Land of the Unknown

The Truth

Luke sat by the fire he had made, deep in thought. He knew the Regulators were angry and would not be still long; he wanted to try convincing Emiliano to leave. However, the older man knew Emiliano wanted to know his Father. He massaged his eyes as he felt his right leg shaking. "I have to tell him the truth; Emiliano deserves to know." Horse galloping noises were heard coming close; Emiliano arrived and got off his horse. Luke stood as he fixed his suit. "Glad you made it." He noticed Emiliano's expression. "What's wrong?"

The young man slowly walked toward the fire and sat before it; Luke sat beside him. "Annmarie kissed and told me that she loved me."

"She did? Now that you mention it, you did say that you saved her from a drunkard. You were the only one who showed her kindness."

"I couldn't return her feelings but care for her since she tried helping me find information about my Father. I gave her the money I earned so she could leave the county." Emiliano grabbed a wooden stick beside him and poked some of the wood into the fire. "The situation has gotten worse. Annmarie said that some prostitutes work as spies since they are paid well. I hope that she leaves the county while she can."

Luke wouldn't have imagined that the situation had gotten dire. No one in the county could be trusted. "Love is a powerful feeling, Emiliano. I doubt she will leave since she would do anything to be close to you."

"But I rejected her feelings; it would cause her to hate me."

"Maybe, but she will eventually understand your reasoning; her love for you will never dissipate."

The two were silent for a while until Emiliano spoke. "I tend to bring misery to people."

"No, not misery. No tienes la culpa de ser una buena persona (It's not your fault for being a good person). You are just like me in so many ways. I say it because it's true." Luke felt the palms of his hands sweat. He put his hands together and blew on them. "It's not too late to leave. The Regulators are too preoccupied with trying to kill Dolan, Murphey, and those who work for them."

"I can't leave without knowing who my Father is. I lost my Mother; is it too much to at least know My Father? Wouldn't you want to know if you were in my position?"

Luke felt his heart beating faster. "He just wants to know the truth!" he told himself. His heart beat rapidly; sweat formed on his neck; his legs trembled. "I know who your Father is."

This caught the young man off guard, but Luke knew. "What!? You know!? How could you know?"

"I-I knew your Mother."

Emiliano's lips and eyes widened as he looked at him. He tried to speak, but nothing could come out. Luke felt as if his heart was about to escape his chest. Suddenly, a noise came from a few bushes as he was about to speak. The two men were caught off guard; they looked toward where the noise was coming from. Luke immediately stood and got out his gun. "Show yourself, or I will shoot!"

The noise became louder, and footsteps came closer. The person who had hidden finally showed himself. "What are you doing here, Charles?"

Charles walked out from the bushes he was hiding in; he motioned out his gun."So this is what ya were doin' all this time. The late-night walks and shootings ya supposedly had; ya were with him, an enemy."

"I'm not your enemy," said Emiliano in a whisper-like tone.

Charles glared at him. "Yer with the Regulators who are against Dolan and Murphey, and ya say that you're not the enemy? Ya think yer all high and mighty?"

"Do you think Dolan and Murphey care about you? They only care about themselves."

Charles was getting angry and motioned his gun toward Emiliano but noticed Luke pointed his gun toward him. Luke's eyes were filled with anger. "If you even try, then I'll shoot you."

"Luke, he's your son."

The older man had enough. There was no turning back on what he was about to do. "No, he's not. He never was." Luke slowly put down the pistol while eyeing Charles with a warning glare. "You both need to know the truth."

All three men heard the crickets and the crackles of the fire. "I came from Oklahoma to try to make it big. When the government passed the Treaty of Hidalgo, many Mexicans had to give away or sell their lands. There was a family that was having trouble, and I knew it was my opportunity, so I decided to buy it from them with the help of my Father. The family I met had a beautiful daughter; I fell in love with her at first sight."

Emiliano felt his stomach squeezing itself tightly. His throat was becoming dry; his heart was beating rapidly.

"The young woman hated me, but I eventually earned her trust, respect, and love."

"Please...stop..." Emiliano said in a quiet and weak tone.

"I asked her to marry me; she accepted. I was the happiest man alive, but I kept something from her. I received letters from my Father that a prostitute was supposedly carrying my child, and I had to take responsibility for the child. I refused since I felt that the child was not mine; the love of my life found and left me. I never stopped looking for her, even when the prostitute and her bastard son arrived at my home." Luke then focused on Emiliano. "Years passed, and then you arrived. You told me who your Mother was, and that's when I realized that the love of my life had a child that I never knew existed. Emiliano, I'm your Father."

Emiliano felt his legs going weak and fell to the ground. Charles felt as if he had been punched in the gut. "Th-There's no way in hell! Yer sayin' that bastard is yer son!? It's a lie!"

He was ignored as Luke kept on looking at Emiliano, his son. "You now know the truth, hijo mio (son of mine). I couldn't tell you the truth because I feared how you would react."

Emiliano's mind was trying to comprehend Luke's confession. His Father was the man he was ordered to spy on, who trained him to be a better shooter. The possibility nagged his head, but Luke convinced him otherwise. He covered his mouth as if he was going to puke. He slowly stood up on his own two feet. "You lied to me all this time."

"I kept the truth hidden because I wanted to earn your trust. I was going to tell you the truth eventually, but I wanted you and me to know of one another. Emiliano, please believe me when I tell you I have always loved Laureana. I never knew that she was pregnant with you, and if I did, I would have done everything to have you both by my side."

"I-I-I guess you didn't try hard enough." Everything was too much to bear; Emiliano ran, got on his horse, and fled. Luke yelled after him, but Emiliano was no longer seen. He then noticed that Charles was nowhere to be seen. Luke got on his horse and rode off home. Everything had gone to hell, and the older man knew it was time to take action, so he first decided to deal with his 'family.'