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Paperface is finally reunited with his family and experiences the beautiful meaning of. LIFE

Paperface chapter 12= L> LIFE

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Paperface's father came to pick him up at the hostel. His sister of course remained behind.

His father was quiet. And they drove off somewhere, perhaps to spend some quality time together; some father and son time.
But as it turned out, it seemed Zayn had planned something really unexpected and expensive for his long lost son who has finally returned home.


Paperface took a drive with his father, and they were on their way back to the house, because his mother wanted everyone sitting at the table.

She had prepared something for the entire family and had invited the Shi Clan as well, despite them being arch enemies, and their two foreign friends who came all the way from South Africa to spend time with them and finally meet William and Julian. Their names were Anya and Una.


Before they drove home, he and his father first met with a man at a restaurant. The man had a brief case and two other leather bags, all black. He had walked a very peculiar way, the man.

Then Paperface and his father got into the man's car. He didn't say one word as they got in and just drove.

When they finally reached their destination.

He dropped them off an unknown location. He went in with his brief case and bags with both Paperface and Zayn following behind him, then made their way to a table.
The man then placed the brief cases and bags alongside the table and left.


He was gone.


Suddenly, another man walked in just after what seemed to be his driver or chauffeur had left, and he looked very mysterious. Wearing what appeared to be a light brown wig, perhaps to hide his identity. He wore a white suit and red shoes.

He waited a bit at the table before saying anything to either of them and when he finally did, he said,'I am not the man you're looking for, you should speak to a man called Hector Barsil. Perhaps he might help you locate Jo anna."


"So you're telling me we travelled all this way for nothing?' Zayn asked, furiously.



Paperface just stood there not knowing what the conversation was about.


Then the man reached for his phone, answered it and spoke to what seemed to be the person he was working for. All Zayn and Paperface could make out of the conversation was that the man had said Zayn's son and the boy were to be the price to be paid for the fisherman's debt.


After the man had spoken to this unknown benefactor of his, he smiled at them and somehow, Zayn discovered that it was a set up. Zayn got real angry and immediately walked toward the man in anger, the man begged for his life but Zayn pretended not to hear a thing, instead...took out a swiss army knife as he held him down and tore his throat apart, soon afterwards he left along with his son.

Zayn picked up the man's phone. The man who he had just killed, wiping the rest of the man's spilt blood from his face.
He dailed the first number, and a man answered.


"How dare you call me?' The man seemed upset.


'He's dead. I killed him. I'm coming for you', Zayn said, determined.



"Oh...and what makes you so sure of that when I have my snipers already pointing their guns at you? Look to your left', the man said, laughing.



Zayn seemed upset as he stared at the red dots, pointed at his entire body.


'Kill me if you want to, but just leave my son out of this', Zayn said, frustrated.


The man sighed over the phone as he said', Ah...Zayn...you don't know me at all, if I wanted you to be dead so badly I'd have my driver do it."



'Then what do you want', zayn asked, curiously.


'My friend, I'm a simple man. I see much potential in you and your family, so let's call this...you and I being even', the man said, confidently.



The men were then all gone from the rooftops and Zayn felt a certain relief as he sighed when closing his eyes.


They made their way out meeting with the driver who escorted them in and he opened the door for them, driving them back to their car. He then left in a hurry leaving behind a package for Zayn.

Zayn opened the package and discovered a cell phone with one number on it, there was a note that read: '"Dial Me"


And so he did and a lady picked up.


Zayn dialled the number looking very distraught when staring vaguely at his son.

The phone rang...


"I've been awaiting your call, what took you so long?' She asked.



"Who are you? And what do you want with my son and Julian?" Zayn asked, furious.


'I am Bethromey Hill, yes...Ishmael's younger sister. I'm just collecting what is owed to me', she said.



"Well you can't have my son! I'll kill all of you', Zayn said, determined.


"Listen...if you don't give me what I want now, I'm afraid you're going to lose much more than a son', Bethromey said, confidently.



