The Amusement Park

Darryl balled his hands into a tight grip as he stepped out of his father's office.

"It's either your dream or that girl," he said, pausing briefly and closing his eyes as he recalled these exact words. His veins were bursting with anger, but he chose to control himself. He couldn't think clearly as emotions filled him. Never once did he imagine that things would get this complicated.

He did not dream of meeting Xhemin but it happened. For the first time in his life, he let loose. However, it seemed that losing himself too much was not good at all. He let himself get intoxicated with those unfamiliar emotions that were hard to control. That made him vulnerable. 

"Damn!" He cursed himself, but can he really blame his own heart? Nobody told him love would be a weakness. Maybe his grandmother did, but he hadn't believed her. Right then, he felt stupid for allowing her enigma to consume him. But in all honesty, that kind of stupidity was very enchanting and addicting. He wanted to commit such a mistake again and again. Love is indeed dangerous. It can make one's propriety tremble. His propriety, in particular, had always been intact, ever since he could remember.

On the other hand, Darryl did believe that his father gave him total freedom to do whatever he wanted before he turned twenty-five. His mistake was that he trusted his father's words too much. Never did he think that his father would use his own cunning against his own son. Today, he confirmed that his father would only allow him to do things that were beneficial to the business. Does it mean that his father has been watching all along? How much does his father know about his plans?

Thinking about it made the boy cup his head with his hands as he walked away from his father's office. He planned on leaving the mansion immediately, but for some reason, his feet led him to the young master's bedroom. His old bedroom

As he pushed the door open, what welcomed him was the same familiar sight. It was even clean and neat the way it was two years ago when he left this property to pursue his dream. The stone wall panels and dim lighting in the room still created the mysterious impression that he had intended them to have. He looked up and saw his bike artwork hung just above the luxurious bed. He used to adore that thing.

As he explored deeper, his attention was drawn to the gray curtains that hung in the beautiful architectural windows. It danced in the wind as if celebrating his sudden visit. He smiled as he remembered his old days in the mansion and how he used to play with those curtains as a child. Remembering something in his mind, he left the curtain alone and went further into his study area.

His things were all in the same place. Everything was untouched  yet there was not a single speck of dust on any furniture, suggesting the room had been constantly cleaned up. He stopped next to one of the bookshelves and pulled something from there. It was an old leather notebook. He opened it and scanned through the pages that were filled with shapes and calculations. After a few page flips, he stopped at the page where a blueprint was drawn.

It was something he worked on a few years ago, and the memory brought a little smile to his face. He worked on this with his grandmother and spent countless nights burning midnight candles just to perfect it. Unfortunately, his grandmother did not live to see him finish it. She was the most brilliant woman he admired. The old madam loved him dearly, but she left him early too.

"Dee?" A young woman's voice woke him up from his deep thoughts.

"I'm here," he replied to the call. He recognized the voice immediately, it was her sister, Dian. Without looking, he heard her walking toward where he was, and just a minute later, he saw her always cheerful face. She was so happy to see him.

"You should come here more often." I'm starting to miss you." She said this as she kissed him on the cheek. He immediately returned her kiss with a tight hug.

"Where's Dannah?" he asked as he remembered their youngest sibling, and this made the smile on Dian's face go almost immediately. She was lost for words for a moment, and Darryl knew she was trying to construct the perfect alibi to cover for their youngest. 

"Well, that sister of ours is exactly like you, as Father says." She settled on that. " You both are hardheaded. "Dannah left a week ago and hasn't been back ever since." 

Darryl frowned, but he was not surprised at all. He completely trusted his youngest sister's capacity to care for herself. Yet he didn't expect Dannah would just leave home without giving him a call. She usually informed him of her whereabouts.

"Did she call?" he asked.

"She did. She told me to relay the message to you that she is in the South right now doing something relevant. She tried to call you but couldn't get through, so she called me instead," Dian answered, " I'm sorry, I forgot to relay her message."

"Well, that's fine." Darryl patted Dian's head. Although he was concerned about Dannah's unusual adventures, he understood that she could not be stopped. Besides, she had already proven her survival skills a long time ago, so even their own mother stopped worrying about her constant disappearance. 

His father's stand on this behavior, of course, is not welcoming, but like their mother, he became apathetic to it over time. Most likely because Dannah is not a male and her demeanor as a woman was not useful to the L'Empire. Actually, it works the other way around.

