My father is alive and kicking!

A chill of shock ran through me. It felt strange to see my very own father standing in front of me, when I've always known him buried six feet under the ground.

Strange.

The private investigator also confirmed. Grandpa ordered to kill my father.

Grandpa hired a man named Gaston, to manipulate the brakes of the car. Grandpa was responsible of the accident that caused death to the men in the car.

Grandpa was a devil! 

It was true then, the gossips I overheard during the funeral that he killed people. I could not believe. The same blood that running through me, could do such evil thing. What he did was unforgivable!

I was back hating him again. More than I hated anyone in my whole life. But there was nothing that I or all of us victims could do. He was already dead. 

I was overwhelmed with disappointment and anger. It was so hard to suppress my feelings. My hands were trembling.

Mom was shocked, too. I was afraid she would pass out. I set aside my own emotion and went beside her.

"I am alive, Celine," Gareth moved closer to us.

Mom stood frozen watching him.

"Elena," he turned to me, his eyes lit up. But I stepped backward when he tried to come near me.

The situation was strange. I got shocked. Scared, and doubting.

I found it hard to process what was happening. I had ambivalent feelings towards him, towards the situation and everything.

Is this real?

Adonis and I had my father's death investigated, but I was not expecting him to appear in front of us, breathing! Yeah, the investigator said he was alive, but I would not believe it until I see the person in front of me.

And here he is. Staring at me with happy eyes.

"Oh my God, Gareth, we thought you were dead," Mom finally found her voice again, "You had a car accident on the eve of our wedding."

"Yes, and I'll explain to you what happened that night," he looked at me with sympathetic eyes, while mine darted coldly at him, "if you allow me."

"Of course. That's why we invited you here," it was Adonis who answered on my behalf, "have a seat, Mr. Danes."

"I'm Adonis Stavrakos, Elena's partner, and this is our son, Sebastian," he touched Sebby's head, and Sebby who was sitting on a high chair, still eating cake, reached for him, wanting to be lifted in his arms. And Adonis did, as always, allowing Sebby's sticky hands on his shirt.

"Call me Gareth," the man smiled, "and may I call you Adonis?"

"Certainly!" Adonis smiled back, and they shook hands.

Gareth turned his attention to Sebby and touched his sticky hands. He cooed Sebby, who bubbled with laughter.

Gareth sat across from me and mom, at the dinner table, while Adonis was still playing with Sebby.

A waiter asked for his order, and he requested for coffee only. He had dinner on the plane already.

"Elena, you're so lovely," Gareth complimented me. "You inherited your beauty from your mom."

My lips pursed, and did not reply. Adonis was watching me like a hawk, reminding me to behave.

"Except for her red hair. She got it from you," Mom seemed recovered from her shock and now giddying at him.

Well, he's really a gorgeous man even with his age. He looks like the British actor, Ewan McGregor.

"Of course," Gareth smiled happily, "and Sebastian's reddish-brown hair."

The topic shifted to Sebby. Mom manipulated the conversation by narrating Sebby's skills proudly, one by one, defeating the purpose of the man's purpose in seeing us.

"Tell us how you resurrected from the dead? Did you fall from heaven, or crawled six feet up from the ground?" I snapped at the Gareth, making everyone in the room looked at me with enormous eyes, like I was possessed by a devil. Or better yet, grandpa's soul entered in my body.

"Elena, please..." Mom pled.

Gareth cleared his throat, "it's okay, Celine," he turned to me, "neither, Elena. I did not die in the accident."

"From what we knew, you got totally burned from a car accident with three other men. How come you survive?" Mom asked.

"I know, it's unbelievable, but I did. And we were five."

Anger overshadowed my mixed emotions.

"Oh, really? Or you're an impostor. Don't mess up with us, whatever your real name is. I'll make sure you rot in hell if you come here and pretended to be my father."

He jolted, shocked at my attitude.

"He's your father, Elena. There's no doubt about that. His freckles, his moles, I remember them by heart," Mom rescued him.

"People can fake that, Mom. Tattoos are so detailed nowadays."

Gareth smiled, "I see that you have the Pallis' temper in you, Elena."

"She has. Don't worry, she's not as ruthless as Papa." Mom agreed, talking like I was not there.

"Thank God for that," Gareth's smile widened.

"You can show Elena your raised birthmark at the back, Gareth. I told her about it, because she has it too. That will convince her it's really you."

Without hesitation, he stood up and removed his jacket. Then he lifted the back of his shirt. It was true then, a raised birthmark almost identical to mine at the back.

My heart sank. It made me convince he was actually my father, Gareth Danes. 

Okay, he's my father. Confirmed. But why he did not bother to contact us? If Adonis did not make a move in having him investigated, he would not show his face to us.

He needs to prove first that we really mean to him.

"You won't convince me easily," I answered.

"I understand how you feel. It had been too many years. But please, give me a chance to explain to you what happened."

I did not reply, and he started talking.

"I had no recollection of the car accident. I was so drunk that night. After two days in a tent filled with costumes, I woke up. An older man who managed a traveling circus rescued me during the accident. Together with his performers, they got me out before the car exploded."

"You owe your life to them," Mom rested her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together under her chin.

"Yeah, I did. The accident happened in a remote place, and they took me with them to their next stop, where they performed. I had no identification. I did not have my wallet with me. They waited for me to wake up, to report to the police. But when it happened, I could remember nothing."

"Did you go to the police? Or to the hospital?" Mom was very curious.

"No. Aside from my memory lost, I was okay. Then, to earn my keep, I helped the performers, and became the clown. It was like that for ten years, then I worked in a dairy farm," his face looked really sad, "the progress of my memory was so slow. It was only five years ago that I remembered everything about us Celine. But I had no face to show you and Elena anymore."

"Oh, that's so sad, Gareth," Mom reached out and touched his arm.

Mom accepted him back to our lives without many questions, like nothing major happened. 

Why it's hard for me to welcome him with open arms right away? All my life, I had been longing for a father. And now that he's here, why am I closing up? 

I could not understand my feelings anymore. I got shy and distance myself from him.