'I'll take my chances', Zayn said.



She didn't say much after that, and said only: "Good Luck" before she hung up.



Zayn seemed distracted, as he got into the car. They drove to a nearby ATM and Zayn got out. Whilst withdrawing some money, Paperface asked who Julian was, and Zayn, although distracted answered his son, saying that Julian was his cousin.


They then went back to the car and drove off to a restaurant because he spoke directly to the owner in person(although in private), perhaps belonging to a close friend of his and right at the entrance, they saw the man who had dropped them off behind their car -his back to me- on his cell phone. They then noticed a cop approaching him, so they watched as he hastily got out of the restaurant and made his way around to the front onto the side walk hugging his luggage. He ran for it. At that moment Zayn walked toward the man's car, broke the window and discovered a briefcase and hadn't hesitated to take it at all. When the man was far enough, Zayn had the man in his sight and opened his briefcase to reveal a sniper rifle. He put it together and
aimed it at the cop, then shot him. The man looked in his direction and mouthed the words, "thank you."
Zayn then bolted. By then, it was dark time.

The man later came by and took it. Zayn asked him why the cops were after him and he said because he worked for Bethromey, the cop who worked for the fisherman was sent to eliminate because he carried something important that he had to deliver to her personally. It was clear that the fisherman owned the police.


Zayn then forcibly took the box from the man, and the man warned him not to interfere when it came to Bethromey and her brother. However, Zayn did not care what the man had to say; he didn't fear.

They then left and headed home. And on their way, Zayn didn't even seem terrified of being caught. But something about the cops
was menacing. What did it all mean?


Whilst they drove to fetch Julian, Zayn opened the box only to discover a pair of earrings and a necklace.

It didn't make sense at all.

Who would put their life on the line for a pair of earrings and a necklace?

Then they arrived at a place in California, where Zayn and his wife had the luxury of renting a room in a glorious 4-bedroom house. The open plan living & dining room had a beautiful large dining table, it had that clean rustic look, almost a century year old made out of trestle salvaged wood, it seemed Zayn took much pride in owning this extension dining table that seats about 10-12 people and it was the hub of the
shared tenant home. It was where Zayn came when he was really upset. He then put on some classical music and just poured himself some white wine. It was where long after dinner he and Eloise would come to share the odd glasses of wine or two and put the world to right. It was also where they went when killing people; he told Paperface they didn't like killing in their family home.

He then made Paperface a delicious cup of coffee, then caught up on his emails with Eloise and men who had hired him to do their dirty work, he seemed comfortable showing Paperface all that he did because he trusted him; after all he was his son.


He then received an email from Eloise asking him when they'd be home and he replied by saying he had something that belonged to her aunt. She quickly replied and said it was a USB, he just have to put it all together, and he said he rather prefer they do it together. She then replied with a single 'I LOVE YOU" and asked if her son was comfortable and replied saying yes. She reminded him that she already had sent Mariah to fetch Julian, so he needn't not worry about fetching him, and said she rather preferred he spend time with his son before she's serve them dinner.




Zayn then showed his son all the photos they had taken together, and not long after that, as Paperface still smiled at the memories he was never part of, a certain sadness silenced him and he once again sat as if he were a stranger to all around him.

They sat on the sofa, bowls in their hands, shoveling in food whilst occupied with something else {insert Instagram/ TV/
Magazine/Cookbook}. It was only them; father and son.

It seemed they had pretended that they were actually sitting on a balcony in a warm,
exotic holiday location. They both sat there watching cartoons and both enjoying a bowl of Chinese takeaway (!) over the coffee table. And in front of the television was always a happy place for them to sit and chat about almost anything.

