Chapter 11: Past

Present

A year has passed since the dark earthquake shook and destroyed all of New Jersey, and nine months have passed since the earthquake in the sky and the sea rising like an explosion into outer space. Jawara and Yadir had a heated argument, and in that year they have not spoken to each other again. Jawara feels that he is right, that it is Yadir who should apologize for having intervened when he was being interviewed, but it is more his anger that he does not trust his ability as an aerospace engineer. At that time, Jawara and Blossom were already married, Jawara swallowed his pride and invited Yadir to the wedding, but he did not greet him, nor did Yadir want to take that step. Jawara turns over in his head everything that has happened until now. He keeps wondering why a black hole wanted to swallow them if they were so far away from it. Why did the Earth lose gravity in New Jersey and many people rose into outer space and lost their lives? Blossom finds him on top of the Airspace-wanderer meditating on all that, but his painful past also comes to mind. Yadir recovered from the terrible accident he suffered, fortunately, there were no serious consequences.

_Jawara, are you okay? - Blossom asks him, Jawara does not answer, he is leaning on the wheel, his gaze denoted much pain and disappointment, Blossom sits in the passenger seat and takes Jawara's hand - Do you want to talk? - Blossom knew that although Jawara wanted to be strong at that moment, he was suffering a lot.

_I can't handle this - says Jawara frustrated - I can't handle this, although I try to get this out of my head. I can't handle the guilt.

_Jawara, it wasn't your fault, you were just a child.

_Of course it's my fault!- shouts Jawara- I should have begged him more! It's only my fault!- he starts to cry, Blossom hugs him

_It was she who left, not you, and your family knows it.

_You just don't know what it's like to live with that, it's not the same to live with your mother abandoning you! than to live with your father passing away, they are two very different losses. How could you understand?

_Flashback

20 years ago

Madeleine Malenfant is seen packing her bags with great anger, she was disappointed in her husband, Edward, because his career was destroyed, they were bankrupt and he could no longer give them the lifestyle they had

_I'm leaving, Edward, I'm tired of this life! You promised me a successful life, and you didn't deliver

_ A successful life? Please, Madeleine, we have what it takes, and we have two children. Don't you think that having a united family is already a success?

_ And what are we going to live on? With that salary we are not going to give our children the education they deserve

_ Of course, I work, you work, although part-time, but you work, with both salaries we get by, and we can pay for Jawara and Sharon's education.

_ That's not enough! I want a comfortable life, a real life, I want us to have the best, for you to be successful, and for our children in the future to have a promising career, have a lot of money and be successful, respected people. Not this life! Who do you think you are to tell me that we are successful now!

Jawara and Sharon look out the door to hear their parents arguing,

_Listen, Sharon, mom and dad are arguing again- says Jawara

_Mom is going to leave- says Sharon fearfully

_No, mom is not going to leave, she loves us very much.

Edward and Madeleine argued and fought for an hour and a half, until finally Mrs. Madeleine made up her mind

_I've made up my mind Edward, I'm leaving here! I don't love you anymore, you promised me a wonderful life, and you didn't keep it, you said you were a successful engineer, I believed you, you said we would have a dream life, I believed you. I'm leaving here so I can have the life I always dreamed of

_Our life is beautiful, Madeleine, you just don't see it because you only think about success and money. Are you going to leave, without caring about anything, without caring about Sharon and Jawara?

_Yes, that's right, I'm leaving Edward, I'm leaving here. I'm leaving the children with you, I want to be happy.

_Madeleine, I beg you! Don't go, I don't know what I'm going to do without you!

_Mom? -Sharon says with a look of pain and lack of understanding- Are you going to go? Don't you love me anymore?

Madeleine looks at her daughter with indifference, but deep down she felt compassion for her, but her pride was much stronger

_Mom will always love you, little one, don't forget it-she gives her a kiss on the forehead to disguise the situation

_Mom! -Jawara says to beg her not to go.-I love you so much, and dad too, I want us to be together. Who is going to look at the stars with me before I go to sleep? Don't go, yes!

