Lost in the depths

           “Daddy, please stop it. Daddy please, stop it, stop hurting me,” cried Peter desperately to his father.

          Lenon was a very responsible husband to Mae. He works really hard, despite Mae’s difficulty in getting pregnant. One day the couple went to the park. They were seated in a bench and waited until darkness engulfed around them.

          “Did you hear that?” Lenon asked.    

          “No, what? What is it Lenon?” Mae replied.

          “Ssshh, I heard a cry, it seems like a baby’s cry.”

          “Oh, come on. Baby? Crying? Here? At this moment?” replied Mae mockingly.

          Lenon searched everywhere, following even the slightest trace of sound. He bent over the bench, and finally he saw a baby wrapped around in blanket.

          “Mae, come closer,” he cried.

          “Oh, God, Lenon you found a baby…”

          “Can we keep him?”Mae begged.

          The couple later decided to keep the child and they named him, Peter.

          “Oh, thank God. He’s such a cute little blessing.” Mae said.

          Not long after Peter was three years old, Mae and Lenon came face to face with the unbelievable: Mae got pregnant. They named their baby, Susan. Susan was the family’s main source of happiness; the infusion of the warmth brought about by the presence of Susan seemed to magically shatter the ice that long since held them. However, their happiness was short-lived after a one horrendous tragedy…

          It was a fair morning with the sun shining at the zenith of its magnificence. It was the most perfect day for Susan because in fact, it is her third birthday. For their celebration, the family decided to celebrate her birthday on the beach. While Mae and Lenon were preparing all there is to prepare, Peter and Susan asked for permission if they could go near the water and play.

          “Mom, please, we won’t be long. Promise,” pleaded Peter.

          “Alright, but don’t go too far. “

          “Sure, thanks Mom.”

          “Peter, there’s a boat,” cried Susan.

          With a surge of excitement rippling through her core Susan suddenly darted towards the boat.

          “Hey, Peter, won’t you come along?”

          With a surge of excitement rippling through her core Susan suddenly darted towards the boat.

          “Hey, Peter, won’t you come along?”

          “Yeah sure. Great idea! Here grab the saddle while I’ll loosen the rope.”

          Without even noticing it, they were in the middle of the sea, wandering about aimlessly. They were suddenly caught off guard by a huge wave shattering their boat into pieces.

          “Mae, where are the kids? Where’s Susan and Peter?” asked Lenon.

          “Susan is with Peter. They asked permission from me if they could go near the sea,” replied Mae.

          “Oh, God.”

          “What? You shouldn’t have allowed them. “

          Lenon called out their names, “Peter, Susan, where are you?” Nothing.

          “Let’s call the police, life guard whoever, to the authorities. We should report this. My Goodness! What have I done? If there’s anything bad that could happen, I couldn’t forgive myself. “

          The note of hysteria was evident in her voice.

          Skirting the edge of unconsciousness, Peter managed to survive clinging onto a broken fragment of a boat. While on the other hand, Susan drowned and vanished into the depths of the sea.

          The morning after, the life guard was able to locate where Peter was. While Susan’s whereabouts remained unknown.

          Because of the trauma of the incident, Mae was held under the frosty grip of hopelessness which led to a nervous breakdown. Peter, later found himself under the relentless hammers of his father’s anger. His father blamed him for everything that happened. Lenon was later submerged into being a drunkard. Imperceptible wall was later built between them. His father never talked to him, since that fateful event. He always ignored Peter and beat him whenever he wanted to. Despite of his father’s resentment Peter, was not able to develop even a scintilla of grudge towards his father. While Lenon was beating him, a neighbor passed and saw what happened. He reported it to the authorities. Inside the confines of their house, a group of police interfered in the middle of the commotion and tried to arrest Lenon.

 Peter on the other hand was trying to convince the police that he was not beaten by his father. Peter said that he committed a mistake and that his father was just correcting him for that mistake. Lenon saw the glistening wetness in Peter’s eyes that traced its derby down to his swollen red cheeks. Lenon then realized and saw everything in pristine clarity. He sensed that the world faded away into oblivion as his mind was converged on the things he had done towards this poor little boy. The police had set Lenon free. As the police exited their house, Lenon slowly walked towards Peter and kneeled with his eyes on the verge of tears that paralleled to Peter’s. Lenon, stretched his arms around Peter, caressing him gently as he spoke these words,

          “Forgive me…Son.”

          Every weekend the boys went to the asylum where Mae was kept.

          Lenon, floundered in the depths of hatred because of the loss of his daughter and the ailing condition of his wife but it was love that led him to the bright side of the situation. It led him to a stark of realization that, everything did not slip away from his grasp. His son’s love for him was there and will seer into his heart forever.