Our Lies

Chapter 18

"She is my everything, Gia." The lady murmured while watching her daughter playing catch ball with her father not far from where they were sitting. Both her hands were resting on her knees, her legs dangling freely, occasionally touching the grass below them.

Gia nodded sheepishly. His gaze was down at the melting ice cream on his hand.

"Oh, it's melting, Gia! Hurry! Eat it!" The lady produced a napkin from her pocket and quickly wiped his hand.

The boy shook his head slowly. "I will share this with Agata. She likes this."

The lady looked at him and then laughed. She stroked the boy's hair tenderly. "Ooh, you are too kind, Gia. We'll buy her another. This is yours. Just eat it."

"But..." Gia hesitated.

The lady chuckled. She turned to where her daughter was.

"Agata!" She waved her hand. Her daughter heard her and ran to her while hugging the ball. Her father followed closely behind.

"What? I am playing..." Her squeaky voice was mixed with her short breath from running. Her eyes moved to the small paper cup Gia was holding. "Ice cream!" She let the ball in her arms go and stretched her empty hands to Gia.

Gia got off the swing and took her hand. Agata looked confused. "Ice cream."

"You should first wash your hands, Agata." Gia held her little hand and led her to the nearest public washroom.

The two parents watched the children walked away.

"He is a good kid." The man smiled and then added. "Sometimes I couldn't help wondering if... you know, if he was alive..." He shook his head and started pushing his wife's swing slowly.

"He will take good care of Agata, just like Gia, won't he?" The lady continued his sentence. Her eyes were sad, almost teary. She raised her lower legs and the swing propelled forward.

"Dara..."

Dara Dignita continued swinging for a while before she suddenly slowed down and hit the ground with her feet. She stretched her back and looked at her husband. "You remember how I always said I wanted to adopt Gia into our family?"

"What are you thinking now? He has his own family, you know? We can't just..." Alistair eyed his wife suspiciously. He was used to her wild schemes.

"We are not going to adopt him. Instead, let's get them married in the future! I feel reassured if someone like Gia is by our daughter's side and through marriage, he will automatically become our son too. Yes, this is a good idea." Dara nodded to herself.

Her husband shook his head. "What nonsense are you talking about? They are still children, Dara. Agata is FIVE. A KID. She doesn't even know how to form sentences properly yet. And looks who's talking about arranged marriage now when she ran away from one herself?"

Dara clicked her tongue. "Oh, Ali! You are boring. I am joking."

Ali laughed and bent his head down to kiss his wife's cheek. "Don't get me wrong. I love Gia too and will do anything to keep him away from any harm, from his family... if it's even right to call that a family..."

"Did you see the bruises on his back? His upper arms?" Dara sounded like she wanted to cry. "I swear I am going to report that drunkard father of his."

"Don't forget we are wanted ourselves." Her husband reminded her.

"I know. I hate this." She bit her lower lip. There was sadness behind her angry tone.

Ali moved to her front and lowered himself. Their eyes were now on the same level. He took her hands in his and caressed them gently. "Dara, do you miss them? Do you want to go back?"

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She shook her head and threw herself into his arms. "No. I am happy now. I have you and Agata. I love you, Ali."

"I know." Ali stroked her hair and smiled broadly. "As long as you are happy. That's all that matters."

"Mom...?" A childish voice startled them from behind. Agata and Gia were back. Gia looked concerned when he saw Dara's red eyes.

Dara quickly wiped her tears away. "Right. Your ice cream, Gia." She passed the half-melted dessert to the boy. Gia took Agata to a nearby wooden bench and carefully fed her the ice cream. Ali chuckled when he saw that.

"That boy is more sensible than you. I can't wait to see him grow up. He will be a fine man."

Dara smiled warmly at the thought. "He will. I know he will."

***

The pale glow of the moonlight shone through the translucent sheers in the living room. Leo Dignita was sitting with his eyes facing the large glass window, gazing emptily at the masked view behind the curtain. A photo frame was resting above his crossed legs. He carefully moved his fingers across the glass surface and gazed longingly at the figure inside the frame – a young woman in her late teens, smiling triumphantly with a part of her gold medal sandwiched between her bright white teeth. Leo remembered it was when she won the final round of the national tennis competition. One of her many important life events he missed. His eyes were full of grief. Leo got up from his seat and placed the photo frame back under the table lamp by his side. He turned his gaze to his old wrinkled palm and folded his fingers in hard. Watching the living room that was once so bright and full of warmth turning into a cold empty room now. A rush of memories from the past came back to him, making his heart ached again. The memory of his only daughter crying on the floor in this room, her red left cheek... red... from his palm.

You don't understand, Father! I'd rather die than not being with him! His daughter had cried.

In a fit of rage, he had slapped Dara's face too hard. The daughter he had put all his hopes into. His bright and beautiful daughter. His only child he was so proud of. His successor. Leo was livid when he found out she was pregnant with a man he did not know, when she was already engaged to someone else! How could she embarrass him and their family like that? His wife tried to stop him but both father and daughter were too stubborn to forgive and apologize. Leo kicked his daughter out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her body. His wife pleaded to pardon their pregnant daughter but he would have none of it. He was sure his daughter would come back on her own to apologize after realizing she had done wrong. He was sure she would not be able to live without all the privileges she had always had. But Leo Dignita was wrong, because after that day, Dara Dignita never came back, and would never again.