"Is that the amusement park you used to draft with grandma?" Dian asked as she  glanced through the notebook Darryl was holding.

"Yeah"

" Are you going to construct it?"

" Uhmm" He nodded, signifying a yes. 

Dian's eyes glittered with amusement "For real?"

"For real," He answered with assurance, and that only widened the smile on his sister's face. They were all very close to their grandmother. He, Dian, and Dannah. The old madam left them with many beautiful childhood memories they each held dearly deep inside.

"Will this be your legendary masterpiece?" Dian asked again, wanting to get more information. She could not hide the excitement on her face, and Darryl was amused by that. The three siblings were very close, so they knew about his ultimate dream of creating a legendary masterpiece.

"No. It's Grandma's legendary masterpiece. I will be named after her,"

"Of course. I remember grandma also wants to become an engineer and wants to build an amusement park. That's why you collaborated with her on this."

"Yes"

"But then she got married to Grandpa and was forced to give up her dream. Lagdameos do not allow a woman like Grandma and me to be a part of any industry." She narrated, trying to remember the details of this old story. Her reaction to such a story seemed neutral, as if she were not affected at all. Does it not bother her that their family has no regard for Lagdameo women?

Darryl didn't say a word. In this family, the only dream a girl is allowed to have is to marry a well-off husband. Nothing else. It's good that her sister seemed to be good with it. Hopefully, she wouldn't go through the same dilemma their grandma had experienced.

"So, what will be your legendary masterpiece?" Danna inquired further.

"I haven't made up my mind yet,"

"You are graduating college this year, and soon you'll have your license. You should hurry and make up your mind." She smiled the prettiest at him.

"I will. Don't worry about it,"

"By the way, did you enjoy the conference?" She shifted the topic to something he was not expecting. He even noticed that she looked at him differently, as if she was trying to elicit information even more private than his legendary masterpiece. He let her play around though, as he found talking to his sister comforting. He owed her all the conversation he could give her too, as he had spent less time with her the past few days or months, to be exact.

"I did..."

"I heard San Sebastian is still planning to hire you as a coach even after you graduate."

"That's good. That means I can still be there for the next conference to look after you." He teased her this time, making her grimace. Of course, she was taken aback by the unexpected turn.

"Did Father call you to congratulate you on your upcoming graduation?" She changed the subject again, but Darryl admitted quietly that her subjects were not his favorites at the time.

"No," His face hardened as he remembered his father's words earlier, and he was sure Dian noticed the sudden indifference.

"Was it because of her?" The next question immediately made Darryl look at Dian probingly. Does she know anything about Xhemin?

"Do you know her?" 

"She was the friend I used to tell you about. The  one I met at the cartooning event." Right. He did remember that friend. So Xhemin and Dian were close? Should he be happy about that?

"How did you two meet?" She asked as if she were very excited to know the answer.

"I saw you on the first day of the conference and chased after you in the hallway. She was there, and the rest is history. You probably know about it by now."

"Well..." She nodded her head, confirming her brother's explanation. 

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you about Father," Dian's face suddenly became serious as she remembered her brother's dilemma.  "I already knew by the time the pictures were taken down one by one on the web... he must have been watching all your actions ever since you left."

"It's okay...don't worry about it. I can handle Father's outburst." He said this in an attempt to assuage his sister's guilt. She must have felt bad about what happened, but these kinds of incidents were things she shouldn't worry about, he thought.

"Do you think Father will harm her?" Now worry is made clear through Dian's eyes, and this stunned him. He hadn't thought about it. He still had faith in his father's humanity and was certain he was not capable of doing such a thing.But why did his sister blurt out that possibility as if she knew it was going to happen?

"Father is not like that…" He assured her.

"Of course!" She answered in an instant, seemingly regretting her unscrupulous words. It was obvious she felt uncomfortable about it, and so Darryl was not shocked when she shifted the topic again.  "Shall I get you something to wear for tomorrow's event?" 

"Tomorrow's event?" He asked, trying to remember if he missed something.

"Well… don't you remember? Tomorrow is the CGC's Memorial Day. Father wants you to come."

Chan Group of Companies' Memorial Day? 

It was clearly not in his calendar. Every year, it is one of the highlights of the elite's social event.Even though it was only a memorial day, businessmen did not want to miss out on such an opportunity to network because a number of notable people would be in attendance.

So, his father wanted him to come? For what reason?