A Tragedy

Malcolm

Twenty years ago, when I was only eight years old, a tragedy happened that I would never forget for as long as I lived.

It was the last day I ever saw my parents alive.

I still remembered how beautiful my mother looked that evening in her red dress while she stood in front of the mirror with my father behind her, his hands resting gently on her waist as she stared at him with nothing but love in her eyes.

Even as a child, I could tell those two loved each other deeply.

They were my role models.

My entire world.

What I did not know then was that it would be the last time I would ever be with them.

My mother suddenly caught my reflection through the mirror and gasped softly.

“Oh,” she exclaimed, immediately gaining my father’s attention as both of them turned to look at me.

“Have you been standing there for long, boy?” my father asked with an amused smile, and I quickly shook my head.

“No, I just came in. The driver said it’s time for us to leave,” I informed them while stepping properly into the room.

My father glanced down at his wristwatch before sighing dramatically.

“Oh dear, we’re already running late.”

That immediately made my mother laugh softly while I shook my head at them.

“We should leave now,” I said, making both of them laugh even more.

I was genuinely excited because for the first time, my parents had finally agreed to let me accompany them to one of those fancy parties they always attended together.

I had practically begged for days.

And with a little help from my mother, my father eventually gave in.

Not long after, we all got into the car while the driver started the engine and pulled out of the estate.

I sat quietly at the back while playing a racing game on my controller as my parents sat close together beside me.

“I heard from your assistant that the refinery is almost completed,” my mother suddenly said while looking at my father proudly.

My father nodded confidently.

“Yes, and since a certain someone finally realized my business idea was actually legitimate, they decided to invest heavily into it.”

That immediately made my mother laugh again.

“Oh, Evelyn never ceases to amuse me,” she said while shaking her head fondly at the mention of my grandmother.

The two of them continued talking while the car drove smoothly through the road, but after a while, the driver suddenly spoke up, panic evident in his voice.

“Sir…”

That instantly got my father’s attention.

“I think something is wrong with the brakes.”

At that age, I did not fully understand what he meant, but the worried expressions that suddenly appeared on both my parents’ faces immediately told me that something was wrong.

“What do you mean?” my father asked quickly while sitting upright. “Can’t you stop the car?”

“Sir, I don’t know what happened,” the driver replied nervously. “I checked the car earlier and everything was perfectly fine.”

As my father immediately reached for his phone, my mother suddenly pulled me closer into her arms protectively, and that was the moment I realized we were in serious trouble.

Fear instantly settled inside my chest.

As a child, I could not fully process what was happening, but I knew enough to understand that everyone around me was panicking.

I slowly began crying while my mother held me tightly against herself.

“It’s okay,” she whispered softly while stroking my hair. “We’re going to be alright.”

Only now did I realize those were the last words I would ever hear from her.

My father was already speaking hurriedly on the phone, probably to the police, when suddenly bright headlights flashed directly toward us.

Everything happened too fast afterward.

Before I could even understand what was happening, my father immediately dropped his phone and wrapped both himself and my mother around me protectively just as the impact happened.

The crash was so violent that my mind could barely process it.

All I remembered afterward was fear.

My heart was beating too fast.

My body hurt.

And my parents’ weight pressed heavily against me.

I tried moving weakly beneath them while tears streamed down my face.

“Mom…”

“Dad…”

I called out softly, my small voice trembling with fear, but neither of them answered me.

Then slowly, just before I lost consciousness completely, the faint sound of sirens echoed in the distance.

I woke up to the faint beeping of a machine while struggling to open my eyes, my entire body feeling heavy and sore as if something painful had happened to me that I could not fully remember yet.

At first, everything around me looked blurry, but slowly my vision became clearer, and that was when I noticed the warmth of a hand holding mine tightly.

A faint sound of crying reached my ears.

When I turned slightly, I discovered it was my grandmother sitting beside the hospital bed.

The moment she noticed I was awake, her eyes widened immediately.

“He’s awake,” she called out quickly, and within seconds nurses and a doctor rushed into the room.

