Author's note: OMG! I'm so happy to post this. This is an immediate chapter! Hope you guys like it.
Maybe this isn't the end of Broken. :O
Chapter 25- Help
It was on one morning that I woke up. To the sight of my young five- year –old boy, I greeted him.
I love my life.
You couldn't really plan on to where your life goes. It just goes the way it wants to go. Now I can see it. Now I can see why it wants to go on its own. It makes the mysteries go away. It makes you feel vulnerable. It makes you feel strong.
I was just living my everyday life when I heard a loud, rushing knock.
I opened the door.
It was Claire. It's been 6 years.
She was wonderful.
But—This didn't mean that I love her.
I am in a committed relationship with a kid and everything. I love my life and I love my life. But, what would Claire want?
I live in Sunshine Islands now. She rode the boat all the way here?
"Uh—hey. Claire?" I wasn't actually sure if it was her. She looked so—different.
Different in a good way.
"Hey, Cliff."
"So-. Uhm, what are you doing here? How did you find me?"
"Come to my wedding!"
"What? What do you mean?"
"I'm inviting you to my wedding. That's the least you could say?"
"What happened to Gray?"
"Who the hell is Gray?"
"Are you BS-ing me?"
"No. Who the hell is Gray?"
I paused.
What did happen while I was gone? What happened to Gray and Claire?
The smartest thing to do was to stay out of it. I know something bad is about to happen again. I knew someone was going to get hurt again.
"Claire, I don't want to go." There. I said it.
"What? Why not?"
"Why don't you remember Gray?"
"What is your problem with this Gray guy? I don't remember anything, okay? What the hell."
I went to Mineral Town to investigate.
These were some NEWS:
-Saibara's death.
-The Blacksmith closed up.
-Thomas is no longer the mayor.
-Doug has cancer.
-Claire has no farm.
It was like I was in a different place.
But—I forgot to ask Claire one question a while ago.
Who are you marrying?
Who could she be marrying?
I walked around town to see if anyone who was NORMAL is still there.
I saw Gotz.
"Hey, could I buy some of your time?"
"Cliff? Oh. It's been a long time. Mineral Town's a mess."
"What happened there?"
"Well, ever since Thomas died…"
"Wait—He died?"
"Yeah. He was a great man."
"What did he die of?"
"No one really knows. They just found the body in the forest. No bruises. No anything."
"So—continue with the Mineral Town thing…''
"Well, Saibara died because of a heart attack and old age. He's 82, you know."
"What happened to Gray?"
"Gray?"
"Yeah, the grandson of Saibara."
"Saibara's never had a grandson."
"Then- who's Claire getting married to?"
"Kai."
"Kai! But, he loves Popuri, right!"
"Popuri moved into the Big City two years ago. What's wrong with you, man?"
"What happened to Claire's farm?"
"She doesn't have a farm. She owns a market for fruit and vegetables."
"What about Rick?"
"Rick lives in Forget-Me-Not-Valley with Jill, the farmer. They were a happy couple."
"When did they get married?"
"Three years ago."
Knowing more of this information scared me. This was part of my life and it's now going away? This can't be happening. So—all the memories, were just erased? Worthless? All the pain I had was gone?
"What about Doug?"
"He died 3 months ago."
"How is Ann?"
"She got married to Doctor."
"What about Elli?"
"She's just in the Hospital."
"Stu?"
"Yeah. He's 15 now. He lives abroad."
"Mary?"
"Traveled to collect books from other places. Yeah, she's fine."
"Karen?"
"She's still heartbroken about the wedding she and Kai were supposed to have after Kai ditched her."
"Aya, Manna and Duke?"
"They're fine. Aya got married to Doctor."
"Wait—he has two wives?"
"Yeah. It's legal for a man to have two wives. But is illegal for one wife to have two men."
What is wrong with the world today?
"May…"
"Oh. She's not here anymore. She died of an accident."
"Barney?"
"He dead."
"What about you, Gotz?"
"Heh—I'm just the same 'ol Gotz you know. The one that sells houses to people."
"Wait—Don't you make houses?"
"No. Do you think that I'm a carpenter?"
"No. I—just…"
"You just what? Get out of my house. After all I did for you…"
"What did you do for me, Gotz? What did you do for me!"
"I set you up with Chelsea. I knew you were desperate. I knew you wanted love so I set you both up. See? Now you're married and you have a kid. Isn't that amazing?"
"I apologize, Gotz. I'm sorry. I have to go now."
I was getting dizzy. All the things that I thought was the TRUTH, wasn't the truth.
How could Gray be fiction?
How could Popuri move to the big city?
How could my whole life change for a sudden?
I left Gotz. I wanted to see how Jill was doing. So, I went to her.
I knocked.
Some guy who looked like Rick answered.
"Who're you?"
"It's me. Cliff."
"Cliff? Oh my… Is that you? It's me. Rick."
"Hey, Rick! Could I talk to Jill?"
"Sure. I'll get her."
Jill was back. She looked amazing.
"Hey—Jill."
"Hey. What are you doing here?"
"Do you remember Gray?"
"Blacksmith Gray? Yeah."
"Well, no one remembers him. No one knows him."
"Haha. Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"No wonder Rick doesn't mention him."
I called Rick.
"What's up?"
"Honey, you remember Gray, right?" Jill asked.
"Who Gray? Are you mind tricking me?"
"No. Seriously, do you remember Gray?"
"I've never met anyone named Gray for my whole life."
Having Jill and me remember these things made me feel similar. Like we had a connection.
"How long have you been away from Mineral Town?" I asked Jill.
"6 years. Since the time I've been with you. Since the time we broke up."
"Did you know that Claire doesn't have a farm?"
"What!"
"Yeah, she owns a market."
Our conversation was long. It was good. It was alright.
I went home to settle down.
I opened the door of my own safe home.
Seeing the sight of my own wife carrying a baseball bat shouting,
"Who are you! What do you want!"
She doesn't remember me.