Morning Call

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This chapter will be more focused on Nate and reveal a little of his back story. I hope you like it!

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“That would be seventy-five cents, please.”

“Seventy… five?” Nate stared at the village lady unbelievingly as he reached into his pocket. As he looked into his wallet, he smiled at the lady guiltily. “I’m afraid…”

“You come from the town?” a little girl who was sitting beside the lady inquired. She stared curiously at Nate’s wallet, as if those dry papers of green were completely foreign to her. “The town is an amazing place.”

“No—I guarantee you, it’s much better here,” Nate smiled as he tapped the girl’s head. He looked to his right, where the morning sun was greeting him for the second time after his two days ago. “In town, you’ll never be able to see the sun this clearly.”

“It’s hard here, young man,” the village lady sighed as she tidied Nate’s bought items into a black plastic bag. “We’re only lucky in the holiday seasons, where people from faraway places like you would come and give this island a try.”

“This place is beautiful,” Nate nodded. “And actually—I work for a local tabloid. I’m here to write about this island. Trust me, I’ll do my best to make people fall in love with your place. And…” He took a two dollars from his wallet and handed it to the mother and daughter. “Please keep the change. Thanks for being so nice to me.”

The small convenience store Nate visited was far from the beach. It was closer to the villages, where the people who lived there were mostly sellers like that lady, or farmers. Dianne was still sleeping peacefully on her bed when Nate left to buy some candles, bread and soaps. He quickly took the bread out of the plastic bag because he was sure those villagers never learned how dangerous it was to put food and chemical products in one place.

As he was walking, he felt a slight buzz from his pocket. He quickly found a quiet spot to take his phone and receive the call.

“Nate?”

That familiar, yet long-missed voice crushed him instantly.

After all this time…

Why did she call him?

“M-Mom...”

He knew he shouldn’t call her that anymore, but the word slipped out of his mouth without much difficulty. It was like habit. It was as if every cell in his system had been trained to view her as a part of him.

Something warm and sorrowful flushed into his heart at the same time.

He missed her.

But he had closed that page of his life for so long, ever since he decided to start over and focus on journalism.

Journalism—his rebound...

“Nate, where are you? I’ve tried to contact you all morning.”

“Mom—I’m sorry… I—I’m not in town. A job trip, I should say. The signal kinda sucks here. What’s up?” He tried to sound relaxed, but he couldn’t. Guilt sank into him as he failed to find any sign of hate in the voice over the line. It was still as gentle and calm as the way it was the last time he met her.

She never blamed him for everything that had happened...

And somehow he just knew, he knew that she still loved him.

“Oh, I hope you’re doing fine, Nathan. I… I’m just calling to let you know that—“

Nate was sure it was happy tears that took over the final words that came out of her mouth.

“She’s awake, Dear. Ella is finally awake… You’ll visit her, won’t you?”

-

*evil grin* So, who's Ella? And what kind of life did Nate leave behind? Stay tuned to this story to find out! 

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