too much that I couldn't hold it any longer than to whisper, "Mom".

What was happening with me?

To my surprise the bird quickly opened its eyes immediately after the call.

I must say that I felt so strange, it felt like my mom was very close to me. Like she was trying to wipe off my tears.

Maybe the bird was reading my mind because its wings rubbed off my tears accidentally as it was trying to fly again.

I was still a child but I was very wise to sense that something was indeed happening because the feeling I got was the same like how I would feel whenever mother touched me.

"Are you my mother?"I found myself talking to the bird.

Deep down I was fighting the urge to put it in my arms.

The moment I carried it in my arms, I instantly believed that it was really my mother and that's when I named it Tia (my mom's name).

Ever since Tia has been my best friend. She doesn't speak but she understands me so well.

She listens to me and knows what's best for me.

Unfortunately years later Vina left to be with the Lord. I was fourteen years old back then.

That old woman helped me a lot.

She would encourage me whenever I felt like all was gone.

She was my strength and a best friend. Like they say, best things don't last forever... she had to leave at some point.

I managed to overcome those heartbreaks with Tia's help and support till now.

My Tia always detected danger and found a way to inform me about it even before it could happen.

She would read other merpeople's minds and inform me about it too.

I don't regret giving mom's pearls to s bird. I'm proud of the decision I made ten years ago.

Tia has done everything that my mother would've done for me.

That's all I can tell you. I hope I've told you every detail of it."he was trying hard to hide his pain and tears from her but she had already noticed them.

She was regretting why she insisted on knowing about his father.

Wait! Was she at fault in all this? First of all she didn't know that this Truth about his father was associated with a painful story.

"Forgive me Trion. I didn't know that by asking about your father, I would cause you so much pain. I've made your mind dig out the sad memories, please forgive me."she breathed.

After crying for some time Trion turned away before he spoke, "you too didn't tell yet..." he paused and looked back at her. She was looking at him too which made their eyes lock.

"You didn't tell me how you got saved from that long pit. Oops! I'm afraid I might be taking with Araxie's ghost when the real one died long time ago due to fear and starvation." he chuckled!

"Are you calling me a ghost now?"

"I'm not sure.. I must be careful because you might harm mo"he was smiling this time!

o

Oh my! His smile was one in a million. It was his cute smile that got Araxie's heart melted.

"Stop smiling please. I'm afraid I might lose it all for your charming sweet smile."she said.

Why was she talking in tongues now? he hoped she would say it clearly.

"I guess I will keep smiling. It seems my smile is doing a great job. Who knows if it's touching your weaker spot

Oh Lord, please do me a miracle."he thought forcing a smile.

This time it wasn't genuine.

Araxie could easily tell that he was faking it.

Her heart had skipped a beat on seeing his sincere smile but now....it was back to functioning properly.

"Don't force a smile please. It's not good for your health. "She teased.

Trion was feeling so small after he was caught in his own game.

"How did you survive."he composed his defeated face.

"Ahh... I had slept off due to tiredness and fear but nightmares couldn't let me sleep in peace. Those upsetting dreams about my mom couldn't let me sleep. The only thing I did was crying in fright and screaming out loud but still no one was able to hear me.

Elsewhere when Dad returned from work (he was a police officer remember), he decided to bypass at Mom's house. He was only welcomed by silence of an empty house.

He thought that maybe we had gone somewhere.

As he was about to leave, a woman from our neighborhood came running and block his was by standing in front of his car.

He was a sensitive person, maybe that's why he was able to sense that something was wrong with that woman.

In his mind, he knew she was just mad or maybe a begger.

He then got his wallet out and gave it to the crying lady. To his surprise she dropped it to the ground before she grabbed his hand so tightly.

"Why are you crying madam. An...and where are you taking me?"he was still calm.

"Maybe she's facing problems at home. She wants me to help since I'm a police officer."he would think.

"But why aren't you saying anything?"he asked in a cold tone little did he know she was dumb. She couldn't speak at all.

He realized that when she struggled to tell him something. "Yo...our."she began.

"My?"he would ask.

The lady would raise a brow whenever he got it right.

"W...i...fe."

"My wife?" She raised brow again.

"Do you mean Asherah?" All she could do was raising a brow since she couldn't speak.

"What happened to her. Where are they anyway. I can't seem to see her or my daughter anywhere?"

The lady didn't know how to explain it to him. She knew it would take long for him to understand everything when it was actually a very long story.

Wondering what to do, she came up with two ideas. Maybe she should just cry and make him understand that something bad happened to Asherah and her daughter, but still it wouldn't help.

The only option she had was taking him to where the incident took place and it's what she did.

On reaching the place, the dumb lady bagged into thick trees and within a second she brought Asherah 's clothes which were torn, all covered in blood.

She had seen Marina and her daughter throw them their.

"Asherah's clothes. How did they reached here. And this blood! Where's my wife. Where's she?" Rodrigo couldn't realize that he was shouting at the dumb woman.

Since she had no way to tell him the whole situation, she began using signs.

She was sure he would pick up something.

Explaining everything to him through signs, Rodrigo managed to interpret and understand a few ones.

He didn't realize he had started crying.

He tried his best to save me but the pit was very deep that I wasn't able to hear anything.

Father was torn between pain and disappointment.

He couldn't believe that Marina could ever stoop so low.

How could she! He hoped it wasn't true.

He wasn't convinced till the lady presented proof to him.

She had witnessed everything and when Marina left, she appeared there to collect anything that would make people believe her since she wasn't going to convince them with her words.

All thanks to heavens that she found Marina's wedding ring stuck in the mud.

Father fell to the ground. His all hope and faith were gone the moment he got his eyes on that ring.

Feeling hestant to turn it around, he didn't want to believe that it was really Marina's.

He was shattered when she saw Marina's name there.

"It.... it's really hers. How dare she kill my family."he cried out.

Looking at Marina's wedding ring and her name on it he recalled the good days when he was madly in love with her before finding out that she was a witch.

He loved her so much.

He had proposed to her, the day she said yes, he couldn't control what he was feeling. The excitement was too much.

He was so excited and wanted make everything grand for their wedding.. It was then when he thought of naming their rings..

All those became a waste the day Marina failed to control herself and ended up devouring his father in everyone presence.

That's when he got to know that he married a witch and it was already late since she was already pregnant for him.

He wanted to divorce her but his family stopped him because she had threatened them and they were all scared of her after what she did to their fell.

Although he didn't divorce her, he couldn't share bed with her

After two full long years as Rodrigo was coming from work, he met and immediately crushed on a young beautiful girl who accepted to give him a hand in marriage as his second wife.

He did all he could just to keep it away from Marina but still time reached when she learned everything after noticing that Rodrigo wasn't spending some nights at home.

Now Marina is set out to find his whereabouts and the reason behind everything.

She wasn't surprised at all when she found him at his new bride's house at night. She always knew that someday he'd got himself another woman since all seemed to be over between them though she wasn't expecting it this soon.