Dream Page 2

The untold

Toronto, Ontario.
October of 1972.
Fall is everywhere. Dead maple leaves cover the land. Hues of Orange everywhere. 

Sapphire Geros is making pumpkin soup. The warm soothing smell is spread everywhere in their home. She's adding the spices with practiced ease.

Tiano Geros and his sister Tilo Geros are sitting beside the stove waiting for her to finish making the soup. Smiles are visible on all of their innocent faces.

Sapphire always looking like a 16-year-old all her life, looked bright like a teenager once again. 
Such a warm ambiance prevails in the home. Small moments like this make a house home.

Both Tiano and Tilos' stomachs rumbled. They broke out laughing and giggling.

Sapphire chuckled too before once again giving her attention back to the soup.

The chirps of the children are heard all over their house.

Amidst all this, the doorbell was heard.
Tiano and Tilo ran to answer the gate. They just know that it's their dad Gaven Geros.


After answering the gate, they thought for a brief moment that it was their dad. But rather it is someone who looks very much like their dad but looks 5 years younger. The siblings look at each other. They think that it might be an uncle their Dad never talked about. Or just a really weird man who looks EXACTLY like their dad but with a stubbled face?

The man looks sad and distant. He is wearing a blue ironed suit. Tiano notices that everything about him and his outfit looks squeaky clean except a button of his shirt buttoned in the wrong button pit. 

Tiano asks, "Did you come to our house? How may I help you?"

He smirks distantly.
"Seems like this kid has manners...Like his parents"
He says uninterestedly but his eyes are sad and distant. As if it would be something interesting to notice any other day except today. 
He glances slowly once at Tiano and then at Tilo. A 5-year-old Tilo hides behind Tiano, who is apparently a 12 year old.
Tiano looks at the man with a calm gaze.

The man kneels to his knees to match Tilos' height.
The ghost of the smile is still there on his lips but the smile has left his eyes.

His eyes are as gloomy as a cold, dark rainy night. A total contrast to this vibrant red fall morning. 
As grey as the skies when the dark grey clouds gather. The grey of his eyes are just like their father.

He gazes at Tilo with sad eyes. Tilos' brown eyes were bright and innocent, gazing at his sad eyes. She blinked sometimes in confusion with her big eyes with long lashes.

The man's lips slightly curls up into a faint smile seeing her innocence. He lifts up and rests a hand on her head softly once. He then gently caress her head softly. Tilo doesn't hide anymore behind Tiano.

He stands up from his kneel. The smile vanished back behind his eye's dark clouds.

His eyes cut to Tiano.

His gaze was direct. Soul-piercing but honest. Yet...sad.

 Tiano feels a bit intimidated by the direct gaze although Tiano perfectly hides it.

He says with a cold, eerie yet deep voice, "Ignorance is the real bliss, kid. You can be innocent as long as you can if you don't know anything."

Tiano gets goosebumps even not knowing what he meant.

He still tries to be calm.
He says, "You'd come to our house?"

The man smirked sadly again.
He says, "I wish"

Tiano tilts his head to one side.
He echoes the words, " 'You wish'? Why don't you just come in?"
Saying this, Tiano makes way for the man to come in.

The man smiles faintly and shakes his head soft and weakly.
What he said the he next moment shakes Tiano up to the core. 

The man says, "I wish it was your 'home'. Not 'house' "
He smiled sadly at Tiano.

Tiano however calmly walks to him from his doorstep. He smiles warmly at the man. So much warmly that the man started to feel his dark clouds slowly going away by Tiano's smile.
He gently walks to him and fixes the misplaced button on his shirt.

The man suddenly gets caught off guard by Tianos' calmness and gentleness. The man's grey eyes widens in surprise as he's speechless by the act of warmth.

After fixing it, Tiano smiles at the man again with kindness. This time, Tiano's warm eyes cut directly to the man's eyes. It's also soul piercing. But not intimidating. It's rather like a warm bright ray of sun from the thick clouds to the ground.

The man's eyes softens already.

This twelve-year-old boy Tiano replies with the same warm smile, "I don't know why are you so sad about something. But believe me, it'll be okay one day. You can love yourself just another day, a bit more by doing nothing but fixing your button once again. By looking at yourself with love once again. Dad told me this."
Then Tiano scratched his head and admitted a bit foolishly, "I too couldn't button my shirt back properly back then, that's why."
Saying this, he chuckled a bit. 

The man's surprised eyes grew even sadder than before as if he melted completely. As if he wanted to hug Tiano.

Tiano maintained his kind smile.
But he noticed the man's eyes turning red as it started to fill with tears.
Helpless tears...

The man's lip curled up into a faint, sad smile. He looked down as  put his hands in his pockets.  He starts to walk away in somewhat rush as if he doesn't want his tears to be seen.
He glanced up at the house one last time before walking away.

Suddenly, Sapphire came out of the house running.
She yells, " YUAN?! STOP! PLEASE! YUAN! IS THAT YOU?? YUAN?!!!"
The last call of the man's name was louder which was mixed with an order to turn back.

The man doesn't stop to look back at her. Sapphire calls his name several more times but he doesn't stop or turn back. 

Tiano sees that Sapphire doesn't step out of her house. As if she knows as well that he won't turn back.

   "Yuan..."
Sapphire calls his name once last. But this time, with tears, her voice cracked with almost no more strength left. More like, no more ground left to call him back.

She fell on her knees until she sat on the floor drooping. She's already  weeping.
Tiano and Tilo tries to calm her. But she cries whispering the man's name again and again as if she had lost something she knew she would one day.

Tiano notices her clutching her belly tightly as she's crying uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Tiano noticed Gaven standing at a distance with bags of vegetables in his both hands, sighing distantly looking at the man named Yuan walking away. Something stops him from running to Yuan as though.

Gaven walked towards his family sighing, with sad empty eyes.
He looks at his weeping wife.
  "Yuan?"
He asks her to confirm. His voice gloomy yet helpless. He knew this had to happen one day.

Sapphire cries more and nods clutching her belly even more.
Gaven looks at the distant figure of this man, Yuan once again.

Gaven sighs. The figure grows more distant but both of them stays there helpless.

Suddenly Gaven realizes how long they've been staying there on the doorstep and realizes that people are watching.
He takes Tiano as well as Tilo inside their home.

He comes back to her. She's still crying.
"Come inside dear. You can't sit there all day, can you?"
He helps her get up as she keeps on crying.
He takes her inside their home as well.
He closes the door.

The warm autumn's home environment turned into dark like a rainy day. 
Outside, the autumn still prevails. All the colors, All the poetries, All the melodies, All the love of bright red Autumn still prevails. 

Tilo keeps her innocent eyes on them which are filled with innocent curiosity.
However, Tiano has already given up the wish to seek answers because he knows that some things are better off if not asked further.

                                      No explanation, nothing. Nobody asked them about this 'Yuan' ever again.





                                                                                      TO BE CONTINUED...