DANTE
Dante was aware that his son was full of surprises. The little boy said the most unexpected things, words that would jumble one's thoughts and leave one tongue-tied. He had a very unique pattern of thought, that young boy.Today, during their drive back home, the kid had asked a rather innocent question; yet, Dante had no idea how to answer his son. Even as he scanned some documents in his office, the question still floated in his mind, disturbing his peace. Now, he also felt sorry that the boy was in the position to ask that question."Daddy, when will I have a new mommy?" the boy had inquired from Dante.This question was rather different and milder than the intricate questions the little boy normally asked. But Dante would rather answer a million of those than the one thrown at him at that moment. How was he going to tell the little boy that he did not want to remarry? He was not so heartless as to blatantly tell the kid that he was not going to get a new mother.So, he had glanced at his son briefly and focused back on the road ahead before he responded, "El, let me focus on driving."He was fortunate enough that Elon did not prod any further even after they had gotten home. If the kid had given up or had just forgotten, he did not know. But one thing he knew was that he would be cornered with the same question again, sooner or later.As he stacked papers neatly, he decided that that would be a problem to worry about later. But as he strode out of his study, he heard the most heart wrenching scream he had heard in his life, one that felt like a bullet in his heart and sent painful shivers down his spine.That was his son's voice. His Elon had let out that scream filled the darkest of terrors. He did not even realize it when the movement of his strides gained speed and he was sprinting down the hallway.As soon as he reached the flight of stairs, he stopped right in his tracks. The sight before him had rendered him stiff and unable to inhale. Nothing in this world could have prepared him for the gore he was beholding. And his son was right in the middle of it all, looking like every source of life had drained from his body.When Dante managed to croak out a question, it was, "what happened?"With quivering lips, one of the housekeepers responded, "he slipped from the top of the stairs."'From the top of the stairs,' he reasoned to himself. A flight of stairs that had over fifty steps, his son had slipped from there. And that was when a sense of urgency sparked in his head, numbing the waves of shock he was feeling just seconds ago.He lifted his son from the pool of blood and ran as fast as he could out of the door and into his car. Against the steering, his fingers shivered. He had never been that scared in his life, not even when he witnessed his deceased wife at gunpoint. And he, Elon, was the only piece of her he had left.His world would crumble into dust if anything should happen to the boy.He must have violated a thousand speed limits that night, maybe a thousand and one, but they had reached the hospital within a few minutes. And as he watched nurses gather his son, rolling him into the emergency room, he sent a silent prayer to heaven.If God were to any of his prayers, this should be the one to consider.•°•°•His knees were beginning to hurt from pacing to and fro in front of the ward. Nobody had come out to give him any update, and all the staff he had asked all told him the same stupid sentence,"Sir, you need to calm down."But how!? How was he supposed to be calm when it felt like there was only a thin chance that his son would come out of this? The only tinge of hope he had to hold on to was that silly little prayer he made moments ago. And now, he was seriously fighting the urge to burst through those doors to see things for himself.With his sleeve, he wiped the little dots of perspiration that had formed on his forehead; despite the air conditioner on full blast, sweat still broke through his skin.Just when he was about to stop another passerby nurse to bombard with questions, the double doors opened. That expression the doctor's face carried, he did not like it; the man looked downcast, and when Dante's eyes met with his, they held an emotion Dante both hated and feared: pity.And for the first time in a while, Dante felt weak, helpless even. Within him, he hoped that that would be a prank, the way that doctor was looking at him, just like those tv series his wife used to watch."He's alive." the doctor started, and all the air trapped in Dante's lungs escaped with a sigh, it was a little easier for him to breath now."But,"That one word from the doctor siezed Dante's breath again. Buts were never good news; at least, not one that came from a doctor staring at him with utmost pity and concern."He has sustained a series of injuries," the doctor let out a heavy breath. "Contusions, dislocations, and..." the man pursed his lips for a moment, and Dante's heart missed a beat in that moment, too. Then he continued, "he also has an injury to his spinal cord."Dante staggered backwards, his knees had suddenly grown even weaker, so much so that he had to support his weight against the wall. He knew what that meant, even before the doctor said it to him."Your son may never be able to walk again."DANTE[A few days later.]"El, I know you can hear me." He, in fact, did not know that, but he could only hope so. He held on to that tinge of hope with all he had. He could not bear the thought of living without his son. Even though the kid frustrated him sometimes, he was still his favourite person on earth.The boy had only opened his eyes twice since the accident, and he could only smile with his eyes whenever he locked gazes with his father. Even his gaze looked weak, one could tell that his vision was hazy. Dante hated seeing him that way."Please, come out of this for me." He pleaded as a drop of tear escaped his eye. But as he heard the door of the ward swing open, he immediately wiped that tear off. Nobody was allowed to see him cry."Sir." He heard the doctor say as he approached. He decided he was not going to respond, because any attempt to speak would have had him breaking down again, he could not let that happen. Instead, he acknowledged the man with a stiff nod and purse
