Temptation

Chapter 72

My dad was born in Osaka, Japan, 1968. He was the third born of a low-income family. As the youngest, he had the privilege to go to school while his sibling stayed at home and helped with the business that nearly fed the family's mouth. His parents were hard-working. He always spoke about his father's bravery and his mother's beauty. Unfortunately, when he was only ten years old, a faulty in their apartment caused the building to crash down. He lost everyone he loved that day. He was forced to go live with his aunt as no one else was willing to lounge him.

At sixteen, he finished his schooling. Aunty saw the genius on him. She decided to send him to the United States to start his study. He never talked much about landing in New York, but we could assume it was illegal. People had a strong belief America was a promising land with honey as a waterfall, and the land offers you gold as slippers and diamonds to cover your hair. As an immigrant with no one and a different language, the truth was that it was hell. He suffered a lot before he could finally eat bread on his own. He found his way to eat bread on his own. He slept in front of people's houses, and when it rained, it took cover under the bus stops. He had to steal blankets and food to survive. Once a lady threw a pee bucket on him because he dared to take a nap on her porch.

His first job was cleaning a store, and that was his debut. He managed to get his green card and worked his way to a public college. Two years away from home, he learned Auntie had died from a heart attack. Now, he was truly alone in the world, in a foreign country, only with his knowledge and the sweat of his labor. That was where his rage came from; He worked beyond himself and his capability. People started to notice his intelligence. His brain surpassed college to the point he felt it was holding him back, so he dropped out. He walked on hot sulfur before opportunities showered him. At twenty-three years old, he made himself a millionaire.

It was around that same time he met my mother. He was riding with his friend; she was standing at a bus stop. He saw her smile and completely fell. He stopped the car and crossed the busy street to talk to her. Her beauty explode his heart.

Catalina Paladriano. She emigrated from Columbia at seven with her parents. At eighteen, she left home. She never said why. But rumors had it that her parents kicked out after refusing to get a job. She was an exotic dancer at a club down the street. That would explain the poor connection she had with them. It didn't bother dad that she was a stripper. He was in love, and she... Well, he was already loaded, and she saw him as the perfect opportunity to get the diva life. I wondered how they lasted so long? The answer was simple. He made her one of the best-known designers; she obtained the luxury, diva life she wanted. But did she ever love him? That was a question we could answer ourselves.

Five years later, they married. I didn't think it was ever a happy marriage, even for one day. When I came along, it worsened. As a baby, she detached herself from me. She never held me, breastfed me, or told me she loved me. Growing up, I would hear them argue about that. The reason why she hated me so much? I ruined her body. She never wanted a child. How fucking sick.

My dad tried to hold on to this marriage for so long; he should've let it go. Maybe today, he would've been still alive.

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A week later, I've returned to Trinity. It felt weird and void. I wanted to move back to my old life. But how does one do that after experiencing a nearly death experience? Some, their life perspective changes. Some they convert to Christianity. Did I feel a difference in myself? I had no idea, but my emotions weren't present. I spent my days daydreaming and staring at the hospital window. I couldn't stop thinking about my mother. Was it believable a mother hurt her daughter that much? I wasn't sure. When I explained to my friends the whole story, their mouths reached the ground, and what Agea said stuck with me. "This is some shit drama show." There was no way she did all this of her free will. It was easier to believe we lived in a simulation. Our thoughts and actions were controlled, or someone was writing our lives. Whoever that author was, they were a wildly fucked human being with a sick mind.