Eloise didn’t cook anything that she wasn’t
obligated to cook until Paperface arrived, till she found out that her long lost son, William was alive, and then the first thing she wanted to make was pickled garlic! She was a woman who loved eating, had no interest in cooking and would have embraced the idea of grazing if she
hadn’t felt duty-bound to put three courses on the table every day at exactly 6 p.m now that her son had returned.
When Zayn and his son William(Paperface) was done they got ready to leave, then Zayn locked up left the key under the mat and soon as they were headed for the car, Eloise phoned asking when they would be home for dinner.


He then phoned his best friend Malik and asked him what he was having for dinner, and Malik said it was something he often made for dinner: salad. Zayn’s response: “You’re so lucky you married a woman who thinks salad is dinner!”

Malik probably laughed when he heard that and soon afterwards Zayn invited him and his wife Angela for dinner.


He probably knew that it would all start with the meat balls and her unorthodox mix of ingredients. At least she had an idea to make ground-turkey meat balls and to use them in a chick pea stew.

But would eventually perhaps even run out of time, which was also how she inadvertently
did something brilliant: she poached the meat balls and,by accident, kept them moist and light.
Ground turkey and chicken �" you can use either one that's what Zayn's sister taught her �"because Zayn knew his sister was an excellent cook that's why he suggested to his wife in asking his sister for help and so thus she did;


Paperface must've thought that he was fortunate and lucky enough to have parents who enforced the act of eating at the dinner table. He never had such opportunity before, and it never felt so pleasant and relaxing, where at times he might've thought his life had felt like punishment, but reuniting with his family made him feel rather good, that it was time they all enjoyed and bonded as a family on such a beautiful day, certainly something that they'd still be telling stories about.






Paperface and his arrived.


Eloise seemed relieved.



She then took the liberty of directing all of her children and her guests in order. Zayn insisted that he'll help her in the kitchen, at first she didn't seem too happy because his sister already assisted her with nearly everything that happened in the kitchen, yet he insisted and she eventually gave in and agreed that he could only help her serve their guests and not add any ingredients to anything at all, so whilst they were busy their guests sat there; Malik and his wife Angela were there, so were the Shi Clan, although they must've felt like not being there at all and so they brought along the partners and friends of their children.

As they were all seated, conversations and introductions were man, then an old man walked into the dining room with a young man, probably aged 17-18.

Suddenly there were a silence.

The young man had this brown curly hair and icy blue eyes. He looked a bit taller than Paperface; slightly. He was the type who was very silent. He seemed a mystery to all who sat at the table, and his short brown bushy hair covered his face, that seemed hard to make out. But he had an oval shaped face and his eyes were actually a bit bigger than it seemed. His body appeared to have been in great form, as if he had spent time in the gym or supposedly just healthy. Perhaps because he seemed to be very tall. It seemed as if he had a freckles on his forehead. He however remained a mystery.

All of them just stared at them, then the old departed from the young man.

Eloise then gave him a seat and said,' Julian, don't look so insecure, we're all family. You've nothing to fear."

The conversations they had around their dinner
table were as different as black and white. Paperface's mother seemed determined to have this dinner be a success, her husband's friend and his wife were both medical transcriptionists and spent their days typing out all sorts of medical procedures. Anything from resetting a broken bone to the removal of organs. So basically half of the conversations were about those kinds of stuff, but they still found their stories fascinating �" plus it made watching ER and Grey's Anatomy far more fun!


It seemed they had communicated rather well.

On the other hand, Eve and her friend spoke about her brother and father who were avid
guitar players that's why their house was always full of music. But her friend seemed distracted, as if she didn't want to speak about her own family, instead wanting to know more about Eve's brother Paperface(William).

The Shi Clan spoke in their own language, so it was hard for anyone to predict what they actually spoke about, but Zayn understood very well. So it would be rather unwise of them to speak ill of Zayn and his family at their dinner table, and that in their home.



It seemed so wonderful.


And it was clear that Eloise seemed unaccustomed to it all.

