Under the Palm Trees

Continuation of December 21, Thursday

"Hanna! You got the message!" He said, pushing himself away from the dirty-white wall, walking towards me, dedication mirrored in his oceanic iris. I rapidly ran to him and threw myself into his long,  muscled arms. I drew him closer and closer to me, feeling as the distance between our bodies started to withdraw. I unintentionally dropped the red rose and it landed next to our feet. But I didn't care. I only cared about his touch. 

"I missed you..." I whispered into his sturdy chest, not even looking into his eyes; I was afraid that he might thrust me away. 

"Me too..." He said. Now I gazed into his charming navy eyes, under those long black eyelashes, and his perfectly shaped jaw. I loved him. But I wasn't allowed to express my feelings. Not the way I wanted to.  

"I have to talk to you about something important..." He said, pulling away from the hug, so he could face me directly. "I did some research about my dad... I asked mom how he was like when I was little..." he said, looking meaningfully into my eyes. 

"I found, that at the time my mother was pregnant with me, he dated two men, one after another; one of them was  your father..." He said, peeking towards the busy street as if checking if someone was listening to our conversation. 

"My mom said, that it is possible that your dad is not my dad..." I felt an enormous relief for a second, as he said those exact words, music to my ears. 

"That's good, I guess!" I said as I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. I thought about the possibility of being...siblings (which made me scream inside).

"No, but I have an information that will cheer you up. I asked mom if she knew where that guy lived nowadays and she said that he lives in Thailand, in the neighboring village. "He said, a huge, warm smile crossing his face. 

"She said that he is a fisherman and is working with Thai residents..." he said and paused for a minute. He slowly looked at me, hope appeared in his eyes. 

"Would you like to come with me, Hanna?" he asked and I just looked dumbly at him in astonishment. Me going with him to his man-who-might-be-his-father? I, of course, wanted to go! But what about mom? Dad? And Isaac?

"I would be glad to go with you...but I can't...I can't just go and tell dad that 'Hey, I'm going to see my sibling's possible father, ok?'"

"You could tell that too, but he won't let you go...But, you should tell him that you are going on a road trip with your brother." he said "And actually, it is not much of a lie, from a different point of view..." he said, as he looked at me, his eyes waiting for an answer. 

"Okay...but you have to come with me and tell them the story...I am not a good liar..."

"I know that," he said, with a vast smile on his face. 

I quickly picked up the rose from the ground (okay I am a little obsessed with it...but no judging!!!) as we went back to the shop. I found mom paying for the Thai cashier, her hands full of plastic bags. I think she bought food that could feed a whole army...Meanwhile, dad and Isaac watched soccer on the TV. They looked up as I walked in, with Ethan following me. Ethan walked slowly to my parents, telling them the story we agreed on. I went to sit down next to Isaac in a red, comfy-looking armchair. He looked at me like he didn't know who I was.

"Is that OUR brother?" he asked, with a rude voice and an offended look on his face.

"Yes. He's Ethan...hey, we are going on a road trip together, you know, to get to know each other...don't you want to come?" I asked, but deep down I already knew his answer. I also asked not to look suspicious (yeah, clever me).  Man, I knew lying was a hard sport, but I didn't think it was THIS hard!!