As she walked out of the auditorium her phone rang. She pulled her phone out and swiped to answer.
“Mia, you need to come home, Nathan asked me call you. He said it was an urgent matter.” she heard Martha’s calm voice.
“Martha, I have another class. What is so urgent? Is grandpa ok?”
“Everybody is fine. He said he needs to talk to you as soon as possible. It is better if you skip the class.”
Whatever it was she had to get home soon and find out why he grandfather needed to see her that urgently. She got into her car and started driving home hoping everything was ok.
At home, Martha greeted her, taking her coat and backpack in her efficient, familiar way. “Nathan is in the study.” No drama, no buildup. Just the passing on of information, competence borne of years in the household employ. “He’s waiting for you now.”
Mia flashed her a grateful smile before running toward the study. “Hi, Grandpa. Is everything OK?”
“Come Mia, my dear, come sit.” He got up of his chair and walked towards her pointing to the sofa.
“Grandpa, you are scaring me now. Tell me what happened. Are you ok?” She slowly walked towards the sofa and gently sat down.
“Don’t you worry darling. I am absolutely fine. I have something important to tell you.” He paused as his mind was choosing right words. “My Mia, please don’t panic. We need to leave now. I need you to pack one suitcase with most important things you have. Only one suitcase. I will explain everything on our way.”
“Grandpa, tell me what is going on, I don’t understand.”
“Trust me sweetheart. I will explain everything. Now go on get your things ready, Berter is waiting.”
Nathan wasn’t going to tell her anything until she gets ready. He seemed to be in a hurry, and was sorting through his documents in the study. Something was wrong. She went to the kitchen to find Martha. “Martha, what is going on? Why is Grandpa acting strange? Is everything ok?”
Martha smiled, approached her, gave a hug and kissed her her forehead. “Don’t worry my dear. Just do what he says. He will explain you everything. There is no time right now.” As Mia started walking away Martha added “Mia, take the most important stuff, you will not be coming back.” Mia wrinkled he brows, clenched her fists and walked away.
She went to her room all confused, and not knowing what she really needs. She sat on her bed as her brain still processing new information. What did she mean “You are not coming back.” ? She pulled the drawer of the beside table and started going through the contents. She found her family photo book. As she started flipping through pages hew mind dove deep into the past. Memories started pouring in, she would smile, then laugh, then be quiet all of the sudden.
This was her only home she knew for twenty years of her life, full of happy memories. She couldn’t accept the idea of leaving and not coming back. What about her friends, her school? She was studying to become a marine biologist. She had her future planned out. No all of the sudden she had to abandon it all for unknown reasons. That thought made her dizzy. She made herself comfortable and laid down on her bed. Her eyes closed. Something inside her was saying “it is all a dream, when you open your eyes, it will all be fine.”
“Mia!” Martha walked in her room disturbing the silence. “You haven’t packed anything yet. Let me help you.” she walked to the closet and pulled a suitcase. Mia didn’t move. Martha sat down next to her and gently started rubbing her back. “Come on darling, we need to get ready.”
Mia sat up, hug Martha, and whispered “I am scared.”
“Oh my Mia.” Martha embraced her firmer. “I am scared too. But you know Nathan. He will make sure we are ok. He always does. Now, come on, let’s pack your suitcase.”
After few hours they all were ready. Berter put suitcases into the his black Escalade. Martha was in Berter’s arms crying openly, tears falling from her lined cheeks. Berter spoke softly but firmly. “No need to cry my love. I will see two weeks, once things settle down. Everything will be fine.”
“I know, I know.” mumbled Martha. “Be safe.”
Martha and Berter were employed by Nathan for many years. They found each other in this house. Fell in love with each other, and got married. They didn’t have their own children. They treated Mia as their own child as Nathan treated them as his own children rather than hired help.
They all got into the car, except for Martha. As vehicle moved off she turned to Nathan and said: “Ok Grandpa, spill it. What is going on?”
Nathan moved his upper body ninety degrees to face Mia. He gently grabbed her hand, look into her brown eyes.
“Darling, what I am going to tell you might sound shocking and unreal. But I need you to understand that it is important for you to control your emotions and hear the whole story before jumping to conclusions. We are in danger, our lives depend on being calm these days.”
She wasn’t surprised. She knew her grandfather was always secretive and suspected his job involved dealing with dangerous people.
“Ok Pops, I am ready. Tell me.”
“Mia, please forgive me, I have lied to you all of your life. Your parents didn’t die in a car accident when you were a baby. They are alive. They just had to leave us.”
Her body froze. She lost her speech. This wasn’t what she expected. It was as if her brain got a reboot after a fatal crash. She could hear millions of brain neurons flying back and forth, suggesting ideas, explanations to make sense of the situation. Her chicks turned red, her body temperature rose. As she regained control of her hands, she rapidly pulled them out of Nathan’s hands.
She turned her face towards the window and rested her head against it. She was in her thoughts. Complete silence occupied the vehicle. After few minutes, she lifted her head. “Berter stop the car!”