In her own eyes it perhaps had seemed that the dinner table was where their hectic lives came
together for a few fleeting moments between
meetings, work and sports practices and it would become one of the greatest habits she ever learned, or so she presumed it be. The act of
coming together at a table was as if it were something special, unless of course it was that Saturday morning when she was 8 when she and her older sister Jo anna once refused to eat their aunt Bethromey's fried eggs and was told they could only be excused when they were gone. Being the stubborn girls that they were (and still in some way appear to be), they sat there until the nightly meal. Perhaps feeling as though they had won and it wouldn't be until moments later that they finally learned that they experienced the terror their aunt had bestowed unto them, and were forcibly taught to appreciate her egg cooked in that manner. Or else they'd suffer severely.



She certainly made them pay each time for their misbehaviour.



It was time...dinner began, and the food was ready. Eloise and her sister-in-law took the liberty of serving their guests and family with a superb dish of dinner.

His mother seemed excited and happy.

There they were: hungry, waiting anxiously at his mother's dinner table for a plate of lasagne and meat balls made specifically by his mother. She was their host, and a very distinct and unorthodox one, who were very precise as to how she wanted to serve everyone at the table, although excluding one person, explaining that she needed to add more cheese to that particular portion.

The reaction on Zayn's face as his wife had either in his own mind forget to serve him or she wanted to make it extra special for him.


Some of her guests ate immediately when they were served food. Especially since they never attended a dinner party where Eloise were the host. They probably thought that since it was hot, they hadn't want their meal to go cold because they tried to be polite, at the same time it was amazingly delicious.
Eloise perhaps didn't want her guests to wait on her signal; at the same time, it also made her anxious when people waited for her to be served at dinner, she wanted everything to go as planned.


It was all for the reunion of her family, and the return of her long lost son, William Krause.



When Eloise sat down at the dinner table, all of them stopped eating and suddenly her South African friend Una insisted that she would like everyone to close their eyes for a prayer and bow their heads, and together Eloise's family and guests recited the dinner prayer. “God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. Amen.” Some of them did not know the prayer, and those who were familiar with it, did not remember being taught this particular prayer, especially Paperface who did not at all know, nor remember the right words.

It was unfortunate how William had missed out on so many things in life.

Nightly, he bowed his head and recited with confidence and confusion, “Goddace grace,
Goddace goo, lettuce thanken forrar foon. Amen.”

They then ate dinner in a kitchen with blue and white linoleum floors. Zayn, his father picked out the patterns when his parents first bought their house, or so he was told by his sister. Perhaps he liked it for the UK colours. His mother brought up the conversation that at first they had this table that was an eight-sided phenomenon that was attached to the wall on two sides and supported by a single pole in the center. Each person had an assigned seat.

She said his father sat next to the wall on which the telephone hung. If it rang during dinner, he answered with a resounding
“Yes’,”�"never a hello�"and asked whoever was on the other line to please call back later, because they were eating. His sister then continued saying that she sat next to him and next to me sat their brother Mariah.

Their mother’s seat, by the other wall, was considered to be the worst because from it there was no clear view of the fourteen-inch television that sat on their table; unfortunately they felt there was no need for a television whilst they were eating.


It seemed his family has always eaten dinner with the television on. That being because they never bothered to go through such extreme measures to set up dinner tables and be hosts to guests they had invited.
On the nights when Zayn was home, the whole
family would eat together, they'd watch the news.


They probably turned to NBC and perhaps watched Tom Brokaw. They however understood a lot about politics and world events, and at times were left with too many unanswered questions, this led them to have such a big problem with the world and who deemed themselves in control of it. From his, he would've learnt how the stock market works and the difference between Republicans and Democrats. But Sebastian Ross had taught him most of the things he knew, Paperface would ask Sebastian many of the same questions repeatedly, but no matter how many times he had already told him what the Dow Jones was, Sebastian Ross was never at a loss for words and basically the one who taught Paperface the meaning of life.


