Chapter 2

It had been 3 days since the incident and my father looked like he hadnt slept in those 72 hours. My grandfather from my mother's side walked in. He smiled but there was sadness in his eyes and emptiness in his smile.
"Have you told her about Amanda?"
Noticing the tears in my eyes. My father nodded. My grandfather held me tightly and told me that he loved me dearly and that the bad people would be put to justice.
Wait it was more than one person who attacked us?
I didnt ask anything. I was in pain, both physically and mentally. I had lost my best friend, i had lost my sparkle.

The funeral was two days later but i couldnt attend, i just lay in that hospital bed. Blaming myself for my mother's demise. She wouldnt have been shot if she hadnt run to me because she always had a bodyguard and she was always precautious.. She had never been shot in all the 13 battles and wars she had been in including the Citrian war which had killed so many of our countrymen and women.
But here she was isolated and her love for me disoriented her on specific precautions she should have taken.

I went home a month later and Ryan was so happy to see me. My father and grandfather would meet nights on end and discuss about what happened to my mother. My grandfather was also an ex patriate.
Sometimes i used to sneak out of bed and listen. I heard my father say, "they keep on saying that this was an act of terrorrism but the guns that shot Amanda(my mother) and Amy (me) were from Graceville soil. More than two people were involved. Because Amanda and Amy were shot by different guns. This is a conspiracy. Amanda had been telling me about embezzlement in the Secret Frazer Unit but she didnt tell me their names. There is no telling how far the ladder this went but from how the case is being handled and being tossed off to being a terrorrist attack by even the other corporals and sergeants i suppose we should approach it with utmost precaution. This was organized crime. How they used Amy's shooting to draw Amanda to the kill zone. This was definately no accident."
"i know my son," my grandfather said, "its a good thing you didnt testify. They would have killed you too and my grandchildren would be left orphans. Lets collect all the information we can get and have a good approach to the right people because that Courts martial was not just at all at how it handled it."

I sneezed after holding it back for minutes. My father found me eavesdropping and got angry. "Amy we taught you better, go to your room. Let me never catch you doing this again!" my father said in a stern voice. So i never did it.

My mother's workmates retired with heavy pockets and with Malibu mansions. We continued staying in our little house with mt father's meagre accountant salary.

But life was good. I stopped wearing little pink dresses. I had to be tough like my mother and look after Ryan who after 15 years bearly remembered mum.
My father never remarried. When i was 18 i wanted to join the army but my father literally cried to dissuade me so i stuck to my dream of being a nurse.
My father and grandfather still had weekly secret meetings in my fathers office in the basement which stayed closed all the time and only they had keys to it.
When i was 25 years old my grandfather died from a stroke and we all grieved. But it hit my father the worst.

He locked himself in his office for hours on end daily. Barely ate and lost his job. Thank goodness i was already done with University i could support them and my brother had a scholarship in Kingdane Business school where he blossomed.

I had to take care of my father. Having nobody to disclose the nation breaking secrets he had in his office with would drive anybody insane. With a case left pending, terrorrism being blamed and justice never sought i understood his solitude and his grief.

"Daddy i am worried about you, i want you to stop spending too much time in that office. If you need someone to talk to am here, Daddy stop being sad, live a little!"
"My princess, my life ended when my love Amanda died and when i saw u lying in that pool of blood but justice will soon come," he sighed, changing the topic and coming out of the daze he was in, "but dont worry i already got a job! I start tomorrow. I will be out of that office soon enough." He smiled a little to just quiet me down.
I was happy that he had gotten a job.

He started working for the construction company responsible for constructions of the subway stations in the cities. He toned down and started working out more often. I was happy about his improvement.

He started organizing my mothers 20th memorial anniversary and invited all her former workmates and press just so as to incite the philanderous army men now political leaders to come for the occasion.

That morning he seemed tense but i thought that it was due to his shy nature due to the press. He left early with boxes of mail. I didnt think anything of it. He hugged both Ryan and i and reminded us that he loved us very much and that all will be well very soon. He said that he was proud of the people we had become and that we would be very successful even without his presence. He said that he had done his part. Ryan was confused and enquired what our father meant by saying all those things but i had no idea either....

Reviews

This chapter was in keeping with the one before. My only suggestion is, that compared to the last chapter; although it has a lot of information that moves this story forward... it seem a bit short compared to the other chapter. In one line you typed that her grandfather was a patriate.. did you mean to type that or did you mean (Patriot ).... I make typos a lot because I am typing so fast I miss direct my fingers... I just pointed it out in case you needed and wanted to change it.. Great job on this story.. moving right along and with a nice writer's voice. I am looking forward to reading more of your writing.