The Sanctuary

Still You (1)

***

"Where are you now?" His sister on the other line asked.

"I'm already in front of the orphanage you told me," He replied. "You know what? If I didn't love you, I wouldn't allow myself to be your slave." He heard the woman chuckle. "Take note, I just arrived the other day, and you're already using me as your slave. You're such a user, Phi."

"Gun, I didn't expect my meeting with my client to be delayed. And I can't cancel my appointment there. Since you are already in Thailand, you can just go there for me, right?" His sister explained.

"I was just joking. I understood, Phi."

"Did you bring all the stuff I bought for the kids?"

"Yup. They're all here. I'll just ask for someone to get them out of my trunk. I can't carry all of them. Okay, I'll go inside now. See you later."

***

"Hi, good morning!" He greeted the middle-aged woman who opened the gate.

"Good morning, Sir. Welcome to Happy Journey. I'm Jayla."

"Hello. I have an appointment. Actually, I'm here on behalf of Vanessa. She had an emergency in the office, so she sent me here to talk about my nephew's party with the kids here."

"Oh. Yes, Uhm. . . Nong. . ."

"Gun. . . Just call me Gun."

"Yes, N' Gun. Come in. We were already advised by Ms. Vanessa that her brother would go here instead. We have everything fixed already. Just a few details are needed."

"That's good." He said as they walked inside the office.

"Have a seat, please."

"Thank you."

"So, here's the list. Everything you need to bring on the day of the party is here. Ms. Vanessa asked for the things the kids need, so we included them on the list." Jayla said as she handed him the paper. "Please tell Ms. Vanessa that we decided to arrange the garden where we will be having the party, the kids want to do something in return for your help."

"Aww. . . That's so sweet. Thank you. I'll let my sister know about it." Gun smiled sweetly.

Then, they heard squealing kids outside the office.

"Daddy!"

"The housemaster has arrived," Jayla said with a smile. "Let's go outside. I'll introduce you to him, and to the kids, too."

Gun was taken by surprise when he heard the voice of the said housemaster.

"How are my babies?"

He knew that voice by heart. It's been years since the last time he heard him. It was him.

Gun looked at the man's back as he was talking to the kids. He stooped down to kiss each of the kids' foreheads.

"We're good, Daddy Off." A cute little boy answered. "Daddy, I not dweam of monstwers last night. But. . ."

"Oh, you did not dream of monsters? That's good." He said. "So what was your dream last night then?" He asked while fixing the boy's unruly hair.

"You."