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Each year, we wrote our grandparents’ names on lanterns, said a message to them with hopes of them listening, lit it, and let it float into the sky. Contrary to popular belief, it was my idea. I believed that they were good enough to be up in the sky with the angels and all things happy, so the best way to honor them was to do this.
I grabbed the lantern shades, lighters, and markers. Mara had pre-written them, as she tended to always do. Every single year, and we stand there now.
“Should I go first, or should you?” She asked. I pointed at her, and she grabbed the lighter from me. “Life without you both should be easier, but it’s not. In fact, it’s harder. Dillon and I are here for each other, striving to do right. Last time we talked, I mentioned marrying Alexander and I know you’d be happy to see him as my husband,” she smiled and I could tell by the way Alex gripped her fingers that he felt the words deeply. When Mara loved, she loved hard. “And now, exactly a year later, I gave birth to the most beautiful boy. His name is Isaiah. Grandma, you always told me to give my first boy a biblical name, and I chose that one. Life’s hard without you two, and I miss you always. Wherever you two are, never forget that Dillon and I love you endlessly.”
I shared a soft glance with her and watched as she lit her lantern and let it float away. A smile crept up on her face, and I knew what it meant. They heard her. She felt it, and that made her peaceful. “Your turn, Dillon,” she said. I took the lighter from her and cleared my throat. I had so much to say to them, but there weren’t enough words.
“The day you both passed, I stopped loving. Nothing has been the same, but every achievement is in your honor. Pops, your wisdom guided my business growth, and I’ve upheld our family name. I still follow your advice and try to make every venture the best one yet. I miss and love you. I miss you both deeply, and if I could make one wish, it would be to bring you back to this world.”
We didn’t have to exchange any words, and so we packed up the stuff, said our final goodbyes, and went about our ways. Mara said she had a headache and just wanted to sleep, and my fate was the same.
It has been two days. Two days without her. Without knowing if she’s safe and without seeing her smile or hearing her voice. Between going through my grandparents’ death for the millionth time and her leaving me, I couldn’t deal. But did she leave me? Or did something happen? And, more importantly, where was left to look?
I skimmed the whole city and still got nothing. I’m sure she hadn’t left, but if I still got radio silence between tonight and tomorrow, I’m calling up my Travel and Foreign Affairs favor. I needed to know if she left the country or state and then go to her.
“I won over your grandma by groveling and patience. Women like her will drive you insane, son.” Those were the last words I heard from him. I phoned him to ask why grandma looked irritated, and it turned out he was the cause. They worked it out eventually, I hoped, and then he gave me the life story of how they fell in love. He made too many mistakes, but love does conquer all. No matter how long it takes.
My thoughts were interrupted by a text message from Lucio. “This better be good,” I hissed, and to my surprise, it was.
Lucio
We found her dad, and we got a lead on the ex. We currently have the dad held on the Malen property, and the ex was seen at the Statue of Liberty today, around five to eight hours ago.
I needed to let off some steam anyway. This was the best news I could’ve gotten.
Me
Who’s with him at the warehouse? And good work, Lucio.
Lucio
Ro, myself, and some of the other men.
Me
I’m five minutes away.
Five minutes turned into a lot less because I broke every stop-light until I got to where I needed to be. When Arnoldo encouraged me to invest in this property, I was a bit skeptical, but now it’s proven to be a good decision. All my ungodly deeds are done here, and rightfully so.
Kicking the door open, I walked in and saw a sight. One definitely for sore eyes. Something wicked sparked in my soul.
“This him?” I asked Ronan.
“Yeah,” he said, “we found him in an off-closed lot. He had pictures of your girl and her mom all over his place. Such a creep.”
He wasn’t a bad-looking guy, but his actions made him disgusting. I wanted to deal with him so badly, and I would, but death would be too easy; he needed to feel.
Kamadge, the cleaner, quickly ran over and brought the black box to me. This contained a set of knives and guns with specialized tips and ammunition.
Lucio flipped the light switch, and I got a closer look at him. “Really, guys?” I asked and rolled my eyes. They tied him up like this was a movie with duct tape and all. Next time, I’ll send professionals to get this job done, not teenage boys who watch too many documentaries.
“Sorry,” Ronan said with a giggle. A damn giggle? There’s no way Michael would take me seriously with this behavior.
I ripped the duct tape harshly from his face and shot him straight in the leg. No formal introductions were necessary. He just needed to know that I was here to torture him the way he tortured them.
He winced in pain, and a loud scream came from his lips. On a normal day, I’d feel some sort of sorrow hearing these sounds, but all he gave me was more motivation to do what I had to do. “Who the fuck are you?” The distinct look of pain was definitely present on his face, and the blood ran, pooling at his foot.
“That shouldn’t be your concern, but what should be your concern is your child and how awfully you treated her,” I said, circling around him, “you see, your daughter means very much to me, and when I found out what you did to her, I made it my mission to find you, and here you are, all weak and pathetic like the parasite you are.” I scoffed.
