Same But Different - Chapter 19: Chapter 19
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Shield of Protection
Two Years Ago
Yuri rushed into the living room happily as she could ever be. It was her mother’s birthday and she wanted to do something special for her. She placed the tip of her fingers on the ribbon which was slightly crooked and secured it gently. Her eyes glimpsed upon everything that lay on the breakfast table, including the special cake from her mother’s favorite bakery and homemade scrambled eggs she had made that were now getting cold.
“Mom, breakfast’s getting cold, come on out” She called. She realized how stressed her mother was due to her job. In her line of work there was nothing that was called rest.
“Alright I am coming down Yuri, but I have to go in like . . . “Her voice trailed off as she saw the little surprise Yuri had laid out on the table.
“Happy Birthday Mom” Yuri sang quietly and hugged her. Their bond was strong as any mother and daughter shared. Yuri’s mother kissed her forehead and whispered “Thank you”
“Okay, first have your breakfast I made for you then we’ll cut the cake and open your present”
Yuri smiled as she said. It was a quiet and happy life they had, just the two of them. Yuri’s dad Peter Williams had passed away when she was five and that broke her mother’s heart. But Yuri got all the love that deserved from her mother Claire Williams.
Their small little life in the new city was going well. Yuri thoughts gazed off to the new high school she had just joined into, it had been a week but she found herself immensely crushing on Jason Haynes. Sure, he was the most popular boy in school and she had absolutely no way of ever going out with him but cant a girl just wonder? Yuri stared as she watched her mother complimenting on her tasty cooking skills. She waited until it was time to open the present. As her mother was opening the gift she asked. “What is it? It’s lighter than a feather”
“Open and take a look” Yuri replied kindly.
The look on her mother’s face was priceless when she opened the little wrapped box that contained a silver pendant.
“I saved my pocket money and got you this. It looked beautiful and I thought you should have it” Yuri concluded.
“Thank you Yuri, It’s beautiful.” She was teary as she placed the pendant around her neck.
There was a buzz on the door that interrupted their mother and daughter interaction. Yuri went to answer it. She opened the door to the tall middle aged looking stranger. They exchanged glances and she could tell he was bad news.
“Can – Can I help you?” she managed to ask.
“Hey there, My name is Anton Gerard, I am looking for a woman named Claire Lloyd” He spoke in a rather rough voice.
“Um mom, there is a man asking for you” Yuri turned her head towards her mother who stood near the table slicing pieces of the cake into square pieces and placing them on the plate. Yuri would never forget the look on her face when she saw the man standing near the door.
“What are you doing here?” She asked rudely keeping the plate on the table and taking Yuri’s hand.
“Yuri, could you go upstairs to your room for a moment?” Her voice has turned cold and her grip pressing against Yuri’s hand was massively strong. Yuri struggled to move when the stranger spoke “Are you afraid she might learn the truth, Claire?”
Yuri felt the room getting intense as she tried to stomach what was exactly going on. They were speaking so indirectly but it seemed like this man scared her mother. She didn’t obey her mother instead she stayed right next to her in case she needed protection.
“What truth?” Yuri asked. She wanted to know what this man was talking about.
“Anton, please. What do you want? Is it money?” Yuri’s mother asked out of spite.
“I don’t need money Claire, I just want to spend some quality time with my daughter” Those words hit Yuri like stones. She looked at her mother who was unable to speak or defend herself against the stranger’s words.
“Your mother lied to you, my little girl. She slept with me then completely went off the wagon. I tried searching for her but she never settles down anywhere. Then one day I see her near your high school picking you up.” He cleared his throat as he approached me.
“Now imagine my surprise, when I see a girl who looks just like me and find out she had kept you a secret”
His hands brushed against Yuri’s blonde hair but she couldn’t move or grin the least. She heard her mother fall to the ground sobbing. Her whole life had been a lie, the man who raised her till she was five, played and sang with her and who she always thought her father was, wasn’t her real father. Her mother had lied to her about everything. She felt a sudden rage in her stomach towards her mother.
“Tell me this isn’t true, mom” She pleaded quietly.
“MOM!” Her voice shrieked but there wasn’t any response from her mother. She just stared at the floor not looking up at her or anyone.
“See, I told you. Your mother is a liar just like she always was. I will be in charge of you now” He grabbed Yuri’s hand leading her to the door.
“Don’t you dare take her away from me!” Yuri’s mother finally blurt out loud.
