Chapter Twelve               

They dated for four years, and on November 11, 2008, they tied the knot. The wedding was witnessed by the staff of Louisville Shipping Company, friends, and other well-wishers.

Paris, France, would be their place of honeymoon for the next two months. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel and Maya Young had no idea what would be lying ahead for them, until they returned from their trip. It was a plan known only to Van Brussels and his long-time friend, Henry Racks.

When they returned from Paris, the couple wasted no time in returning to work. When they did, they found the same message on both of their office doors, instructing the couple to meet at the nearby Manihot Hotels and Suites for an important discussion. This instruction was signed by Van Brussels, who was at the hotel waiting for them. Daniel and Maya went to meet him, and since Daniel was well-known by the hotel staff, they were given access to his suite number.

Van Brussels heartily welcomed them, “Congratulations to the newest couple in town! How was your honeymoon in Paris?”

 Sitting together, with their hands together on Daniel’s lap, Daniel was the first to reply. “It was great, Dad!”

Maya agreed, “A great one, it was!”

“Good! I’m glad to hear that!” Then he rubbed his hands together and continued, “Now to the business of the day. I called both of you here to let you know that you will be leaving for South Africa to head my branch.”

At Daniel’s stunned reaction, Van said, “I’m sorry, son, for not letting you know about this five-year plan. This secret was just between Henry Racks and me.

“Daniel, you will be the Chief Executive Officer of the South African branch of Louisville Shipping Company, while you, Maya, will be the General Secretary. To that effect, here are the necessary documents with your names on them, and necessary signatures for authentication purposes.”

He gazed fondly at his daughter-in-law. “Maya, you’ve been tested and you have shown yourself trustworthy, and that is the reason you’ve been given this position.”

He stopped to catch his breath. Then he finished his instructions.

“Operations have started, and the employees there have been notified. All they’re waiting for is your arrival. You’ll be leaving in the next two weeks, so get your things packed. Your visas will be available within the next forty-eight hours.  The earlier you prepare for this journey, the better.

“Son, you and Maya will have to manage my shares in the major South African gold mines.” He shook his head, looking very tired. “I’m getting older and weaker by the day.”

Daniel and Maya could see that he needed to rest, so they said good-bye. They went to work and started organizing themselves, making plans and making sure that loose ends could be tied up.

A week later, the other staff members were apprised of the development. An eventual send-off party was held. This gave the couple the opportunity to bid their final good-byes. Not too many days later, they boarded their flight to the Republic of South Africa.

Maya was both happy and apprehensive about returning to her country. She knew that this was a good opportunity to locate her long-lost father, but she wasn’t sure how he would react when she showed up at his door. Daniel shared in his wife’s feelings as much as he could, and tried to reassure her that everything would be fine.

A month after their arrival in Durban, the couple decided to take a two-day leave of absence to find out where her father could possibly be. They decided to start at the most obvious place, which was where they were living when Maya left.

As Maya stepped out of the car in front of the house where she grew up, she said, “The house seems to have changed a little from the way it used to be. Well, things change.”

She shrugged and walked up to the house, Daniel right behind her.

She knocked on the door, and minutes later, the door was opened…by a complete stranger.

“Who are you?” the occupant asked, looking curiously at the couple.

“I’m Maya Young, and behind me is my husband, Daniel,” Maya answered.

”Well, what do you want?” she asked harshly, keeping the door open just a crack.

“My maiden name is Maya Isaacs. This was the house where my father, Samuel Isaacs, lived in.

Upon hearing that, the woman’s attitude changed dramatically. “I’m very sorry! Pardon me for my impoliteness. I didn’t know who you were,” she said apologetically. “He was such a nice man!”

“What do you mean ‘he was such a nice man!?’” Maya hastily inquired. Her heart started racing at those words, and she gripped Daniel’s hand. He put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. “Yes,” continued the woman, “your father did a lot of good for me! He was the one who gave me this house at a give-away price, under the condition that I give a note to one Maya Isaacs, whenever she came to this place again. I’ve been living here for the past five years.

“Two weeks after he relinquished ownership of the house to me, the neighborhood’s security alerted me that Samuel had shot himself in the head.”

Maya reeled backward in shock. “What? No!” Her eyes filled with tears as she asked the woman, “What…what happened. Where did they…what did they do with him?”

David held her close as she absorbed the news. The woman’s eyes filled with pity as she said, “Where his body was taken to, I don’t know. This happened around the month of December of 2003. I’ve made serious inquires about it, but the authorities say that he has been buried according to the Suicidal Law, which means that the corpse belongs to the government. Therefore, no one can lay claims to it.”

She looked away from Maya as the young girl dissolved in tears. “Let me go inside the house to get the note.”

She was back not two minutes later. “This is the note he wrote. Your name was written on its seal. You can now have it, Maya.”

In tears, Maya opened it, and with the comfort of her husband beside her, she read what her father had written:

Dear Maya,

It’s been a long time since you left me to live in this world alone. I wanted to tell you who you really were at the right time, but your impatient and sudden change in character led you astray and out of my reach. Initially, I thought of disowning you because of your unruly behavior towards me, but the love I had for you changed my mind.

To be candid, I had tried through the years you were with me to hide the harsh reality that I’m not your biological father. Gat, Cynthia’s lover, impregnated her during their illicit affairs. I knew about this, but couldn’t help matters because of the love I had for her…I also know it is true because of the fact that I’m medically impotent, meaning that I can’t father a child. I lost my manhood’s potency to an accident at the age of twenty-five.

It had been a long time since I’d last seen Gat and Cynthia. So I decided to use my contacts to invite Gat and Cynthia to know who their daughter was, and, to introduce you to them as your biological parents. Unfortunately, I found out that they were both dead. The cause of their death, at the time of this writing, November 2, 2003, remains unknown to me.

Maya, the world had been miserable to me. I have made arrangements to procure a pistol to shoot kill myself. Therefore, by the time you read this, if ever, I will have been long gone.

But one thing I want to assure you is this: I will always love you, my daughter!

Your Daddy,

Samuel.

Maya’s cry intensified so much that the woman joined Daniel in trying to console her.

“Why me?!” Maya wailed. “I have lost my dad because of my behavior! Why, Maya?!! Why?!!!!”

 “Don’t worry, honey.” Daniel said, holding her close. “You still have me and my dad. We’ve been with you all this time, and you’re a part of our family.”

Maya looked up at him with gratitude. Then she noticed that her tears had stained his white T-shirt. Daniel saw too, but only said, “Don’t worry about that either.”

The woman whispered, “I’m so very sorry.” Then she glanced up at Daniel. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.” Daniel nodded and whispered, “Thank you,” while the woman went back inside to attend to her own two kids, who were waiting for her attention.

With Daniel by her side, she looked up to the heavens as she declared, “This date, marked December 19, 2008, I have made a vow to celebrate you unlike any other. I will celebrate it like I do Christmas and other festive seasons. Daddy, be assured that as long as live on earth, I will live up to the promise! I LOVE YOU, DADDY!”

 Daniel nodded his head in agreement.

                                                           THE END