The Patriots

CHAPTER 20 (REUNION)

They woke up in the tent, wondering how they all managed to fit in there. It was time to go back to their families--except the orphans. Nervousness kicked in as Cecilia thought of her mum. She didn't know how her mother would behave towards her now, but she prayed her mum would be fine.

"Vera. I'm so sorry you have no family to go to because of these rebels. Take care," Cecilia said as she hugged Vera.

"Don't worry about me." Vera smiled.

Kelvin's thoughts also lingered to his dad. "Maybe he died drowning in alcohol. Or maybe he's a changed man," he thought and sighed.

"Time to go kids. You will receive messages if there's any meeting. Enjoy your day," Del yawned. He had not recovered from the liquor yet.

"Okay sir," they responded and left. Daniel and some other kids were going a bit closer to the capital, so Jesse dropped them at their houses with the bus. Cecilia and Kelvin took the same route this time, and waved the others goodbye.

"Should I see you off?" Kelvin asked.

"Oh no. Thank you. I think we should go home separately," she responded with a little sad laugh. Kelvin understood. This was a reunion which could go very well or very badly.

"Okay. See you some other time. Or when we meet at the camp," he shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. Bye then." Cecilia's voice came out a bit strained.

"Bye," Kelvin managed a smile.

They turned their backs swiftly in opposite directions. Kelvin taking a shortcut to his home, as Cecilia walked along the streets to her home.

The streets stank, but that wasn't something new. The stench had grown stronger for Cecilia since it had been quite a long time she walked those streets. She saw her house from a distance and her heart constricted. A few minutes later she was standing at her door.

"Two years and four months," she whispered, holding her breath as she knocked on the door. No response. She knocked again louder than the first, but still no response. She was gripped by the fear of the terrific thought running through her head. She knocked again, louder, with so much urgency and placed her ears on the door to listen. She heard footsteps finally and sighed.

The door creaked open and her heart shattered into a million pieces. Tears streamed down her face when she laid eyes on her mother who had grown so lean. Her mother had sadness in her eyes and she knew she was the cause of it all.
Her mother's eyes looked so weak she even wondered if she would remember her.

"Ce...Cecilia?" her mother whispered as tears rolled down her eyes as well.

Cecilia dropped her bag and embraced her mother. "I'm so sorry mum. Forgive me," she cried.

"It's okay my baby. I'm the one supposed to ask for forgiveness. I pushed you away when I could just reason with you. I'm sorry too. I'm so happy you came back. I thought you left me for good," her mother cried.

The tears were now tears of joy as Cecilia walked into her home with her mother. After mother-daughter reunion, Cecilia told her all about Canada--her own version, leaving out the real secret, especially the fun part. She then went back to her room. It seemed she had grown thrice her size in just two years. She was happy to finally be home and that her mum did not despise her.

Kelvin put on a hoodie as he entered the ghetto. He could feel eyes boring into his back but he did not flinch. The rebels were about to stop him, but they retreated when they saw where he was heading to.

"The haunted house. It's the boy. He back," they murmured. With 'the boy in the hood' now looking like a fully grown man, they considered making him one of them, but they were too scared to approach that house.

He got to the door, took a deep breath and knocked. "Why did I even knock?" he shook his head and turned the rusted knob. The door opened, and he stepped into a whole new house. The hall didn't look messy anymore. He didn't smell alcohol and there were no bottles lying around.

He heard footsteps approach as his dad came out of his room. He stared hard at Kelvin, and Kelvin stared hard at him too in utter shock. He took off his hood shakingly.

"Kelvin?"

"Yes, it's me," he replied coldly. He was shocked to see his dad smile at him. His dad looked different and acted differently. He was a changed man.

"My boy. Welcome home. Have a seat," his dad offered after he involuntarily flinched from him when he leaned closer for a hug.

He stepped further away, refusing to sit. All this while he was away, that's when his dad stopped doing awful things.

"So you could have been this man, all this while and you never did it for your son?!" Kelvin spat in anger. "Why did you hate me so much? Is it because I reminded you of my mother?!" Kelvin yelled as tears welled up in his eyes.

"Sí," his dad sighed, answering honestly. "Yes, you reminded me of your mother. But I didn't hate you for that. I hated myself knowing I'd be reminded of all the terrible things I did every time I looked at you. So I drunk to escape the pain. I punished you because it was just as close to punishing myself. I just wanted to get rid of the images in my head every time I saw you. But I realised how foolish I'd been when you left me that letter. Living in this house all alone was hell in itself. I realised I needed you more than I thought. I should have loved you with all the love I could gather up in this world. So here I am, ready to be a better father. To make peace with myself and with you. I hope it's not too late for that," his dad confessed, his voice quivering.

Kelvin wiped away the tears that managed to escape from his eyes and stormed off into his room. His room was also arranged and looked almost new. He didn't know what to think or what do do. He was just angry, sad and relieved. Deep down he was glad his dad didn't hate him. He also knew he was going to forgive his dad. He didn't lose himself completely and just as he had a second chance to have a life, he was going to give his dad that too. He laid on the floor, staring at the dark ceiling, his vision blurred by the tears that welled up in his eyes again. He finally cried. He cried hard and long until he eventually drifted off into darkness.

Charles met with Del shortly after most of the kids had left. Charles gave his report on what happened the past two years and four months since Del and his team were away.

He took out the outfit and IPhone from the box, but hid them under his bed when he got home. He opened the phone and realised he had everyone's number including Cecilia's. He immediately wanted to call and explain everything to her, but he stopped himself. He had to explain everything in person, so she would understand.

"Hi Cilia. It's Charles. We need to talk." He typed after contemplating for a while, and hit send, waiting patiently for a reply.

A/N: 😁food is ready. Enjoy reading!
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