'Another flawless presentation, Mr. Oaks. We wouldn't have expected anything less from you.' The chairman's adenoidal voice breaks the silence.
I have always disliked him. There's an air of double-dealing and deceit hanging over his words. He would constantly praise my father's abilities during his fancy dinners, yet his face had betrayed his hollow actions every time. We started as poor and we will forever be tainted by our inferiority.
Today's meeting is held in the old Library, a sign of power and fatuous attachment to our history. The room oversees the whole campus and it looks more of a vault rather than a boardroom. The glass wall that encircles us, seems too fragile to protect all the leaders of the state gathered in the same place. Still, I know better than all, the invisible shield is nothing more than a honeycomb mesh of trillions of nanites, programmed to emulate the strongest material on the planet. Nothing comes in or out, other than air.
Everyone suddenly stands up and starts clapping. I bow my head in appreciation, showing them a false grin while I swallow the bitter taste in my mouth. They've been my heroes once and now they are nothing more than phonies. Dad's face brightens proudly as our eyes meet for an instant. Jonathan Oaks is the head of the Nanotechnology Department and the very first one to upgrade the nanites. He truly deserves to be seated at the big table. He may have not been much of a father, but I know everything he did was for both our sake.
Hands are being shaken and more words of praise and encouragement are being uttered. Some pat me on my back and jokingly proclaim that soon I'm about to take my father's seat. Snakes. They are all snakes. These are the exact thoughts that fill my mind during the whole charade. I play my part and I do it well. I smile at their bad jokes and nod when I should say no. For my entire life, I played this game blind-folded and naive. It was only since recently that I've started to see past their intentions.
'Good luck at the championship!' One of them cheers from the crowd, the only substantial words that have been spoken today.
Navion has always played an important role in the development of our city. Not only it showed the true capabilities of our latest software, but it also offered a fair chance to everyone, even the poor ones. The Navion players have never been selected due to their rank, but rather purely to their talent. That's what it makes it so popular to the masses.
'Our team has suffered a great deal since some of the players have just left us, but have no fear, we'll come back stronger than before!' I assure them confident in our victory.
I'm more determined to win than ever and show everyone that victory does not mean having one or two brilliant players. It requires commitment, teamwork, and assiduous effort. Roone and his friends have been nothing but arrogant the whole time.
'Go, Captain!' They give me a standing ovation at the end of my speech, some of them even raising their fists in the official Navion salute.
I mirror their gesture, thankful to see a few are so passionate about it. Then, my thoughts are flying to the most recent discoveries and my good mood suddenly becomes joyless. Do all of them know the truth? Does that mean dad knew all this time?
Soon, everyone leaves the room and I am left alone with my father. We follow the rest of them in the chilly corridor, their voices resumed to loud echoes down the spiral staircase.
'You did a great job, son. I am proud of you.' He stops me outside the door, and he addresses me in a somehow more affectionate voice.
'Thanks, dad!' I reply and clap him on the shoulder. I know he means good.
We stay silent for half a second, looking at each other like two strangers. I am certain there are many words that will never be said to each other, for we never had a close relationship. He is my father by name and that concludes all. Only if he and I were more alike, maybe, things would have taken a different turn. We start descending, one step at a time as the stained-glass windows throw colorful prisms at our feet. The images are abstract, yet here and there a portrait of a forefather, with a halo around his head, seems to appear at times that he is becoming one with the sun.
'Hey, dad...' I gather my courage to ask the question that's been keeping me up at night. 'What happened to mum?'
He doesn't stop or show any discomfort. There was a slight twitch in his jaw, but it happened so fast, I could have very well imagined it. Since that incident, more than twelve years ago, not once has he mentioned her to me or anyone else. How can one be so cold and oblivious to the disappearance of his lifetime partner, I wonder?
After a long pause, he finally replies, but not before inhaling a deep, long breath of air.
'I don't know.' He says, his cheekbone twitching, for real this time.
I must have struck a nerve.
'How is that even possible?' I push it further not at all pleased with his response.
This time he stops a few steps below, his back turned on me.
'I've always thought she had left because she was too ashamed of what she had done.'
'And all this time, weren't you just the slightest bit curious as to what had happened to her?' My voice thunders in the olden turret while my heart races with every passing second. waiting for his reply.
I refuse to believe he's like everyone else.
'No.' He says flatly and continues his journey down the stairs.
I stay behind, speechless, and heavy-hearted for being part of such a dysfunctional family. A cold-blooded mother and an indifferent father, the perfect picture of the worst possible parents in history. I cannot help myself but grin bitterly at my childhood retrospection. I have been tortured and left for days inside a box with nothing else but scraps to eat in the darkness.