DANTEHe had taken to having dinner with his son. The dining table was cold without Elon there with him. The boy was recovering beautifully, Dante could tell from the way he freely swallowed the spoonsfull of beans that the nurse was feeding him. A while ago, he would have moaned in pain and spat the food out.He even spoke more often lately, like now, he had faced the nurse with his prickly questions. At first, he had asked, "can I call you Jenny?"Dante thought this quite unusual. Not because his son was a broody, no. But because his son was not one to give out nicknames, not even he had a nickname from his son. When the nurse expressed her approval with a gentle nod and a smile, the kid mirrored her expression and told her, "you look more beautiful when you smile."Another unusual occurrence. Dante could not help but frown. Aside the fact that the boy had made a habit of asking the world's most uncomfortable questions, he also loved to indulge in what he called 'roasting'. Just a
GENESISShe found it strange that the people of this house rarely interacted with one other. Everybody just went about their tasks and only spoke to one another when it was absolutely necessary. There was no sense of togetherness in the household at all.Today in particular, it was even stranger, almost eerie. The silence in the house rang in her head and she could feel goosebumps sprout on her skin. If one looked at her close enough, they would see the hairs on her skin standing upright, that was how strange it felt to be in that house at that moment.She would have asked someone what was going on, but she was sure that nobody would respond to her. Since she arrived, nobody had spared her anything more than a glance, even her greetings had fallen to the floor and gotten trampled on.She did not knock when before she went in Elon's room and she soon realized that that was a huge mistake. A pair of bloodshot eyes had met hers as soon as she stepped foot in the room; that gaze had her ro
DANTEHe thought he was doing better; but, every year, this day would come and plunge him into deep sadness again. That sadness fueled anger and anybody that was not his son faced his wrath, either justly or unjustly. It was for that reason he had created a tradition to spend this day alone with his son every year. Nobody was to be around them.As he watched his sleeping son, he did his best to think of an answer to the question the kid had persisted with before falling asleep."Will I ever get a new mommy?" The boy had kept asking.Dante had dodged it by forcing the boy to gulp a glass of water and making him go to sleep. But he knew that once the boy woke up, he would be faced with the question again.The first time the boy had asked that question, he had fallen down the stairs before he could even get an answer. Now, Dante was not sure how he was going to dodge it this time. Soon enough, the boy began to stir on the bed, a sign that he was about to wake up. Dante held his breath, ra
GENESISIf she had been asked why she was back at that mansion, she would not have been able to give any tangible answer. She had originally decided to stay away from the man and his son in order to keep her sanity, but when she had thought deeper about the child, her heart melted and she was moved to return. But now, it was looking like she should not have let her emotions win. Dante's hard face was the first thing she faced immediately she walked into Elon's room. Again. Only thing was, this time, his eyes were no longer bloodshot and he did not look like he was going to shoot her brains out. He looked indifferent, like he could care less if she was there or not."Good morning, sir." She tried her best to not let her voice crack, struggling to maintain eye contact with him. But all she got was a curt nod before he rose to his full length and exited the room.She breathed. The stillness in the room had gone out with him, and it was now she became aware of the little boy's eyes scanni
DANTEHe still was not sure why he had given that nurse permission to use her traditional methods for his son's treatment. But his hands were tied here. He was not ready to imagine how his son would handle the news of not being able to walk again. The kid liked to run around and indulge in mischievous activities, such news would suck the life out of him and Dante hated the thought of his son living like a shadow of himself. "I feel like she's trustworthy." The voice of his friend dragged him out of his reverie. He blinked, focusing back on his friend, Luke."I mean, not too many nurses will go the extra mile like this. She's literally risking her career to give your son a chance to use his legs again." Luke continued. "Plus, from what you have said, Elon has a special connection with her. I think he's in good hands."Dante sighed, leaning back on his chair. "I just hope whatever she does actually works." "We all do, Dante. Remember, I am here to support any way I can." Luke's assura
GENESISIt had been a month since Elon switched to homeschool. He had even become more lively with Lana — his teacher — around. The lady was a sweetheart and even Genesis liked to chat with her whenever she took a break from Elon's classes. It was like a breath of fresh air having someone to relate to amidst the strangeness of the staff in that house. Lana was packing up now as she was done with the day's work. "You're a smart kid, Elon." She remarked. "Continue like this and you'd be ahead of your peers in no time." "Thank you." Elon smiled. "Alright, let me be on my way. I promised to make my kids burritos for dinner." Lana waved her goodbye and rushed out of the room. Genesis was all smiles when she looked at the boy, but it dropped as soon as she saw that he was looking sullen, lost in thought. "Elon?" She called but did not get any response. "Elon?" She tried again and all she got back was silence. So she poked his arm with her finger and that seemed to do the trick. He wa
GENESISIt was a dream, it just had to be a dream.She was looking at Dante with gaped lips and eyes wide like saucers. Did he realize what he had just said? She would have assumed that he was just joking, but she knew too well that Dante was not one to throw jokes around like that; at least, not with her."Look, I know it sounds strange." Dante started. 'Very strange.' She would have added if she was able to find her voice, but she was still dumbfounded. "But, right now, that is the only way I can think to keep you here." He sighed, his face spelling frustration. "I'll compensate you, I promise. You get to decide the amount.""I... I— marry you? That's—""Take tonight to think of it properly." He intercepted her speech. "For Elon's sake."She could still not make up a proper sentence as he walked out of the kitchen, leaving her to her thoughts. She stood there for a while, weighing her options. Marrying this man meant that her life was going to take a drastic turn, but leaving mean