_Be a good boy, Jawara, and I'll give you and Sharon some advice: Be successful and make lots of money, because if not, no one will love you, people only love success, okay?

_No, mom! Don't go! -Jawara hugs his mother tightly so she doesn't die.

_Mom. Why don't you love dad anymore, and why don't you love Jawara or me anymore? -Sharon says with a lot of pain.

_I will always love them. Goodbye Edward, goodbye forever, I will never forgive you for not giving me what I wanted the most, but if in the future I know that my children are respectable people, successful and millionaires, maybe I will forgive you, but I will never go back- Madeleine Malenfant takes her suitcase and walks out the door without looking back,

_Madeleine! -her husband shouts- Don't go!

_Mom! -Jawara and Sharon shout- Mom, come back, mom! -Jawara shouts and starts chasing her mother's car- Mom, mom, come back! Come back, please! - he ran after his mother's car until it ran out of steam, his father and Sharon caught up with him, the two children embraced and burst into tears, his father was heartbroken, he never imagined that the woman he loved was only with him for convenience, she never loved him.

End of flashback

Jawara feels so much pain when he remembers that many tears begin to come out, he still feels a lot of anger for his mother's abandonment, he feels a lot of loneliness for that, and more than seeing her proud attitude and her lack of love towards her family, it was curious, but he suffered more from that abandonment than his sister Sharon, the reason was obvious: a part of her was still connected to her real family. Blossom takes him by the hand and shoulder, trying to comfort him.

_Honey, I guarantee you that it was not your fault, it was not even your father's fault.

_I'm afraid that all this I've done has been just to follow in my mother's stupid footsteps, just to be a respectable person, like she wanted dad to be.

_No, of course not! I know you very well, Jawara, you don't do things just because, your intentions are genuine and true. You love people, you are sincerely interested in them.

_Now that Yadir is in the hospital, I'm afraid he'll die and I'll never have made peace with him.

_He'll be fine, everything will be fine, you'll see, now, we must concentrate on surviving what's coming.- Blossom notices that Jawara is still heartbroken- Come here- Blossom gives him a big hug and allows him to vent.

During that year, Yadir suffered a car accident due to a strong aftershock of an earthquake, he was knocked unconscious. Twenty-one days passed, Yadir is still unconscious, in a very deep coma. Yadir dreams of fragments of his past, a past that he has never told his best friend. Why is Yadir so afraid of the end of the world? Why is Yadir so afraid when a natural disaster comes? Why doesn't Yadir support Jawara and focus only on surviving? The answers to these questions were about to come to light.

At a time when Yadir dreams the most painful part of his past, he wakes up from the coma startled. The doctors interfere to stabilize him, they do many tests to see his current condition, fortunately, Yadir was going to recover, and in a month he was going to be discharged. The doctors inform Iris and Yamal that he is out of danger, but he needs to stay in the hospital for a month, and then they can take him away. The brothers come in to see Yadir

_Seriously, if you know how to scare us, you should be in a horror movie-says Yamal playfully.

_Yes, of course! As if you were the innocent one in the family-Yadir answers in the same way

_What a beating the accident caused you! But I'm glad you're okay, little brother. You gave me a big scare, buffalo-sized. The truth is that you scared me more than when the sea lost gravity and rose upwards, taking us into outer space-Iris hugs Yadir

_Calm down, little sister, I'm okay. I'm still in pain, but I'm okay-says Yadir with a voice of tiredness and weakness- and I'm glad you're safe, after such a shocking event of nature. It's impressive that nature could have caused me this strong damage!

_We have a surprise for you, a very nice surprise- says Iris with great joy

_Yes, tell me

_Dad is fine now! And he's out of the hospital- says Yamal very excitedly

_How? No, you should?

