Fortitude

41-Farewell

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

Matthew 25:23 AMP
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Taji

"Merry Christmas," Raz joked nervously as she hugged Tanya who in return gathered all the energy she could to tighten the hug. She sniffled out a series of thank yous in response.

When they parted, I was still standing there awkwardly. I wanted to run to her and give her a hug but I was scared that I'd crush her. Tanya had always been my rock, pretty much literally since she was really tall. But as I stood there, taking in how easily she disappeared between the hospital sheets and countless tubes, I just couldn't move.

Terry came up to me and squeezed my shoulders urging me to say hi. I threw my eyes around the room. Alex was completely deflated. Tessa and Terry looked equally disheveled. Raz was trying her level best to hold back her tears. I let out a sigh then walked up to her. I hesitantly reached out to hold her arm but she threw her arms around me instead.

I sat on the bed so that she wouldn't strain as much and hugged her back. The room was awfully quiet. Between the beeping heartbeat monitor and a couple of sniffles, the silence was dreadful. The thought of losing her, however, was echoing rather too loudly in my mind.

"I'm so sorry Taj. I know I should have told you but... but... I'm just so sorry... Please forgive m-"

"Ssshhh. It doesn't really matter." I interrupted with a choked whisper.

She pulled herself away from me to look into my eyes. I'd not seen her that broken for eleven years. But there was this distant look of peace, deep in her eyes. She cupped my face in her frail hands and whispered, "Whatever happens, don't ever forget how loved you are. Everyone in this room loves you Taji. I always have, and always will love you-"

The moment was cut short by the sound of the door opening. I turned around and instinctively rolled my eyes as I let out an exasperated sigh.

"The prodigal son is here."

"Dad!" Terry and Tessa shot back at him.

"What? Doesn't it surprise you? I was assuming that you're in the process of defacing my wine cellar again. We all know how much you loooove the attention you get from your little tantrums,"

"Dad, this isn't the time!" Tanya's weak voice struggled to yell.

"Oh please, you're just defending him because you're his fairy godmother,"

I'd had enough of his childish behaviour.

"You know what. I have had it up to here with you," I began as I walked up to him gesturing at a level in the air.

"Sielewi shida yako inakuanga nini by the way," (I don't get what your problem is by the way) I said as I stood in front of him, not at all intimidated by his towering height and looked straight into his eyes. I would unleash a series of insults. But I was a new man. I closed my eyes then took in a deep breath. When I let it out, I said," Let's talk outside," then left expecting him to follow me.

"Have you ever loved me? Or at least even liked me?" I asked as we stood on the terrace in the cafeteria.

He sighed then said, "Yes. It was Rose's idea to adopt you. She kept insisting that I needed a boy to take after me. So she talked me into it. You were honestly the best thing that had ever happened to her. You were always free spirited and despite how much trouble it got you into, you somehow always seemed to keep everyone happy. Then something changed. Rose started getting really sick and you began getting too rebellious. I focused on her, keeping in mind that it was probably just a phase. Your sisters kept telling me that you were being bullied because of being underweight. When you gained weight, I thought that that was your coping mechanism so I didn't delve into it. Then Rose died. Then you... ah... Anyway, your sisters and I had a long talk about everything a while back when Tanya got the news. So I promised them that I'd try to patch things up with you. So I funded a charity for people with similar situations to yours. I thought that it'd bring us closer... but you seemed offened by the whole idea. So I gave up... Why we even talking about this,"