"I am your father."
A mature-looking man with a naturally oppressive aura looked seriously and, unbelievably, nervously at a teenager with aqua hair lying on the hospital bed.
The man seemed to be waiting for the teenager's reaction, but the teenager had none. The latter eyes were closed in a seemingly never ending dream. Neither a beautiful dream nor a nightmare entangled him.
The teenager's face was covered with black and blue from his previous fight for survival. Despite this, he looked peaceful in his sleep.
"I am your father." The man's tone shifted slightly as he repeated this one sentence again and again in different intonations as if practicing for a major event in his life. He occasionally adjusted his expression so as to not scare his son later with his fierceness.
In this way, time passed and the man tirelessly practiced, as if he wouldn't stop until he had everything down perfectly.
***
Geo found himself waking up from a strange dream in a room full of white. There were no other colors.
Was he dead? He wondered in his groggy mind that was gradually clearing up. The last thing he remembered before he fell into a lightless slumber were those gangsters attacking him, as well as some inexplicable noises.
After he blacked out, at some point, he began to dream. In that dream, a blue and aqua feathered parrot kept repeating "I'm your father" to him, which confused Geo who found it strange and funny.
How could a parrot be his father?
Perhaps all the stress and pressure from life lately made him subconsciously seek for the protection and shelter of a strong father figure. Unfortunately, he didn't have one.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Geo's hearing began to consciously latch onto the sounds around him. His ears caught the steady and constant sound of a machine going off. He turned his head to the side and saw a monitoring machine and realized that he was in the hospital.
So he did survive.
Geo smiled.
A sense of relief flooded his chest.
"I am your…" A somewhat mechanical voice suddenly sounded and then abruptly stopped. Geo was startled by the sudden appearance of the deep and unfamiliar voice and then puzzled, 'I'm your what?'
"…You're awake."
Geo's pupils shook. He forcibly calmed himself down. It shouldn't be the man from before—the voice didn't match. And why would someone who wants to kill him save him?
It didn't make any sense.
But then… who saved him? And what was he talking about before he cut himself off?
Geo held his breath as he turned his head with great effort to the side while enduring the pain caused by the action.
He was truly battered and bruised from head to toe, even the simple act of turning the neck pulled at his wounds.
At his bedside sat a mature-looking man.
The man had a head of silky aqua-colored hair and a pair of sharp blue eyes that resembled icicles. He had an aura about him that let others know he was not easy to mess with.
What toned down his oppressive aura were his long legs that awkwardly shifted about as he tried to find the right sitting posture on the low stool. Even then, his aura was impressive to behold.
Geo wondered if he had seen this man somewhere before, otherwise why would he find him so familiar? It was as if deep inside his river of memories, he had once seen the man and been close to him.
Geo shook his head mentally. What was he thinking? There's no way he would be acquainted with someone of that man's caliber.
Was this mysterious man the one who saved him from those hired gangsters?
But why?
Geo was confused, but knowing that he wouldn't be able to guess the answer, he decided to ask the man about it outright.
The man had been staring at Geo in silence. The shadows cast onto the upper part of his face by his bangs blocked out his eyes, making Geo unable to see what the other was thinking.
"..." Geo opened his mouth to speak, only to find his throat parched. "...Can I… have some… w-water, please?" Geo fought through the dryness of his throat to politely request for some water. He felt his throat hurting from the forced vocalization. But Geo's manners forced him to display them.
Geo decided to put his previous curiosities on the backburner before his throat gets its much needed moisture. He can't speak the way he is now.
The man took this chance to leave the cramped low stool behind and got up to hand Geo a glass of water while helping Geo up from the hospital bed.
Geo grimaced as he sat up. His pulled injuries left him throbbing in pain even after he stilled his body after successfully sitting up. Geo drank the water handed to him with the man's assistance.
The man's movements were awkward and stiff, as if he wasn't used to taking care of someone like this.
Despite his stiffness, the man showed no resistance to treating Geo like this, in fact, the man exuded tenderness and patience.
Geo found it weird, but he didn't have the time to consider that right now.
His mother would be so worried and heartbroken to see him like this. Back when the bullies used to beat him up now and then, his mother would cry over his exposed injuries—which were minor compared to the hidden ones—despite Geo excusing them for accidental falls and collisions. Now that he was like this, Geo didn't know what excuse to make. Could he even make an excuse for this one? They were after the life of not just him but his mother.
