The Devil's Lure

Chapter 8: Purpose

  Albert stormed out the apartment ignoring Mike's Father.

  Mike just looked at Albert leaving, he didn't stop him. He was afraid that he’d make the situation much worse than before, so he just let him go cool off.

  “Did your friend just leave?” ‘Dad’ looks at Mike’s direction.

  “Uhh, y-yeah. He said he has other things to attend to so he left already.” Mike looked down scratching the back of his neck. He was worried about Albert. He regrets the things he said to him.

  He looks at his dad smiling awkwardly.

  “Wanna come in?” Mike gestured inside.

  His dad glanced at the door where Albert had gone off to then back at Mike. He looked as if he’s got something to say but he sighed instead and took Mike’s invite and walked into the room.

  Both of them got settled in. They’re sitting on Mike’s bed with Mike himself, fidgeting nervously beside his own dad who seemed content on just looking around the room. When he felt his dad’s stare land on him, the jitters amplified.

  “Umm, uh, can I ask you something?” Mike blurted out, realizing a little too late that it has already left his lips so he tries to backtrack.

  “I mean, you don’t have to, y’know, answer if you don’t want to…”

  Mike’s dad just looked amused as he fumbled around his words but then he held up a hand to calm him down and smiled at him.

  “I understand that there are things that you wanted to know. But believe that I never, not even once, stopped searching for you and your Mother. No matter how many years have already passed, I looked everywhere and anywhere just to find you two.”

  He said while staring straight to Mike’s eyes, all earnest and sincere.

  “I-is that so. Still, I can’t help but wonder about how you did it and what happened to you all these years.”

  “Well, I can say the same to you too.”

  The two of them looked at each other before cracking up. His dad recovered first and faced Mike.

  “Son, how have you been?”

  With that, as if a dam broke inside Mike and had him rambling about himself. He gave simplified versions of the bad parts. He tells about his grandfather, the person who took care of him most of the time when his mother is at work. He talks about his school, his passion in photography and others.

  His dad took all of it in stride, nodded and speaks along the parts to show acknowledgement, appreciation and understanding where it needed to. Mike really liked that about him, though he never knew what having a father feels like, he thought that this must be it.

  Then his dad spoke of his adventures around the world, in search for them. He said that he combed high and low, mingled among the high class society, and riffled through nook and corner of cities and towns in every country just to find his son. All the while looking thrilled to have this moment, to share his life to Mike.

  When Mike looked out of his window, he saw the setting sun and became aware that the two of them must have been talking all afternoon. It was already time for dinner.

  “Say, how about I cook for us and we can continue as we eat?”

  “Wow, sure.”

~~~

  By the time they finished eating, it was already getting late. The sun is gone, the moon is starting to rise and the stars are twinkling already in the darkening sky.