_Yes! And here he is

Yadir's father, Joe Patterson, enters the room and finds his children, he has a heart disease which left him hospitalized for many months. Fortunately, he is stable, with strong medical treatment he can be at home.

_Father! You're fine! I was afraid that because the power went out here in New York due to the earthquake in New Jersey, I was afraid that something had happened to you- says Yadir excitedly at the same time that his father hugs him.

_I'm fine, son. In fact it was very strange, the power went out when the earthquake hit New Jersey, unfortunately, there were several patients who died due to the lack of electricity in the hospitals, but thank God I came out alive. It's very strange, the light came back but in the news they say they don't even know why, that it wasn't because

It has been restored by itself, they think someone fixed it but they don't know who.

_You're right, dad- says Iris with determination- when I got here to the United States the light came back 1 hour after I returned. It's very confusing, in fact, I want to talk to you about a girl...

At that moment, Iris is interrupted by a doctor

_You have another visitor, Mr. Patterson.- At that moment, Jawara enters, Yadir is surprised to see him, but Yamal is not very happy about the fight they had a year ago.

_Oh my gosh! I just showed up. You should be ashamed! Why do you show up if you say you don't need anyone's help, except your knowledge of science?- says Yamal challenging Jawara

_Enough, Yamal! The last thing I want is to hear fights, dad is sick and we must keep him calm. Iris, could you please take dad home? I need to be left alone with Jawara-says Yadir

_Of course, Yadir, I'll see you later tonight and I'll stay here at the hospital.

_Yes, I'll stay this afternoon, I'll wait outside while you talk to Jawara- Yamal looks at Jawara with dislike, he resents him for the strong fight they had.

_Come on, family, we must be at peace, we already have enough with what's happening worldwide. Take care

Yadir's family leaves the room, Jawara approaches Yadir and stares at him, several seconds pass until Yadir decides to break the ice

_My friend, I have too much to tell you.

_Don't tell me anything-says Jawara with a strong feeling of guilt-what matters is that you are okay, forgive me for what happened, forgive me that all this ended like this.

_Apology accepted, but I think I should apologize to you too, forgive me for telling you that Blossom was only with you for convenience, the truth is it was more stupid of me to tell you that knowing what you have suffered and I have not even told you the truth.

_No Yadir, friend -he takes him by the shoulder- you should not.....

_No! Yes I must say this. The truth Jawara you have had a lot of confidence in me, for the same reason that you are my best friend, you told me what your mother did to you, you told me that it affected you so much that you fear Blossom will abandon you as well as your mother abandoned your father, and I, like an idiot, hit you where it hurt the most. Forgive me, okay?

_Of course, also forgive me for hitting you. Let's forget about that and concentrate on you being okay.

_Precisely because I want us to be at peace, I must tell you the truth. As I told you, you trusted me enough to tell me in great detail what you experienced in the past, now it's my turn to tell you why I'm so afraid of the end of the world.

_What are you talking about? - Jawara looks surprised

_I told you that I lost my mother, but I never told you how I lost her.

Flashback

20 years ago

Marie Patterson, mother of Yadir, Yamal and Iris, and her children were contemplating a beautiful, large waterfall of turquoise blue water. Yadir has always loved landscapes, and he loves taking pictures of them

_Mom! Is it possible that the whole Earth will look this beautiful one day?

_Of course it's possible! But what do you think is needed for the whole Earth to look this beautiful?

_That we don't pollute it, we shouldn't throw garbage, we shouldn't cut down trees, we shouldn't kill animals for fun. There are many things

_That's right, my little one. But you know what? There's another thing that makes the Earth not look pretty

_ What is it, mommy?

_Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes.

_ Why?

_Think about it, if a tsunami happened, don't you think that many landscapes would be destroyed, many beautiful gardens?

_The truth is that yes, even a tornado, if there is a tornado, many people die, or lose their family, so they are not happy, and the Earth is not pretty if there are no happy people.

