𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 ( 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐧𝐞)

𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲- 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 - 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬; 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦; 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.                          
~𝐎𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞~

𝐋𝐮𝐜

The man on the ground groaned.

Moaned in pain. The shrieking whimper of pain disappeared deep into his throat that he wasn't able to let it out, tears he couldn't control slid at the corner of his eyes.

I felt his agony, he wasn't old, perhaps in his early twenties, plenty much like me, but seeing how alone he had accosted the girls meant he was a sacrificial lamb. Whoever that sent him knew he might not survive, or succeed in kidnapping any of us, or maybe they thought the girls were fair game. Whichever it was, I pitied him. It was unfortunate, perhaps unfair, but such is life he had chosen or thrashed into.

"Alessa, Serena, are you okay?" I hear the sounds of our mothers panicking, their feet loudly thudding the ground running toward us, I get out, leaving the man bundled in the middle of the room, his body in a fetal position. I see them running, holding the flounce of their long skirt, barefoot, their shoes long forgotten while the patriarchs stroll casually behind them.

"We are okay." Serena and Alessa say in unison, falling into the women's embrace. Their arms are long, encircling them as if they're small and helpless, ironic, really because Alessa just incapacitated a grown man.

"Oh, we heard you. I thought you would be in danger." this is from my mother, her hands are trembling as she tucks a few strands of hair under Alessa's ear. I can see her trying really hard not to cry, but she loses the strength to hold the tears because suddenly they stream unheaded across her face.

Alessa pulls her into her arms, and I can see my mother's shoulders shaking.

"I'm okay, mom," Alessa says.

"I'm always going to be okay," she adds, gently rubbing our mom's back. She is comforting her, and I wonder whether my mom is more worried about her being in danger at the moment or the fact that she just heard her teenage daughter heartlessly shots up a human being.

No feeling of guilt whatsoever, her tone had been unfeeling, bored.

The patriarchs walk past us to the room, I follow them and so do the others, I notice Alessa has my mom's hand while Serena has her mother's.

I don't know what they feel.

I cannot imagine what it must be like for them to have their children in this life, more so that the said children seem to have a natural knack for it.

"I also would like to know what happened to his lip." uncle Raph says. I shift my head to look at him, and I don't miss the slight amusement in his eyes.

"Please, Raphel. Have some compassion for the boy. He looks so young." aunt Soph says. She is standing between her two children, her face looks wrecked, sad, and so do the faces of the other two women.

The patriarchs don't say much. I guess it was to avoid stressing their wives further.

They have protected them for much of their lives. Even though the women know what their men do for a living, I don't think they would like to know how much cruel these men could be. And we are turning just like them.

"Don't kill him. " uncle Raph says. I imagine it is so we can figure out who sent him.

"Let's go. We are having lunch with father Josè"