The Three Marked Guardians

Chapter IV: The Invitation

“Titus!”

“Ouch! Mom?!”

“Oh Titus! You’re having your nightmare. Did I slap you that hard?”

“It’s alright, mom. Thanks for waking me up.”

I smiled while trying to ease the pain from my mom’s display of concern.

“What was it, Titus? Your dream, what is it?”

“I dreamt about what happened last night.”

She hugged me and kept patting my back the way she does when I am attacked by my asthma. It was a nice compensation for the nightmare I had plus the slap she gave me just now.

“Where is Sky, mom?”

She finally let go of me as if an idea just popped in her mind.

“Sky? Oh yeah.”

Something tells me she’s either bothered or hesitant to break the news for me. I felt nervous for a split second.

“Sky’s downstairs.”

Technically, it’s Sky’s third day with us but I wonder why he isn’t here with me when I wake up.

“He’s with sir Orion.”

“Sir Orion?”

“Yup. He seems to like that old man after all.”

Why is he still here? I mean. I assumed he left our house last night. Did he stay with us overnight? Oh well, I guess it’s gonna be another hell of a day.

From the stairs, I could hear Sky barking like one happy dog. I looked for them and there I saw sir Orion and Sky at the living room. Sir Orion’s sitting on the same old chair he sat on when we talked last night. His crane is laid on the glass table while he holds a small book with his right hand and pats Sky’s head at the same time.

“Did you have a great sleep, Titus?”

Sky instantly ran towards me. He was wiggling his tail playfully which tells me he’s delighted to see me.

I picked up Sky and cuddled him like a baby.

“Good morning, sir. How did you know I’m here?”

My question made him put his book down. It was a small book with a wooden-like cover. It doesn’t seem to be my mom’s. He grabbed his crane then stood up and approached me.

“Well boy, some things you can’t explain that easily. And by the way, don’t call me sir. Call me, uncle Orion or whatever you want.”

He patted my head the way he pampered Sky. I was supposed to ask him why he was still here but then my mom announced that breakfast is ready.

My mom seems to like sir Orion so much. He does tell stories about my grandfather which made her feel like they’ve known each other for long. She loves listening to stories about my grandfather and from time to time she would insert that my father got my grandfather’s traits too. While I focus on my bacon, sir Orion said something.

“Do you want to go to my place?”

I wasn’t really paying much attention to what he said. This bacon and the dream distract me now.

“Where is it sir, I mean, uncle Orion?”

Sir Orion brightened up as he was asked about his place. I guess he was waiting for me to ask that question. So he went on.

“My place is not far from here. It will only take a few hours for us to reach my place.”

Now, I am confused.

“Uncle, I thought you’re out of the country? Are we talking about your place here in the Philippines or your place outside the country?”

My questions didn’t seem to bother him. He responded.

“Technically, my place here in the Philippines and my place outside the country is really a few hours away. Big thanks to our airplanes! We can now reach another country in just a few hours much as the places here in our country. I live in Croatia but I also own a house in Turkey, China, Florida and many more. While here in the Philippines, I stay in Aklan. It’s an island down south.”

This guy is filthy rich. And he said he was forced to leave our country with that sum of wealth he has in his pocket? I’m starting to doubt this man now. He is now studying me. He might be reading my mind. He just smiled.

“Wow, uncle Orion. You are the richest man I know.”

“Well, I don’t usually tell people about this. It’s scary you know; when people know you have money and they don’t have, they’ll do anything to get whatever you have. Sad but it happens now. Greed is one of the causes of man’s downfall.”

I nodded to show I agree. He might be mysterious he sure is a street smart kind of guy. He has my father’s resemblance. While I was recalling all the things my father taught me, sir Orion added.

“So, do you like to come with me in my place?”

I thought of it for awhile. I think my mom likes the idea more than I do. Seven years of staying here in our house with just the school, the church and grocery as a place to go, I guess it will do us no harm if we go to uncle Orion’s place.

“You should go, Titus.”

Wait. Did my mom just tell me to go? It sounded like she will not be with us.

“Mom, I won’t go if you won’t go.”

I could see how my mom’s trying to fight back the tears in her eyes. She breathed a long, deep breath and managed to compose herself.

“You should go, my sweet boy. All those seven years of you taking care of me, you deserve a break for that. And besides, I’ll be ok son. Just before I went to your room, I dropped by the attic and there I saw the book which I left hanging for seven years. I pretty much told myself that while you’re out, I’ll make myself busy by finishing that book. I won’t forgive myself if you arrive here without me finishing the book.”

That ended the argument. I hugged her and cried a bit, this time I tried to stop wailing not because uncle Orion’s here but because I want to show my mom that we will both be fine without each other for a while and the idea that I am a sixteen year old adult now makes me want to control myself from wailing. Girls hate big boys who wail I guess. So I turned to my uncle and boldly asked,

“When will we go, uncle Orion?”

He laughed as though he won the jackpot. His face turned red which tells me he is so happy I agreed to his proposal.

“We can go right now if you wish. What do you say?”

“What about my school?”

I looked at uncle Orion then turned to my mom for the answer.

“Your uncle called your school, Titus. The school administration said they will approve of your leave provided you attend make up classes once you return.”

Money is power after all. I smiled and was so excited with what my mom just told me. Although I don’t hate going to school, breaks like this is awesome. All the mystery and speculations seem to fade at the moment. Sky might have heard what we were just talking about. He kept barking and was looking at me the way he looks at me when he wants additional meatballs for meal.

“One more thing uncle: can we take Sky with us?

He paused for a bit like he was seriously considering my request; then answered.

“Titus, we’re traveling via plane and you see they don’t usually like dogs in planes…”

His tone made me sad. With scowled face, I listened to him.

“But definitely, we will take him with us no matter what!”

I’m happy that I can take Sky with me. Mom said it’s alright because he doesn’t wanna be distracted by cleaning Sky’s poops while in the middle of her writing the book anyway.