'It's for your own good. You'll learn to live unnoticed.' She said before leaving me alone. The last words before she'd gone missing. Is it possible that, in her twisted mind, she meant good? Was she trying to teach me how to conform to social norms? I start moving, my head in a complete fog. Now that I know the truth, it all starts to make sense. Maybe her disappearance had been camouflaged, just like Susan's. I shrug my shoulders thinking that what's done cannot be undone. At least, I don't hate her, not anymore. She will always be the woman who gave birth to me and her ill actions have led to the best thing that happened to my life. I would have never met Nerissa if it wasn't for her.
Outside, the heavy clouds have finally given in and are rapidly shaking off the raindrops to the ground. Infinite pearls are hailing down so quickly they look like iridescent rosaries. Soon, the whole campus is covered in a delicate film, which, under the weight of the rainfall, dances ceaselessly. I step distracted into the downpour, my heart burdened with what-ifs. A hefty feeling of regret has fallen over my shoulders and I almost missed the jumble of shadows running towards me. I squint my eyes to put a face on the mess that's getting closer so fast, and I completely forget about myself and my sorrows.
Worried something bad might have happened, I stop her immediately. She looks me in the eyes for a quick second, only to move her glance somewhere behind us, an instant later. Terrified, Nerissa quickly scans the background and jerks her hand violently. Her beautiful face is covered with wet strands of hair, still, her eyes are wide open in horror. Everything happens so fast the moments blend into each other, and I watch her speechless as she passes me a piece of paper scribbled on with an unknown address. Unable to move or say a word, I let her leave with my promise that I'll see her tonight. The shadow of her fades in the distance and I'm still standing paralyzed on the same path long after she'd gone.
Seconds turn into minutes and minutes into hours. It's like I am in a trance and I can't tell when the rain stopped or the clouds vanished. The sky is clear now, but even so, it's speckled with golden stars foretelling that the night is near. Not wasting any more time, I take the paper out of my pocket and read the address again. I have a vague idea where it might be, however, that ghost part of the town is somewhere no one ought to venture. It holds the seeds of the scariest legends in which none of them has a happy ending. It's too much history there, the bad kind.
I hurry up without giving another thought. Nerissa is waiting for me there, alone and scared. I leave the city behind and follow the tracks into the unknown. It's already past curfew, but to my luck, the guards are not bothered to patrol this far. The moon shines bright guiding my steps forward and, in no time, I am standing confused in front of a freight terminal, huge enough to cover a dozen houses. I take a deep breath before going in, leaving the celestial rays behind. I'll have to rely on my own senses from now on. It takes some time until my eyes adjust to the darkness and I flinch when my hands meet the cold metal of a wagon. I move forward letting my fingers slide over the rough material all the time. By the time I reach the engine, I have already adapted to the blackness. To my surprise, I can still see the moon watching from above and I find myself moving with ease between coaches and up the ladder.
Just on time, a bright square suddenly materializes somewhere near the roof, and I immediately recognize her silhouette. She peeks reserved over the tracks and it's only a matter of seconds until her face brightens up at my sight. I hasten the pace and climb faster all the way up to the attic, letting the door hit the floor behind me. Nerissa jumps to my neck and buries her face in the hollow of my collarbone.
'I'm so happy you made it.' Her words are muffled, still, the excitement in her voice tingles my skin.
I take her face in my hands and let myself get lost in her gaze. I don't care about anything anymore. She's safe and that's all that matters.
'Nat...,' she shifts looking uncomfortable, and I instantly let go of her. My heart pains, but not as much as when she keeps me in the dark.
'I have so many questions to ask, but I don't know where to start.' I change the subject and move further inside the loft.
It's more spacious than I thought it will be, with wide-open areas and industrial design. At a first glance, I believe everything inside it are the originals, dating back to centuries ago. Hardwood floors, faded by the passing time, yet the wood and technique used for installation is nothing I have ever seen before. Everything is kept to a minimum and even the rare pieces of furniture, scattered here and there, are something out of this world. It doesn't look like someone is living in here and I wonder how Nerissa happen to find out about this place.
I stare in her direction, only to find her in the same spot, deep in her thoughts. I take a few steps towards her, but she cuts me off right away.
'Look, Nat. I want you to listen to me very carefully and with an open mind, 'kay?'
She means business. I show her an amused look, yet I know better than anyone she's serious. I nod in approval.
'You have to trust me and not ask any questions.' She continues, then pauses.
Yeah, like it's so easy. I'm dying inside to know what is happening. I nod, again. She runs her fingers through her hair and inhales deeply. Alright, this is bad.
'I need your dad's gun.'
...
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