_ Wow! You turned out to be so smart, my little one. If we talk about what natural disasters cause, we would never finish. This landscape is beautiful, take lots of photos so we can keep the best ones

_ Of course!

One day, Marie Patterson was going with Yadir to the mall to buy a gift for her dad and her little brothers. They wanted to surprise them on a normal day, since they can give gifts at any time of the year.

_Let's see, Yadir. What do you think your sister would like?

_A microphone and a video camera

_Really? And why?

_Because she says that when she grows up she wants to be a reporter, so I think she'll like that so she can record what she wants to tell us

_Okay, then we'll look for a complete kit for her...

At that moment, everything starts to move. Suddenly, a strong earthquake hits

_Yadir! Come on! Let's find shelter

_Mom! Mom!

Everything begins to collapse, people scream in desperation, run and push each other, they were about to leave the mall, outside was a very wide place where they would be safe, suddenly, because all the people run and push like desperate, Marie lets go of Yadi's hand

and loses him in the crowd

_ Yadir! Son! Where are you baby!

_ Mom! -Yadir could be heard in the distance, he was still inside the building.

Marie, without thinking twice, runs back to the mall to get her son out. People ran and stepped on Yadir, almost killing him, Marie finds him.

_Yeah, little one, mom is here

At that moment, Marie sees that the building is going to fall, so she runs at full speed to save herself. She trips, falls and gets stuck in a small hole, her son had to get out because if not they would both die.

_Yadir, my love, you have to get out of here. I won't be able to get out

_No, mom, no!

_You have to get out, son, otherwise we're both going to die!

_I don't want to leave you! You're my mom!

_Go out my son-he starts to cry- Be a good son, tell your little brothers that I love them, and your dad too. I love you with all my heart-Marie grabs her son and pushes him out so that the building doesn't crush him, Yadir watches inconsolably as his mother dies crushed.

_Mom! Mom!-A man takes Yadir away so that the building doesn't crush him, the whole mall falls, the earthquake was too strong. Yadir cries inconsolably seeing that his mother died

_Mommy, don't go, please

End of flashback

_Oh Yadir, when I'm sorry!-Jawara cries when he knows the truth

_From that moment on, I'm very afraid of natural disasters, but it also causes me a lot of panic when a significant person dies in a natural disaster-Jawara hugs Yadir and begs him to forgive him crying-calm down friend, you didn't know. I know that you just want to help people and do something extraordinary. I don't blame you for that, my mom saved my life, and I will be eternally grateful for that. Now, all that's left is for us to survive.

_I'm a complete idiot! -says Jawara sobbing- I should never have fought with you or told you that you were jealous of me.

_It's okay, let's forget about it, okay? I appreciate you very much and you know it. We must concentrate now on surviving, what is happening is not normal. Not even a natural disaster is like this, and then with what we lived through when that black hole pulled us in- Jawara continued to shed tears, Yadir understood that Jawara was a very sensitive man- You know, Jawara? I would like to give you some advice: you already told me your fear that you have that Blossom will abandon you. Have you told her?

_Not really, I'm afraid that if I tell her, she'll get very angry with me. And what if what that woman told me comes true?

_No, of course not! Blossom is a genuine woman. Besides, you have helped me to be brave when I have been very afraid of past natural disasters, now I invite you to be brave and tell her the truth.

_It is not easy, Yadir. You lost your mother in death, but my mother abandoned me. At least she died loving you, but mine left and I know she never loved me.

_Blossom will understand, she is very understanding with you. Besides, not all women are like that. And then you know how to choose very well the people who will be part of your life, including your good and charismatic friend Yadir-says Yadir very playfully and laughing

_Oh what the hell, with you.

Yadir manages to convince Jawara to express his fears to his wife, but there are more questions to answer, the labyrinth continues, and adding that it is the precise moment to plan his survival to the greatest cataclysm that will happen.