I laid there quietly while they examined me carefully, asking questions I barely had the strength to answer, and after a while the doctor leaned closer to my grandmother and whispered something softly to her, to which she only nodded weakly.

Once they all left the room again, my grandmother slowly turned toward me.

She did not look like the woman I knew.

The poised and confident Evelyn Grayson I had grown up knowing was nowhere to be found.

Instead, the woman sitting before me looked exhausted, broken… almost like a shell of herself.

Still, she forced a smile onto her face before asking softly.

“How do you feel?”

I managed a small smile back at her despite the strange heaviness inside my chest.

“I’m okay,” I replied weakly before the question I had been holding in since waking up finally escaped my lips.

“Where are mom and dad?”

The moment I asked, something flickered across her face.

Pain.

It was almost as if hearing their names reopened a wound she had been desperately trying to hide.

Still smiling, she gently squeezed my hand.

“Your parents are resting in their own ward,” she assured softly. “Once you get better, you’ll be able to see them.”

The moment she said that, relief washed over me instantly.

“Okay,” I murmured while letting out a small sigh.

She leaned closer and kissed my forehead gently.

“Rest now, child,” she whispered. “I love you.”

Not long after, I drifted back to sleep.

But as the days passed, no one took me to see my parents.

At first, I tried being patient, convincing myself that maybe they were badly injured too, but eventually the waiting became unbearable.

Every time I asked the nurses about them, they either changed the subject or told me to focus on recovering first.

It did not make sense.

I was getting better already.

So why wouldn’t they let me see my parents?

Eventually, I reached my limit.

“I’m not eating anything unless you take me to mom and dad,” I threatened one afternoon while tears filled my eyes.

My grandmother, who had been sitting quietly beside me, suddenly went silent.

For a long moment, she simply stared at me.

Then unexpectedly, she began crying.

Confusion immediately crossed my face.

“I’m sorry,” she cried weakly. “I’m so sorry…”

I stared at her without understanding what was happening.

“But they couldn’t be saved.”

The moment those words left her mouth, my entire body went still.

What was she talking about?

She reached for me with trembling hands while tears continued streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” she sobbed painfully. “They… they died during the crash.”

I could not react immediately.

It was almost as if my mind refused to process what she had just said.

“They’re gone,” she repeated again through tears.

And suddenly, something inside me broke.

“No!” I screamed instantly while shaking my head violently. “You’re lying!”

Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face as panic and fear consumed me.

“Bring them back!” I cried while trying to push her away. “Bring back mom and dad!”

But instead of doing that, my grandmother only pulled me into her arms tightly while crying with me.

And no matter how much I screamed or fought her, she still could not tell me what I desperately wanted to hear.

Present

“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath as a sharp headache accompanied the painful memories from years ago.

Sometimes I wondered if I would have completely forgotten my parents’ faces if not for the pictures I still kept of them.

The memories had become blurry over time, but the pain never truly left.

I leaned back slightly against the car seat while shutting my eyes briefly because right now, going to confront my grandmother in this state was probably not the best idea.

If I walked in there with the anger building inside me, I might end up saying something I would regret to the one woman who had practically raised me after my parents died.

No matter what, Evelyn Grayson was still the reason I survived those dark years.

Soon the car slowly came to a stop in front of the massive mansion, the building standing just as grand and intimidating as it always had throughout my childhood.

Before I could even step out properly, the butler hurried over immediately.

“Welcome back, sir,” he greeted respectfully. “Madam is expecting you.”

Of course she was.

I simply nodded before following behind him into the house.

So she already knew I was coming.

That alone only made my suspicion stronger because there was no doubt in my mind anymore that my grandmother had something to do with this ridiculous marriage situation.

The moment I stepped into the living room, I saw her standing there already waiting for me with a calm smile resting on her face.

But I knew Evelyn Grayson too well.

That innocent expression fooled everyone else.

Not me.

The look on her face alone already told me she knew exactly why I had suddenly shown up today.

I stared directly at her before speaking coldly.

“Grandmother,” I said slowly, “do you know anything about my sudden marriage?”