Only if I had time,
Only if I had the courage,
Only if...
Then all this would not happen.
Once, when I was young, I met this person. A nice person.
I was very sad. At that time, my father had just passed away, my mother had died years ago giving birth to me. I was alone. Afraid.
It was pouring that day when my father died. I felt betrayed that he left me alone. Why was it not I who passed? On his funeral, it was also raging with rain. After I attended his funeral, shadows came and went solemnly. Quietly. I felt deserted. Left alone in my own little world. I walked down the street, grief-striken. I was only seven when that happened. I sat on the sidewalk and let tears of woe join with tears of heaven.
As I sat and wept, a shadow came above me, an umbrella was put over my head. I looked up, the face was blur due to my crying. But I could feel the sympathy. A deep voice from that face asked me, "Why sit under this rain, child?"
I stared straight at him. I knew he was a man because his voice made it clear. I squeaked, "Papa's gone."
"There, there. Where's your Momma?" the kind voice spoke once more.
"Mama went when I was just a baby."
I could see that his eyes were sympathizing me through my teary eyes.
"There, there, now. Let's get you dry first, okay?"
All I could do was look at him, I was too upset to speak.
"Come now, let's get you dry." He picked me up and took me to his home. He had a wife and son. His wife helped me dry up, then I was given dinner. He let me stay in a vacant room. And there I sat, alone.
I did not know why, but I could hear very precisely and clearly. The wife was questioning the man who brought me there.
"Why, Jonathan? Why bring a child back here?"
"Ella, please just listen."
"Listen? What foolish reason do you have now? What stupid aura made you want to help that wretched child?"
"She's got no parents. And from the looks of it she's got no siblings neither, Ella."
"Jonathan, why do you always want to help these unfortunate people?"
"Because, Ella, I was unfortunate once, do you not remember?"
"Of course I remember. Father took you in."
"Exactly. He made me promise me that if I find a stranded child on the street, I should pick the child up and take the child home. If the child has no family, I am to adopt it. If the child has one, I am to return it. But it seems like this little girl has none."
"But Jonathan, Father has been dead for fifteen years!"
"I know, Ella, I know. But it is a promise I made, and it is a promise i must keep. This girl will be adopted by us as word."
So, I stayed there for quite a while. Jonathan was very nice to me, he was like an uncle. Ella, on the other hand, did not talk to me much. She seemed hard to approach. Their son, Jimmy, was like a brother to me. He was nice and kind although he teased with me ocasionally.
I stayed there for ten years. At the age of seventeen, Jimmy was already twenty and in college. I found myself quite lonely at home. All the time I spent with them made me forget the all the pain when I was a child. And when I was alone, the pain gradually haunted me. I realized, nothing could ever be forgotten, it would just be dimmed, not worth remembering.
When I was eighteen, Jimmy came back for vacation. I decided to travel and see the world. Jonathan said it would do me good to discover new things, Ella had no opinions and Jimmy was Jimmy. He made fun of me saying how much trouble I would get into and teased me that I would always think of him.
True. What he said was true. When I travelled, I always thought about Jonathan, Ella and Jimmy. How nice they were to me. How indebted I felt towards them. I always thought about my father. How he brought me up when my mother died.
During my journey, I came across India. A magical place indeed. I came across this small little gypsy camp. Full of mystical powers. I came across an interesting tent with a funny sign : NOW YOU FOR UNE
It was supposed to be "KNOW YOUR FORTUNE", but the letterings fell off. I entered the tent anyway. Madam Yurishka was the woman sitting on the stool awaiting my presense. She said in a very slithery tone, "Come in, child. Wantssss to know your future?" I did not know how to answer her, thus I nodded.
"Well then, enter Madame Yurissshhhka'ssss tent of fortune."
She loved lingering on the s's and made it sound like a snake for exagerrating on it. I had no liking to her, she freaked me out of my bones, but I entered anyway.
In her tent was a table, and what seemed like a magical crystal ball.
"You hassst come from afar, am I right?"
I noticed she used the word "hast", not "have". I guessed she was a Shakespere fan or whatever, but I nodded anyway.
"I ssseee light, dissspair, misssfortune befalling thee.
Betrayal, enemiesss, battlesss, blood!
Thou hasssst power to end thissss horror!
Light shall be bessstowened upon those who believe!!!!"
I was totally freaked out by her "fortune-telling". I was bewildered and warned myself to never enter gypsy camps again. I left Madam Yurishka's tent, leaving her with some money.
I moved on to China. There I saw various sights. There was one man reading palms. I had the urge to go to him, but something about what happened in Madam Yurishka's tent told me not to. I stayed in China for two days. Before leaving, I couldn't stop myself from seeing the palm-reading man. I had to pay him a visit. Just one.
I sat before him with my palm open. He said, "Much sadnes, betraayal and.. War? Yor pam iis verii hard to reed, mis. I am afuaid I cannot halp." He did not charge me anything as he was not able to read mine. His accent was amusing and confusing. Very difficult to understand. His pronunciation was worse than Madam Yurishka as Yurishka just had too much pronunciation but his was just too unusual.
I left China and went back to America to Jonathan, Ella and Jimmy. Surprise, surprise. They were all dead. I was only gone for two months and they were dead. Something fishy was up and I was determined to find out.
To be continued....
If you think it's good and you want to know what's going to happen, please drop me a comment :D
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