Unexpected Rendezvous

Memories

*Alexander Hammond's POV*

The sun was high up in the sky and I could feel the refreshing breeze on my face. I could hear the trees and leaves rustling and some of the birds chirping from above. I was lying down underneath the shade of a big oak tree.

"Pumpkin? Were you here the whole time?! I was worried sick looking for you" the voice said.

The voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn't remember whom it belonged to.
I forced myself to sat down properly and my brown eyes were immediately filled with tears.

In front of me was a gorgeous looking, tall, blonde woman. She seemed so young and beautiful. But I would recognize that face even in different worlds. I was so shook to even noticed that she was now sitting next to me. Her hand was on top of mine. I could feel the warmth radiating from her skin. Her shuddery breath was probably from running around.

"M... mum? B.... But how?" I stuttered, my eyes were locked on hers.
"Y... you're... y... you passed away..." I continued.

Her brown eyes that looks exactly like mine were now locked on mine and she smiled sadly as she said,
"Oh my sweet pumpkin... I have missed you... I have missed you ever since... I'm so sorry to have left you with all of this sadness and anger inside you."
"H... how?! How mum?!" My voice was steady now, but it almost sounded like a broken whisper as I demanded an answer from her.
"I am but only a figment of your memory, my pumpkin. You probably can't remember about your accident, but right now, you are in a very critical condition. And that's probably why we can be here together... like this..." she frowned.

The flashback hit me instantly and I remembered the prior argument with my father, which led to this accident. I felt the tears started to pool in my eyes, and I could feel the rage started to build inside me. My fists were clenched tightly, I could even feel the nails started to dig on my palms.

"It was not your fault..." I said hoarsely.
"Pardon?" My mum said with a tilted head, her gaze was still fixed on mine.
"Earlier you said that you're sorry for leaving me with all these sadness and anger. That's not your fault." I said with a sad smile.
"It was dad's..." I continued while sighing heavily.

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My mum and I were lost in our conversation for hours. We were relieving our memories back from my childhood and even talked about how life has been treating me lately. I even told her all about Rowena.
I now recognized that we were in a whole different realm, as the sun never set down; despite us talking for hours.

I felt her warm, soft hand was resting on my cheek. And I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of her touch. A touch that I had been longing for years, a touch that I had missed for years.

Her voice was soft as she spoke, "I'm proud of you, pumpkin. You've grown into a fine man, a bloody handsome one at that too," her chuckle was light, but I could feel the sadness behind it.
"And now you've found the love of your life. I'm so proud that you chose love instead of your trauma. I know it must've been hard for you to open up to anyone," she continued.
"I chose not to be like dad," I spat furiously. I was surprised at my own tone.

Mum put down her hand and I could feel a slight disappointment. She was now looking on the rustled green grass beneath us and her eyes were filled with sadness. I felt my heart ached badly at the scene.

"Your father is a good man. And he's not at fault," she said quietly.
I could feel the rage inside me was growing rapidly, so I stood up and paced back and forth in front of my mum who was still looking to the ground. I couldn't help, but to let out a desperate, long sigh.
"He is not a good man. What kind of a good man would push his son away and treated his own flesh and blood like trash?!" I shouted
Mum was now looking up at me, she shook her head gently and said sadly,
"Alexander... your father is hurting as much as you do. And you know... everyone griefs in their own way. I'm not saying what your father did to you is right; but you need to realize that he just couldn't handle his own emotions really well."
"Did you know that you are his pride and joy? Do you remember how he was always on your football or tennis match? Or even on your school's performance? You must realize by now that he's a very busy man. But he was always there when you had something going on. Did you know that he always took your photographs during those events? Check his desk's drawer in his bedroom. He has a box that's filled with all of your pictures," she continued.

I couldn't help but froze. My body was tensed and I felt a newfound ache in my chest. One that I couldn't even described.

"He did that?" I said with a hoarse voice.
Mum only smiled sadly in return.
"Then why would he push me away? He should be a father figure when you left us. I needed him. I needed my father when you left," I said hoarsely once again.
"Because..." mum said sadly "he couldn't process what happened. You might not realize this, but my chemo treatment was doing really well. And at some point the doctos even said I was cancer free. Then on the night before I left the both of you, I felt an extreme pain in my head. Your father rushed me to the hospital and I remembered that you were already asleep that night, so he told Lucius to look after you, while he would stay and accompany me in the hospital."
"Once we got to the hospital and done with all the check-ups, they said the cancer had spread. It was not only in my brain, but it was already spread everywhere within me. They told me that I had to stay in the ICU for further examinations. Your father never left my side even once," she continued.

"Then what happened?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure I was ready to hear the next part, but I had to. It was probably the only way I could ever be free from this chain of hatred and sadness that had imprisoned me for most of my life.
"Then I just felt so sleepy, so I said to your father that I was going to rest for a while and that he should go home and get some rest himself," she smiled sadly and continued, "but of course, your father threw away that idea. That there was no way that he would left me all by myself."
"The next thing I knew... all I could hear was your father's scream on my ears. I could feel his hand tighten on mine, and it was so noisy because all the doctors and nurses were shouting indistinctively in a muffled voice. And with that.. well... you know the rest." I could see her tears were starting to fall on her cheeks.

I sat back down next to her and I hugged her tightly. Mum felt so small against my now developed structure. I used to be the ones who was buried during a hug, but now it was different.

We sat in silence for hours. None of us could bring anything out of our lips. To be honest, my mind was now processing these whole new information. I could feel the anger towards my father was starting to fritter away gradually.

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After spending hours in silence, my mum finally broke the tranquilty by saying,

"So now you know the truth about your father, how do you feel, pumpkin?"
I let out a long sigh as my gaze was fixed on the canopy above us, "Maybe it's not fair for me to put the blame on him. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be angry with him."
I felt my mum's small arm around my shoulders and she was soothing the side of my arm. Her voice was content as she said, "you need to forgive your father, as much as you need to forgive yourself. He's the only family you have left... aside from Rowena," she laughed.
"Mum!!!!" I shouted. But I could feel myself flushing at the thoughts of Rowena being a part of the family.

Mum stood up and held out her arms to me. I pulled myself up with her hand and hugged her tightly.
"Now... it's time for you to go back to the land of living, so you can make ammends and create new memories."
I teared up at her words and I felt like someone choked me as I said, "but I'm not ready to be left by you... again"

I swear to God, I have never seen my mum's smile as bright as I saw it that moment. She shook her head,
"I never left, pumpkin... I'm always with you and your father. Afterall, you two were my two favourite men in the whole wide world. And I would choose you both in every lifetime."

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Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that it took me 2 years to finally continue this story. I had a writer's block as you might called it. It was a tough time to force myself to write, so I took a break. But I'm back now!

Please enjoy this new chapter! And I hope that you enjoy it. Do leave some comments, so I know your opinion and or critics.

I'm already writing the next chapter, so don't worry, you won't need to wait another 2 years for a new chapter 😂