Painting Paper Hearts | ✔

Chapter 24- I Want To See My Daughter

"... a man he did not approve of?"

"Your father had a police record for getting caught of vandalizing a subway car, he dropped out of college and that was already a red flag to your grandfather. He was strongly against their relationship to the point that he had to arrange your mother for marriage, though that only added fuel to the fire so Freddy and Carol eloped."

"How about you? Were you against them too?" was all that I managed to say. After all the horrible things I have heard about my grandfather, this didn't surprise me at all. My heart ached for my mother. Her past was tainted by so much pain and suffering; a price she had to pay to be with the person she loved.

"At first, I was against them. She was... so young and foolish but I realized that they need each other. Freddy fills a void in my sister's heart and vice versa. I envied her at the time though," his humdrum tone resonated in the tiny space of the car, leaving me mesmerized at how much the memory of their family's past had had an effect on him.

"At a tender age of seventeen, she already knows what she wants to do. She loves music. She is adored by many and she has a bright future ahead of her. While I... I don't even know. I just followed dad's orders. Take this, learn that, don't do this, don't do that. That's our life—dad dictates, we follow, and Carol was brave enough to break free from that."

Richard was silent for a minute until he let out another sigh. "Anyway, prying the details of the past will not contribute at all. Doing so will not change the present. It only reminds us of how bitter the memory was. It opens wounds that we thought healed over time. Let's hope that your mom will find in her heart to forgive."

"Right," The sincerity in his ocean blue eyes matched the tone of his voice. He sounded like a father preaching to his little girl—a paternal figure that I never had, and to finally see somebody representing that figure left a heartwarming feeling inside me.

The car went to a full stop, thinking that it was due to a stoplight but when the car driver reminded Richard that we arrived at the destination, my brows knitted together the moment I read the name of the building. We were still around downtown, near a busy shopping center.

St. Michael's Hospital.

The first thing that popped to my mind: my grandfather was sick; gravely sick that his death wish was to meet my mom for the last time.

But it wouldn't be that dramatic.

Right?

"Oh, thank you." I acknowledged the driver when he opened the car door for me. I didn't even notice Richard was beside the driver, waiting for me.

There weren't a lot of visitors coming in of the hospital at the moment. There were by standers a few feet away from the entrance, talking casually to their companions with. We entered through an automated glass door and the spacious and clean interior of the hospital was presented before us. The place was a splash of unfamiliar faces doing their own routines. Richard was greeted by two nurses in the front desk as he signed in. Based from their familiarities with each other, he seemed to be a frequent visitor.

"Is my mother still here?" he asked the younger nurse whose eyes matched the radiance of her smile.

"Oh, yeah. As per usual, she insists to stay with Al for the therapy. You should catch her in the therapy room at the Stroke Unit,"

Richard muttered his thanks to the ladies behind the front desk then walked to the elevator. I just followed behind him.

In a matter of five quiet minutes, we reached the floor of where Al was situated. My heart already took over of my hearing senses, filling it with drumming beats that could almost resound in the quiet elevator.