Destined

"When Will I Meet You?"

"WHAT?", I shouted incredulous. "Why are you lying? I don't know you....you are a complete stranger to me."

Michael lowered his head, sighing. Than he slowly raised his head watching me apologetically.

"No, Callida, it's the truth. Your father was my older brother."

I shook my head frantically. "No....no...no...", I choked. Gaisgeil tried to touch me, but I refused. I saw the hurt in his eyes about my rejection, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want his consolation, too agitated to accept it.

"Callida, please", Michael started to say, taking one step in my direction but I raised my hand, stopping his advances.

"No, you'll stay there and explain yourself", I demanded. 

"Okay", David intervened with authority. "Listen! The time for secrecy and concealment is over. Now it's the time of revelation."

His gaze swept everyone than stayed on me. "Callida, your uncle isn't lying", he told me gently. "Michael, your father an I, we were best friends. We grew up together...here in Bertaèyn."

I was paralyzed. Nobody moved, everyone waited for my reaction. My eyes searched Michael's face for the truth. And than it hit me. How could I not see the similarities? Was it, because my memory of dad faded through the years? We didn't have pictures of mum and dad, so I couldn't reassure myself.

I conjured up my last memories of dad. Michael's hair colour, his eyes, his nose...We had the same face shape, the same lips with the same expressive cupid's bow. OH THEOS! 

My uncle started to speak. "Your father...he chose to leave, because he met your mother on an expedition. My brother fell in love at first sight. He got to know her and the attraction turned into a deep love on both sides. Michael and I talked a lot about his possibilities. To live with his love here or to leave Bertaèyn. He knew, that if he left, he had to remain silent about our world."

David shook his head with a little smile on his lips. "He decided to leave and to follow your mother. How hard it must have been for him, to leave us ...", he whispered his last words. His gaze was on me. "Your father Callida, was a genious, the best engineer we had. To supress his technical knowledge and his skills to keep our secret must have been hell."

He saw our clueless faces. Hell? What's that?

"Oh, sorry, gehena...I mean gehena. Your father never turned back, totally accepting his fate. His love for your mother was something, that you rarely see in life ...it was total devotion. Consilius reported us many years later about his death. It took a toll on all of us, especially your grandfather."

My ears pearked up. "My grandfather? You mean, my father's father?"

Michael nodded sorrowful.

I wiped a tear from my cheeks...and than a painful  sob escaped my lips, followed by more.  I felt a heartbreaking sadness for my parents ...for my dad, whom I misjudged. I was so mad at him, after he died. Now, I understood, why he gave up, why he couldn't find the strenght in him to stay alive.

A hand stroke my hair carefully. Than two arms embraced me gingerly. From the unfamiliar smell I knew, it wasn't my destined. Sniffing I looked up. My uncle held me in his arms with tears in his eyes, and I stayed calm, letting him console my pain.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw my destined watching me, sadness and pain on his features. I regretted my unsympathetic rejection of his attempt to comfort me.

I left my uncle's hug, sending him a thankful smile, and opened my arms for Gaisgeil. The next instant I was pulled into strong arms, his manly voice cooing tender words in my ear.

A chuckle interrupted our little bubble of love. "I see, how it is. In our family we only fall for real love, Callida", my uncle teased friendly.

Now his statement got my attention. I slightly turned around in Gaisgeil's arms, facing my ...uncle. "So...you are realy family?"

He nodded with a watery smile, too moved by the sitaution to speak.