Problems of an Invisible Girl

Chapter 38

When they went back to the room, Serena was deeply touched by the scene in front of her.
Jack was lying fast asleep on the bed and Caroline was gently stroking his once again visible face as if she wanted to confirm that what her eyes were saying was the truth.

For the first time in years, she was able to see the face of the man she loved and it was obvious that it was a bitter-sweet moment for her.
She was ecstatic that she could finally see the features of the man who was always by her side, but she was terrified by the fact that she almost lost him.

Serena felt like she was intruding on a private moment, one filled with tenderness and worry.
Turning around to leave the room again, she could hear Nat clearing his throat loudly.

"Caroline, I am sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk," Nat said trying to be as considerate as possible.
He wasn't an inconsiderate person, he just thought that they had no time to lose by giving in to their emotions, they had to act fast if they wanted to survive.
There was no telling when the bad guys would find them and if that happened he had no idea what they would do, defenseless as they were.

"Not at all, my dear boy. I am sorry for not being more reasonable. We do have to figure out what to do next, I understand." Caroline said wiping away a tear that was trailing down her face.
"I'll go get Rina," Serena said.

She could have just yelled Rina's name, and she would have heard her, but feeling uncomfortable with the emotional Caroline she wanted to step back and do something practical.

"Rina?" Serena said knocking on the bathroom door.
Since there was no response from within, Serena got a bit worried.
"Rina, are you okay?" She asked.
"I am fine," Rina replied.
It was obvious from the tone of her voice that she was anything but okay.
However, Serena decided it would be better not to comment on the fact.

"We need to talk about the next step. Nat had an idea and I think you might actually like it." Serena said.
She tried to sound as encouraging as she could because she could sense that her sister needed it.
"I am coming," Rina said.
Before she went back to join the others, Serena could hear sniffling coming from the bathroom, and she wished more than anything that her sister trusted her enough to let her comfort her.

When Rina came out of the bathroom, her eyes were red and swollen but no one said anything which helped her relax a bit.
"How's Jack... I mean, dad?" She asked.
"He'll be just fine. He is just resting for a bit." Caroline said.

It felt so good for her to see her daughters together in the same room that it turned her into emotional mush but knowing that she had to keep her emotions at bay she cleared her throat and prepared herself to be a rational human being and not an irrational mother, or an oversensitive wife.

"So what's up?" Rina asked.
"Nat and I were talking... I wasn't sure if I remembered correctly, but don't you have a great-grandmother who lives off the grid." Serena asked.
"Zizi," Rina said with a huge smile on her face.

She hadn't seen Zizi for such a long time but still, she remained her most favorite person in the world.
Suddenly, her smile turned sour.
"I... I am not even sure if she is alive... I haven't heard from her in such a long time." Rina said.

Caroline came towards Rina and wrapped her in a firm embrace.
"I think that she is probably alive and well. If not, you would have known.
You would have felt it.
All these years, I would've gone crazy but for the fact that I knew that you two were alive, out there somewhere." Caroline said.

"Do you know where exactly her house is?" Nat asked.
He was subtly trying to get them back to the point because he felt they were running out of time.
The bad guys weren't far behind.
After all, there weren't many nearby places they could have gone to and they probably knew that.
The fact that he slashed their tires while he was waiting for the others wouldn't slow them down that much. They needed to move and it would be good to know where they were going.

"Yes, yes I am pretty sure I do. I had been looking at some postcards she had sent me before we lost contact so much over the years when I felt bad that I have them memorized." Rina said.
"Are you absolutely certain? Wouldn't she have had to send them from another place since she was off the grid?" Nat asked.
He didn't want to make Rina sad or angry, but they needed to be sure that they were well-prepared before they set off.

"Yes, yes, I am sure. She sent them from the closest town she could find but in a letter, she sent me that one time, she drew a map that showed exactly where she was if I ever wanted to visit.
She wasn't running away from anyone, she simply wanted some peace and quiet, so she didn't really hide its location but I still think no one except me knows the exact place where it is.
I asked mom, I mean my adoptive mother to go, but she never allowed me." Rina said.

Nat could see a dark cloud rolling in, but he had to act fast before she got lost in the past.
"Can you draw me the map?" He asked.

Caroline was watching the exchange with curiosity.
Nat was such a young boy, and yet he took charge of the situation and did what had to be done.
If she had to guess, she would have said he had a very difficult childhood.
Nevertheless, she was glad that Serena had him in her life, at least she was not all alone in the cruel world of the adoption system.

"I wish I had known the situation was that bad. I would have come for her, for them." Caroline thought.
It pained her to know that Rina only had a short period of happiness while her adoptive father was alive and that after that she was treated so poorly.
Maybe she didn't even remember those moments of happiness after all the moments of sadness that Caroline could see in her eyes.

The moment Nat asked her to draw a map she picked up a paper and a pen to do so, and then she remembered that she wasn't the best of drawers.
"Okay but don't laugh at the drawing." She said.
"Trust me that's the last thing on my mind." He said.

When she showed him the final product he couldn't help but chuckle at what stood before him.
That must have been the worst map he had ever seen in his entire life.
"You promised." She said hitting him lightly on the chest.
"I am sorry this is just so awful." He said.
He raised the drawing for everyone to see and a burst of loud laughter was heard moments later.

Serena wasn't sure if it was a peal of hysteric laughter or not but knew that it was just what they needed after so many tense moments they had in such a short time.
Even Jack, newly awoken and refreshed, couldn't hold in his laughter.
"Ouch, laughing hurts." He said clutching his wound but still smiling a huge grin of mirth.

Although he was smiling that brought them back to reality and soon enough their laughter died out.
After catching up Jack on the plan they packed up a few things they did have and headed towards what they hoped was a haven.
Although Rina was terrible at drawing, Nat had all the important landmarks to get them where they needed to go but before any of that, they had to change cars.

No one asked any questions when Nat pulled up in a different car, and they sped off as far away from their pursuers as they could get.