ECHOES MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND
(A promise written in ink)
Shadow_vee
At this point Orabella had been so drawn she continued reading.Her father's handwriting grew firmer, more deliberate, as though the memory itself demanded respect.
The man was taken to the emergency ward when we got to the hospital while the boy was taken for treatment he had scratches on his body. The boy's father regained consciousness hours later. The doctors said he would recover.I had stayed not out of obligation but because leaving felt wrong.
I waited together in the hospital corridor with his , the boy silent beside me, watching every movement as though afraid his father might disappear again.
There was something about the man even in weakness composed, observant, as though danger was a language he understood too well.
The following morning, after the worst had passed,we had shared a simple meal from the hospital cafeteria nothing extravagant just three people bound by an unexpected moment.
While we ate, he asked about my life not to deep to make me uncomfortable just small talks to remove the quietness form the room.He asked about my family and what I did for work,he told me he had been going to the mountain to hike for over 5 years now a tradition between him and his son father and son bonding he had called it.
I told him about the farm. About my daughter i said her name without thinking much of it the way fathers do when their world fits into a single word.
Orabella's chest tightened.
He asked how old she was i told him she was still young curious,too observant for her agei smiled while saying that,quiet but strong
The man smiled glanced at his son as if to say they are like minded.
The boy lifted his head, listening closely for the first time since we arrived.
She sounds kind the man said.I laughed and told him she was stubborn, like her mother, and soft in ways the world might one day try to take from her.
There had been no weight in the conversation.
No intention.
Just words exchanged between strangers waiting for time to pass.
It was later when the man had fully regained his strength that he spoke of repayment.
He had offered money first.
I refused i did not save a life to profit from it.
The man didn't argue.
Instead, he spoke of gratitude.
He said some debts should not be settled with cash alone He asked me to promise that when his son came of age I would allow him marry my daughter since I wouldn't let him pay me we both deserved something more lasting...a closer bond
Her father had written that he laughed softly at the words. Told them life rarely honored promises made in hospital rooms.
But the boy's father had asked for one thing as if to reassure me:it would be with her consent he said.
I hesitated.
Orabella had been far too young then barely a thought of the future. To me, it felt symbolic a promise without expectation.
So I agreed the way both father and son treated me with dignity, humility, and restraint people could not fake that in situations like this
If it comes to nothing, then it was merely words spoken beside a hospital bed. If it comes to something, then let fate decide.
I went home that day with plans to come visit the next day .
We also agreed on exchanging proper contact information the next day
But I didn't return as planned
On my way home, a careless driver lost control. The accident was not fatal but serious enough to leave me injured and confined overnight at a nearby clinic, unable to travel.By the time I returned to the hospital the following day, they were gone.
No address
No forwarding contact.
No trace apart from the name that was given in the hospital records.
I tried to ask around but got nothing finally i concluded it was fake.They told me they were not from this side and only came here for the trip. I also concluded that they gave a fake id for security reasons since they were attacked before. I had no reason to ask questions anymore they were already gone.
Orabella closed the journal slowly her chest felt tight.
Her father had gone home disappointed not because he lost anything, but because the moment felt unfinished. Yet he wrote that he felt… strangely at peace.
If nothing comes of this promise, so be it. I helped someone. That is enough. If fate remembers one day, I trust it will do so kindly.
Her father's last statement stunned her
The room felt colder.
The house felt smaller.
And for the first time since opening the basement box, Orabella was finally able to start putting pieces of the puzzle together she thought back to her father's words in the hospital bed she didn't quite understand what he was saying then but now she did,it was clear to her now.
This was more like a contract written without ink and it seemed like the time had come for it to be remembered