The Beginning: Lost
Note: This will be the start of the Zwarte poes (Black Cat) stories. I hope you will enjoy this long story. Should you wish to copy this somewhere else, please contact me first. I'd greatly appreciate if you can do that for me at least... Thank you very much.
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THE BEGINNING
“Nana?” I called out as I entered the room. It was spacious, and a steady breeze from the sea outside blew steadily inside. The curtains fluttered and flapped, and as it did, I could see her half-sitting, half-lying down on the hammock in the terrace outside, facing the sea.
She was in her seventies, but she didn’t really look or act like most people her age. She was still active in society, doing what she can anonymously with social groups and events in the community we live in now.
On normal days, she’s busy walking around the farm: checking out the trees for possible flowers or harvest. She would also check the man-made fishpond for something possible for lunch or dinner. On other days, she would take long walks along the shore of the beach or go snorkeling with me or diving. However, today, Nana was inert, unusually inert in fact.
“Nana?” I called out to her again as I stood beside her. Her face had a hint of sadness to it, but her eyes looked like she was somewhere far away.
She looked up to me with weary eyes, but that changed as soon as our eyes met. She smiled at me, but it couldn’t hide the weariness that it silhouetted. “What is it, Ysa?”
“Nothing. I was wondering where you were… Dencio said that he caught a few fat crabs from the fishpond… He wonders if you wanted it prepared for dinner…?”
“Crabs? Sound nice… Doe maar, schat.”
“Great choice, Nana… I will tell him right away…” I said as I turned to walk away, but feeling the muted sense of loneliness that my grandmother was feeling, I stopped half way, and asked, “Nana, is something the matter?”
It took sometime for the older woman to say anything, but when she finally did, she replied in an almost inaudible voice. “Niks, schat. Ik ben alleen moe.”
“Ok, Nana. See you at dinner then…” Was all I said as I left the older woman quietly for the kitchen. As I took one last look at her, her eyes were still on the horizon in front of her.
***
“Mama, that is enough! Takeshi is a great man and he will be a great father to our child…”
“You are barely in your twenties. And he’s still studying… What kind of life are you going two going to give the baby?”
“We’ll manage…”
“That is not a very reassuring answer, Sophia...” The older woman simply said, as she moved closer to her evidently pregnant daughter.
“It’s reassuring enough for me… For us… At least, this child will know who his parents are, and will know that at least one parent will always be there for him…” The younger woman said simply, as the older woman flinched.
“Don’t say that, you do know that I love you, right…”
“Do you, Mama? Or do you just love yourself…? Adios…”
***
“Sumimasen, Locsin-san. I regret to inform you that your daughter is dead. She and her husband died in a vehicular accident while on their way to their vacation in
Ignoring the painful lump on her throat, the woman simply asked. “Where is my grandchild?”
The Japanese man looked up. “She is in critical condition, but the Doctor says that she is stable now…”
***
“Nana? Are you alright?”
Nana, or Luisa Locsin, jolted awake. She was sweating and she was panting her breath. “Where…?”
“You’re here at the farm, Nana. In your room… What happened?” I asked, a bit worried about her peculiar behavior.
She wiped the sweat off her forehead and shook her head. “I… I am fine. I must have dozed off…”
“But you were sweating profusely, and you mentioned Mama’s name…”
She smiled weakly, trying to reassure me of what’s going on. “I… I’m fine. I must have dreamt of your Mama again…”
“Well, it’s time for dinner… See you at the dinner table in five?”
She nodded. “See you there.”
As I left, she (Nana) simply stared at the picture in front of her. It was Sophia when she just turned sixteen. She was so beautiful and lively. So smart and intelligent, but very naïve on matters concerning emotions… She died young. And she died not knowing who her father really was…
posted by Kagi @ 7:24 AM
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