…That's right. They were also after his mother! Was his mother safe? What exactly happened after he passed out?
Geo gave a furtive glance at the man beside him.
Were those gangsters scared off by him or captured? Hopefully, it was the latter.
After Geo gulped down the last mouthful of water, he immediately asked the questions he wanted answers to.
"Who are you? Did you save me? What happened to those gangsters?" Geo asked in rapid succession. Both his eyes and his voice expressed his inner anxiety.
The man paused in his action of putting down the water glass. After a thought, the man proceeded to place the glass down and turned to face Geo.
"...My name is Gabriel Fablas. You are correct in assuming so. I was the one who saved you. Those gangsters who harmed you have already been dealt with by my men." The man answered Geo's questions patiently one by one.
Geo found it strange again, but didn't dwell on that weirdness. He was far too relieved to know that those gangsters wouldn't have the chance to go after his mother after failing with him.
Geo smiled, his heart light at the thought that he and his mother were both saved. And it was all thanks to this mysterious man before him.
Geo came out of his thoughts and turned to face the man. Geo's face was serious as he bowed his neck slightly, straining himself in that act yet he persisted, and said, "Thank you for saving me, sir."
The man shook his head. "There's no need for thanks. It's what I should do. I'm your…"
Geo raised and tilted his head to the side. It was those words again. What did he want to say?
The man clenched his fist, which Geo noticed. Geo paused, he felt surprised. Was this man nervous? But why?
Geo's heart suddenly skipped a beat. The blood in his veins began to stir and dance in a way that made his body tingle.
Geo watched the man intently with wide, midnight blue eyes, anticipating his next words.
"… fa… father." The man spat out awkwardly. All the prior practice seemed for naught as the man now struggled to even speak. A feeling of nervousness and uncertainty rarely experienced by someone of a superior position as him now took hold of him.
What?!
Geo's eyes widened even more if that was possible.
"You're my father?" Geo asked incredulously.
The man nodded firmly.
"Impossible!" Geo shouted out of the excitement and disbelief intertwining with him. "My father should be dead!"
The man chuckled. His always straight back suddenly seemed hunched with untold stories. His laugh was aimed at himself, out of self-depreciation at Geo's words. Those words hurt, but he deserved it. Who told him to not find the pair of mother and son for sixteen whole years? He was incapable and he had no excuses.
Geo felt the man's self-blame and became even more confused. He found himself in denial because what the man claimed was too ridiculous. But in his logical recognition, he didn't understand why someone would joke about such a thing either.
And Geo felt it in his heart as well as in his blood that continued to stir as if something hidden deep within his body was revealing itself—the man was telling the truth.
Geo unconsciously clenched at the bedsheets under his hands.
In an instant, all kinds of thoughts flashed through Geo's mind.
Joy. Anger. Grievance.
In the end, though, it all didn't matter.
Geo's proclaimed father, who Geo had always presumed as dead from the sad yet loving expression his mother showed whenever his father was brought up in a conversation, suddenly froze up. The man was at a loss as to what to do upon the sight of his teenage son who was in tears.
The young boy who was in the conflicting stage of life between a child and an adult finally broke down for the first time. He cried his heart out. For the pain and hardships he and his mother experienced without a strong figure to shelter them. For the grievances he experienced from childhood because he didn't have a father. For the near death experience he had just last night.
At the end of the day, Geo was fundamentally different from Ian who had experienced the complete annihilation of all his loved ones and who had lived two lives. Ian had long cast away his child-like innocence and naivety for his goal of revenge and protection, but Geo hadn't.
Ian saw no value in tears because no matter how much he cried, his family was still taken from him and they couldn't come back to life.
Geo didn't cry because no one would care, only his mother would, and he didn't want to burden his struggling mother.
Now Geo seemed to have finally found his anchor. An anchor all children should have from birth, but for some reason, he didn't.
Above what he should've felt—sadness and anger—Geo felt a sense of relief and release that he and his mother finally made it through.
A joy ran through Geo's veins amidst his child-like tears.
He has a father.
He's no longer a fatherless, unwanted child.