The phone rang and their mother took the phone, walked into the living room, she then asked Naomi to continue with the knife she set down to slice apples, and the can-opener she was using to open a can of Chef Boyardee cheese ravioli, and she then answered the phone with a rehearsed “Hello, this is the Krause... residence.” A
thirty-second conversation ensued, nobody knew whom she spoke to and then their mother took the glass plate cover out of its cabinet,
put it over a food-laden plate and push it to one side.

Zayn stared at her in curiosity.


Perhaps asking himself, wondering who she spoke to and before he could even ask, she said,"I spoke to my sister! Okay..."



She then poured herself a glass of milk, for no particular reason; perhaps she felt that the skim milk would help ease her mind or something.



It seemed at some point, the relationship with her own family outgrew the “God is great” prayer or rather in their eyes: facade; and they moved on to our own, improvised devotions. Never kept in touch with one another, matter of fact they hated one another, one could make the assumption that her greatest dinner time fear (aside from the
presence of squash casserole on her plate) would be that a bloodbath occurred at the dinner table. As it once had occurred a long time ago when she and her sister took pleasure in trying to kill one another.

Eloise then closed her eyes, lifted up her head and breathe deeply and quickly, uttered something that sounded appropriate. Once finished, she sighed in relief at the knowledge that her motherly duty was fulfilled for at least a
couple of weeks.

Who knows?

The future was unknown.
Everyone pretended not to notice. Something Jo anna said over the phone deeply upset her but she did not talk, because the only things to talk about were things that could not really be said. Her children became her first priority.


For some reason it seemed, since the return of William, there was reason to invite guests, there was reason to live again, to celebrate again and dinner became lively and home-cooked again, though pleasant conversation was forced but rather difficult. She perhaps felt they needed to “focus on each other.”

Naomi then told her brother about the renovations they were planning to make to their home and having the old octagonal table that was there for years, were ought to be ripped from the wall, the black and white checkered linoleum floor was peeled away, and the wall where Hiro's swords had hung was demolished. The new kitchen has wooden floors and marble counter tops and yellow- painted walls, and lots of windows.

Hiro out of frustration then silenced her.


And Zayn didn't like the idea at all.

There was much hatred between him and Hiro.

They ate at a table that stood on four legs and wearing a tablecloth.

A table surrounded psychopathic maniacs and natural born serial killers who were a step away from reaching 'The Sensation."


Julian and William sat there, staring at one another.

Everything felt so mundane, and rather unreal.



And at dinner time, they basked in the warm yellow glow of community and thrive on the hum
of harmony. Nonetheless they were incapable of saying that they excitedly and intellectually discussed world issues and their own lives, without hating or despising one another.

They could not say that they lingered at the table, enjoying each other’s company long after their meals are gone and dessert had probably become from their perspective an aftertaste on their tongues, but William couldn't. That would be the most acceptable picture to paint, but what actually occurred was this: they ate together for the very first time. They were certainly unaccustomed to what had occurred, but most. But the strangest part of their evening was certainly when Eloise poured herself a glass of milk�"still skim�"and right before that had spoken to her sister, the mother of Julian who hadn't or rather decided not to show up; some of them as they were once as young as William and Julian sat down to a family dinner that was consistent with their parents’ child-rearing philosophy at the time, which their mothers and fathers liked to call “benign neglect.” Over dinner, their parents briefed each other on the ins and outs of the day at the office, while Paperface's siblings and himself sat down as a
family to a good, healthy meal, their dinner however were not what you would call
child-centric �" which was fine with them supposedly, and definitely fine with them.

Dinner with their closest family and a few friends of their parents, veered in a different direction altogether, conversations all random and definitely not on topic. After an elegant,
home-cooked dinner and having their family as guests; Zayn really loved his children as far as being zero empatchic, he actually placed family first and the man was actually happy that they invited the different family’s, also that his two boys and daughter were together and happy. He then put down his fork, addressed both of his sons by name, and made a speech about how happy he was, and that their enemies will suffer severely for tearing or attempting to tear his family apart �" one was going so many
miles, while another, moving to different lengths to get hold of his son once more.



