Mafia's Mate

That day

The room blurred, tears stinging my eyes as I confronted the brutal reality

"Dad!!!!" But I didn't want to accept it, "You can't do this!!!!!" I shook him so violently that something moved from under him.

A paper that immediately caught my attention and I stopped for a moment to snatch that out from under him.

It was a square beige color paper, kept by the landline phone in the corner of the lounge, on a thin round table if ever needed in case of writing things. The table was right by Dad's body and I noticed how blood marks were imprinted there. There was a print of a hand sliding downwards, the page box was a mess. He probably fell while trying to pick a paper.

My heart trembled and it suddenly felt cold. With trembling hands, I brought the page up to see what was written on it.

The page had two words only

'I'm sorry,'

Written in blood of his own because he couldn't find a working pen. I noticed the inkless pen next to his body, probably thrown in a fit of rage.

That was enough to break me. Those two words were all it took to destroy my soul. A guttural cry, a primal expression of grief, tore from my chest as the weight of loss crashed over me.

"Dad..." I looked at his lifeless body as I crumpled that page in my hands, "Why..."The room seemed to close in. I had only a few months left before they'd send me abroad where I could go back to being myself. Dad was doing his best to save up the money.

Just a few more months... just a few...

Anguish and disbelief intertwined, creating a tapestry of sorrow that threatened to engulf me. Questions reverberated in my mind, the 'why' echoing like a mournful refrain.

Why does everything we try to do turn out bad? Why is there no end to this all?

The abruptness of his departure left a void, aching and profound, as I grappled with the unyielding reality that life, in all its impermanence, could be extinguished in the blink of an eye.

I bent down with the papers in my hands that I brought next to my chest as I cried out. My mother didn't move, her knees had given out but seeing me bawl made the tears come out of her eyes as well.

It was a dark and gloomy day and all I could hear was wailing. I kept crying and I must have cried for about thirty minutes straight after which my brain lowered the intensity so I wouldn't faint right away.

"Hello?" The sound of a third person made me freeze and go quiet, "I heard crying," The sound of footsteps approaching made me and my mother look towards the kitchen door that led to the yard, "Are you guys okay?" It was a familiar voice but not the one either of us wanted here.

But we had no time to stop him. Or any energy or will at that and a head popped up inside the kitchen.

"Nolan," The moment I saw him, he got worried, but I'm sure the whole situation was horrifying.

"Clio?" He looked at me, then at my mother, "Auntie?" He quickly walked towards her and crouched down, "Oh God," And then let out a gasp when he saw the lifeless body beside her, "What the," He noticed the knife in her hands, "Auntie, did you?" A horrified look took over his face and his eyes went wide.

I sealed my lips shut but the tears wouldn't stop.

"My God," He grabbed Mom's shoulders, "What happened here?" Out of pure instincts, he pulled her into a hug while I remained in my place

"They came to threaten us, to tell us that if we're lying they'd kill." My mother started crying again, "My husband and the intruder got into an argument where Pane argued that he didn't lie, the intruder took out his gun to threaten us more but Pane and he ended up fighting," She lost her senses for a moment and blabbered things, "He shot Pane and then I lost it...." Her breath got caught in her throat and he hiccuped, "They're going to come after my daughter as well."

"What?" Nolan was so utterly confused, "Who's gonna come after who? Daughter?"

He looked at me with suspicious eyes, but that's when he noticed the feet visible through the frame, "Oh No...."

He was completely lost but he did grasp the situation quite fast with the limited info provided to him. He gulped then stood up along with Mom, "It's okay," He thought about the situation, "I have a friend who's a great lawyer," He helped keep my mother on her feet.

"We can get through this." He assured us.

But, words never mean much in situations like these.

Author's note
Man, what's happening in
P a les tin e is breaking me