5: IF I MAY BEG YOU

THE MANSION looked unreal right in front of my eyes. It’s massive and furnished like the house of a royalty. I was sure it looked amazing from afar but no words could describe how magnificent it is right in this spot.

It settled at the end of the long road, the lights from the inside glimmered in the middle of the night. Amid the coldness of the evening, the light that surrounded this area somehow gave vibrance—like some sort of warmth.

It didn’t take long before the cars stopped right in front of the double doors of the mansion. I looked around as I was guided by the men to step out of the car. The last car that arrived was the car where the elderly couple settled.

As soon as their car opened, I went near them and landed on my knees. I shivered at the sharp cold that the tiled floor sent onto my skin. The men stood right in front of the house in a guarding stance, they all glanced at me.

I bowed down my head and pushed my eyes close. “My parents need to be rescued at our house. Please.” My voice was a mix of begging and resignation. When I opened my eyes and looked up, I saw the cold stare of the elderly man. Beside him was his wife holding onto his arm.

She looked at his husband and whispered. I tried my best to listen to her words but it was very low.

The old man, despite a few silver hairs showing evidently atop his head, his stance still gives off an aura of strength and solidity. His authority radiates with every movement he makes even more so when he starts to speak.

“You are welcome as a guest in this house. You must know not to make any demands.” he began saying, looking down at me. He did not urge me to get up nor demanded me to look into his eyes. He just stood in front of me, demonstrating his authority and power.

“Thoron—” His wife attempted to say something.

“I know what I am doing, Estelle,” the man responded to his wife.

I listened carefully, anxiously rubbing my fingers against each other. Knowing that I might be asking for too much to even beg for them to rescue my parents even if I already begged for my safety at their residence. But I don’t have any other choice.

“But since your parents were a trusted force of the clan, you shall have permission to be accompanied by the delta team and conduct a rescue operation. Only with a condition.”

“I will adhere to whatever you require of me,” I mumbled. Out of desperation, I would not dare speak anything that might change the old man’s decision. “I will cooperate.”

He nodded, then proceeded to say, “There must be no traces left in your house. The operation must be conducted in silence. And you must be back alive.”

The old man looked around the men in front of him. He nodded at someone and called his name. “Aakil, you will lead the team. Leave right at this moment.”

I felt a pair of gentle hands around my shoulders. Then the gentle voice of the elderly woman enveloped my ears. “You may want to change into comfortable clothes before you leave, dear.”

“I would prefer to head towards our house at this moment, ma’am.”

“Alright.” She nodded and gave me a sad smile. “We are empathizing with your situation.”

The couple then walked towards their house. And several men followed them but just stood in front of the mansion’s double doors.

The other men disappeared. And the man named Aakil that was instructed by the old man earlier just stood beside be. Not talking at all. Somehow he was staring at one of the corners as if waiting for something.

“Should we get moving—”

“The team will arrive in a minute,” he cut me off mid-sentence.

A second after saying that, a truck rushed to the open space right in front of the house. Aakil then started walking towards it. I followed behind him. Each step she makes I have to double mine just so I could keep up with him. He opened the door and waited for me to get inside.

I looked at him, my eyes observing his next move. “Please get in,” he said. Compared to earlier, his words didn’t sound too dull.

“Thank you.” As I sat inside the driver glanced at me and lowered his head like a greeting. I smiled and nodded. When I glanced at the back, I saw 3 more men in the back seat. I thought Aakil would also sit next to me but he didn’t. Instead he closed the door and stood right in front of it.

Minutes passed by and nothing moved. Nothing talked. The men at the back looked at me and then towards themselves. I didn’t dare ask them anything. For all I know, these people are just helping me because they were commanded to do so. They don’t care about me.

I glanced at the digital clock that rests in front of the car. It says 4 am in the morning.

“We have to rush,” said the driver then glanced at the car window—as if wanting to call Aakil from outside. I rolled down the window beside me. Only to see that Aakil had stepped aside and a familiar shiny black car stopped right beside us.