When they were all done, Eve gathered the plates and cleaned the table, some of them stood outside whilst Julian and William went to their room. But William (Paperface) didn't go to his room before overhearing his father and Hiro speak about something that involved him.

They spoke in japanese.



It was a conversation they had when he was in prison.


And it went as followed:


"You don't know who you're messing with!
あなたがいじり�-ている誰かわかりませ�" (Anata ga ijiri shite iru dare ka wakarimasen)


Oh I don't? I have exactly an idea who you are!


You want your sister back, but she's my wife now -
あなたが戻ってあなたの妹�'�-たいが、彼女は今私の妻です (Anata ga modotte anata no imōto o shitaiga, kanojo wa ima watashi no tsumadesu)


We both now that you involved her in our mess, and she had to pay my debts by marrying a sick, disgusting animal like you!



I understand that you might hate me,
私はあなたが私�'憎むかも�-れない�"と�'理解�-ます (Watashi wa anata ga watashi o nikumu kamo shirenai koto o rikai shimasu)



I hate you so much I want to kill you!



trust me Zayn, you don't want to do that -
私Zayn�'信頼�-、あなたはそれ�'行うには�-たくありませ�" (Watashi Zayn o shinrai shi, anata wa sore o okonau ni wa shitaku arimasen)



And why not?



Sebastian is coming for all of us -
セバスチャンは、私たちのすべてのために来ています (Sebasuchan wa, watashitachi no subete no tame ni kite imasu)



I'm not scared of him.



he went after the fisherman -
彼は漁師の後に行ってきま�-た (Kare wa ryōshi no nochi ni ittekimashita)




You kidding me? We both know that man can't be killed. We've both tried and failed.




that man made sure we paid the price for standing against him
-
その�"�は、�'々は彼に対�-て立っての価格�'�"�払った�"と�'確認�-ま�-た (Sono otoko wa, wareware wa kare ni taishite tatte no kakaku o shiharatta koto o kakunin shimashita)


We have the scars to prove it, after all he's not called the fisherman for nothing."



Sebastian wants to be ruler of all -
セバスチャンは、すべての�"�配者になりたいです (Sebasuchan wa, subete no shihai-sha ni naritaidesu)



Poet's brother tried that, and he's dead now.




That's a mistake he'll regret, and now he's in prison with two men who really hates him.
-
それは彼が後�"�"違いだ�-、今、彼は本�"に彼�'嫌って二人の�"�に�'務所でです。 (Sore wa kare ga kōkai machigaidashi, ima, kare wa hontōni kare o kiratte futari no otoko ni keimushodedesu.)



Who's the other one?



his own son - 自分の息子 (Jibun no musuko)




That nutcase! I don't want to be near that guy. I hate him




He's not that bad.But Sebastian has your son by his side -
彼は悪くないです。�-か�-、セバスチャンは、彼の側で、あなたの息子がいます (Kare wa warukunaidesu. Shikashi, Sebasuchan wa, kare no soba de, anata no musuko ga imasu)



What!



I told you Zayn.You need me -
私はあなたにZaynに語りま�-た。あなたは私が必要です (Watashi wa anata ni Zayn ni katarimashita. Anata wa watashi ga hitsuyōdesu)




Where? Which prison?



Naomi wants me to bail him out -
ナオミは私が彼�'�'済�-たいです (Naomi wa watashi ga kare o kyūsai shitaidesu)




I'll take it from here.


"I meant what I said that time Hiro, and I'll say it again. Sebastian and Ishmael are dead to me', Zayn said.


'I hear you, just make sure that you don't miss your target. Otherwise what you despise the most in life may come back to haunt you', Hiro said.


IT WAS THEN WHERE PAPERFACE UNDERSTOOD THAT IT WAS A BLESSING AND AN HONOUR TO HAVE HIM BACK IN THEIR LIVES. HE WITNESSED THE TRUE MEANING OF HAVING A FAMILY, AND TO BE THE RULER OF HIS OWN LIFE.)