Berter glanced at Nathan through the mirror. Nathan nodded his head with agreement. Berter pulled over the car. She slammed out of the car and walk few dozen steps and collapsed on the grass. She took deep breaths of fresh air in hopes of calming her emotions and brain activity. “This is betrayal. How could grandpa do this? For so long? My parents are alive? Oh my God!” her inner thoughts kept repeating as if they were on a loop.
Berter brought a bottle of water and offered to her. She slowly looked up to Berter, grabbed the water and asked “Did you know?” Berter was quiet. “Oh God, you too?” She paused. “What about Martha? Did she know?”
“I am sorry Mia, it was not up to us. It was to protect you.”
“Go away. I don’t want to see any of you.” She collapsed on the grass again. Berter walked back to the car, opened the hood and occupied himself staring at the engine.
After some time passed, Nathan opened the passenger side door of the car. He pulled his head out. “Come on Mia! We don’t have a lot time. We need to get going.”
Nathan better have some damn good explanation. Her body shook with anger. She got back into the car and slammed the door. "Grandpa, you better tell me everything. Right now. No more lies. No more keeping things from me. Or you just..." She swalled the sob that tried to escape. "Just won't be my grandpa anymore." She glared at him.
“That’s the other thing, I am not really your grandfather.”
“Oh my Goodness!”
“Calm down, calm down. I am still your grandfather, but not by blood. Your are still my child, no matter what.”
There was moment of silence, everybody was silent again. Mia couldn’t hide her emotions, and tears started pouring from her eyes. Nathan handed her a handkerchief. “I am sorry Mia, you are the most precious thing in my world. I did it all to protect you. I know it is hard for you to understand now. But I really need you to focus. Because there is so much more I need to tell you. Take your time, and tell me when you are ready. We have a long drive.”
“Ok, go on. Where are we going ?”
“To Mexico. I will explain everything.” Nathan took a sip out of his flask.
“Much of what I am going to tell you will sound like a fiction. But please bear with me and soon you will understand everything.” He pulled an old photo from the inner pocket of his suit and handed to her.
“These are your parents. Robert and Anna. They both were scientists. I mean they still are. Before you were born they were recruited by Council of Pacific.”
“Council of Pacific?”
“Yes. You can think of them like a secret organization. There is a place called Terra Pacifica. It is a parallel world to ours. The way to get there is through the portal in the deep Pacific Ocean. Council of Pacific controls that.” He took another sip from the flask.
“For many decades CP was recruiting scientists and people from academia to join their mission in Terra Pacifica. Most of the people who go there never come back. It is basically a one way ticket. However there are many opportunities there. For scientists like your parents it was like a dream come true.”
He went for another sip, but Mia grabbed his flask and took a sip herself. “Ok, go on.”
“When they first were recruited they were excited about the project and joined with not much of persuasion. Few years they worked here in California in one of the CP labs. Then you came into the world. You were like an unexpected surprise for all of us. But a really pleasant one. When time came for your parents to be transferred to Terra Pacifica they faced a difficult decision. You were only five months old. They didn’t want to deprive you from a normal life, so they decided to leave you here with me.”
“Hold on, stop. Are you saying my parents left me?”
“Yes, but with good intentions. They knew you would be taken care off. Also, they didn’t want to risk your life taking you to the new world. They didn’t know what to expect. They didn’t want to risk your life. But they always loved and cared about you. I have sent them your photos every year. They are proud of you.”
According to Nathan it was the Peaceful Earth which was like paradise. Council of Pacific had operations on Earth and they controlled major companies and governments and they were the most powerful entity.
“So, how come I ended up with you Grandpa?”
“Your parents decided to leave you with me. I recruited them for Terra Pacifica project. I promised to keep your existence as a secret from the Council. I promised to give you the best this world offers. I believe I did. You are the joy of my life. You are my grand-daugther, even if we are not related by blood.”
Nathan explained her more about Terra Pacifica and the Council of Pacific. He told her how over the years her father rose in ranks and became an influential member of the Council. Her existence was always a secret from the world. However, recently nemesis organization found out of her existence and were on the hunt to use her as a leverage against her father.
After few weeks she was in Terra Pacifica.
It seemed she finally found some peace, alone out in the waters as if she was in paradise. She was far away from home. This was indeed a new world. However she still couldn’t make sense of things after what she went through last couple of weeks. She did need some solitude, to be alone with her thoughts. Everything appeared to be surreal, she wondered if she is having a dream, and anticipating a moment she would wake up. She needed this time of calm and peace to make sense of things, to ponder upon what happened and what her future would look like.
This passage of time was a gift long awaited. A wish to forget everything and enjoy the serenity was what she wanted. Events that had occurred in last couple weeks wouldn’t leave her mind, she was wondering what her friends were doing. Even if they hadn’t been apart too long yet, she missed them already. She could only guess and hope they were fine and had found their peace somewhere.
She didn’t think she would survive. Yet she was here in open waters, semi-enjoying the comfort of peace: no more chase, no humans around. She was alone, and she wanted that moment to last forever. Subconsciously she knew this moment would end and she would have to adapt to the new world and the new life. There was no going back, but only forward. Embracing new life was the only way to survive.
I would like to thank everybody in fiction workshop for their help and support.