A young man got out of the car, his features imprinted inside my head, and my nerves jolted into anger. I balled my firsts and gripped the seatbelt across my chest.

“The Ravij is here,” Aakil announced and every man inside the car sat straight.

The young man that just arrived walked straight to the car and right of the car where I sat, then he opened the car door and sat inside. “Team Delta in command of Callan Ravij,” his deep sounding voice laced through my ears because he said that as soon as he sat next to me. “Let’s head off.”

“Aye, sir.”

And the car’s tires screeched onto the pavement. With just a few motions on the steering wheel, the car speeds off. My hair flew all over my face and the man right beside me looked over my shoulder.

“I didn’t recognize you earlier,” he said. What a way of saying serious words for someone who would want to initiate a small talk.

“I tried introducing myself,” I spat out. “I did what I had to do. I even begged… What more could I have done?”

Our exchange of words was cold, plain, and a matter of factly. I didn’t dare look at his face. Making sure that it was never okay that he just ignored me earlier presuming I was a beggar—leaving me on the side of the pavement getting pushed by his guards onto the ground.

He didn’t want to apologize in return. His eyes were on the road even if our shoulders occasionally brushed with each other with each force the car makes. I wonder why the driver seemed to drive so fast, as if he was rushing onto something. I looked right ahead, noticing the roads and signage getting familiar each minute that passes.

I could have a whiff of the young man’s musky perfume, a mix of aftershave and fresh sandalwood. Unlike earlier, he didn’t wear his well-tailored suit. Just a plain black long sleeve shirt. His expensive watch clasped his wrist.

“Where to?” The driver looked at me as he asked.

“Ah, yes. Please turn to the right side. The third house that you’ll see after the big acacia tree,” I answered.

The car moved in a sudden halt and my body was pushed forward by the sudden and forceful break—I would have hit my chest onto the car’s dashboard if I wasn’t held in the arms by… Callan Ravij, that’s how he introduced himself earlier. His name sounded so foreign in my ear but somehow it sounded good inside my head..

Still, anger settled inside my heart, despite the gentleness in his hands pressing onto my shoulders to prevent me from hitting my body onto the dashboard.

I gulped. Didn’t react or even say thank you for what he had done. He also said nothing. So I just shrugged my shoulders.

“We have to bring my mother to the hospital. She must still be suffering from a shot onto her stomach—”

"There's a house burning," the driver announced.

I froze in my spot. The burning house was ours!

The men at the backseat immediately opened the car doors. Callan did the same, as he got out of the car he didn’t wait for me. He hid his hands inside his pockets as he scanned the surroundings.

I got out of the car, my feet landed onto the rough pavement that was when I realized that I was still barefoot. "Oh my god! My parents are still inside!"

Callan looked at me and towards my feet. Did I just see a change in his expression? Was that a sign of concern when his gaze towards me softened?

"Please, please... help me," I ran towards the close distance from the car to our house but someone held my wrist preventing me from going.

A few people have gathered in front of the house. Holding a water hose in an attempt to stop the fire. But it was too late because the fire had already spread throughout the house and the smoke that flew in the air was pitch black.

"It's already too late," I looked behind me to see Aakil talking.

“Stay back, men,” Callan’s voice broke the silence inside my head from terror and schock.

“We won’t barge inside your house without your permission.” Not being able to meet his gaze, I just listened to his words... somehow, his voice got softer too. Or maybe it was just me hallucinating.

I looked at our backyard in front of our already burnt house where my mother has always done gardening together with my father. My heart aches for the fact that I won’t be able to relive those moments ever again… My father has already passed away and my mother with him.

It was true… our house was already burnt onto the ground. Only remnants of the wooden bleachers on the front porch were there burning.

My father had died. We were ambushed... My mother got shot. And they got burned along with our house.

"Let's still check please..." my voice quivered and I fell onto my knees on the ground. My shoulders started shaking, my eyes sting from tears, and my hands felt cold as I started crying and shivering.

After everything my parents had endured, do I even deserve to live?