“I bet my lawyer would say otherwise. You of all people should know hiding a child’s identity from her biological father is more than enough to start a case. I want what’s best for my daughter so I’m filing a case against you. She will be under my custody” Yuri’s father spoke.
Yuri didn’t know what to feel, whether to be happy or sad. The person who she spent her entire life together had deceived her or that she now has to live with a man who she had never met in fifteen years and call him dad?
“Anton, I’ll do anything, don’t take her away from me.” Yuri’s mother begged. At this point everything was horrible, this was the exact opposite of what Yuri wanted her mother to feel on her birthday.
“If you’ll do anything, how about you hand our daughter to my custody?” He replied.
“Never! I’ll fight you against court if I have to. You are an alcoholic; this is exactly why I kept Yuri a secret from you. You’ll never win custody over her”
“Watch me” He whispered as she dragged Yuri out of the house.
Yuri kept quiet knowing he wouldn’t hurt her. Her anger at her mother had died down but she needed to get away from her lies and deception. She sat in the car and didn’t utter another word. Her father drove for another three hours but failed to even make an attempt to talk to her or even try to console her. The neighborhood that they made a stop at, looked like a dangerous place. Yuri’s father made the final stop at an old small house.
There were three girls about her age sitting on the front porch with dark lipsticks and gothic looking eyes. One of them were smoking, they narrowed their eyes at her as she went inside. The house smelt funny, it was not clean, meaning unhygienic. The place was filled with smoked joints, and dirty clothes. She looked around as her eye caught a black heavy object on the table. She couldn’t figure what it was at first but as she approached to it, her eyes popped wide open realizing what it was.
A gun.
She was wrong, coming to this place to reunite with her biological father wasn’t ideal at all. She sort of understood why her mother had wanted to lie and hide it. Her panic state was caught by Anton.
“What are you looking at? My lawyer and child protective services agent will be arriving soon if your mother has reached them, which is very likely. Now you be a good girl and tell them how nice I’ve been to you or else this gun right here is going to get used on you.”
His words sounded harsh and scary. Every nerve inside Yuri’s body was terrified. She trembled as he continued “Now get rid of everything that might send me back to prison”
The man her mother had feared was now threatening her. She wasn’t capable of doing anything to defend herself. She was weak and she needed protection, but now she was trapped. There was no way out. “Mom, where are you?” her heart screamed.
*BLANK*
I gasped for air as I woke up. I had seen the most realistic dream. For a moment I thought it was actually happening to me. I turned around only to see a note stuck on the other side of the bed.
“If you can get inside my body, I can try to get inside your head while you’re asleep. There is something I want you to see and know. Yuri”
Was Yuri trying to show me that? I turned the camera on to give her a video update and spoke.
“You tried to show me your past?
Can you really do that?
How did you get inside my head and show me everything that happened?
I could literally feel what went on. I had no idea you had to go through all that; it must have been hell for you Yuri. But you can’t hide forever. It’s been two days and every time I call you out you don’t respond. I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear on you Yuri. You are safe and that man could never hurt you, I won’t let him”
My mind was now in the clear of what kind of a person Yuri’s father is. I sat up on the bed and thought
“This was the reason Yuri changed”
Her personality, her endurance in a traumatizing past that she had to go through with her abusive father. I heard a faint knock at the door and Yuri’s mother stood with some baked cookies on a plate.
“I know you have this whole figure conscious thing going on, but I figured you could use a little sugar in your system” She handed the cookies over to me as I happily took them.
“Mom, I am sure I never really told you this, but I just want you to know that I forgive you . . . for everything”
I felt tears rolling down my eyes as I said it. I was sure Yuri had wanted to say this to her for a long time but I decided I would say it in her favor. Yuri could never bring herself to say it to her mother but I knew it was the right thing to say. Her struggle to keep them safe was impeccable and for that I appreciated Yuri’s mom.
Suddenly I felt this responsibility build up on my shoulders; I knew I had to protect Yuri as she was my host. The dream had made me more connected to her than I ever imagined. I could never really hate Yuri but I knew it was time to stop judging her for the mistakes that she has made in the past. After all the Yuri that I had seen in the dream was more like me, caring loyal and completely alone.
I would never let anyone hurt Yuri, the way she was hurt in the past. I found myself ready to become her shield of protection. If anyone was going to harm Yuri, they’ll have to go through me first.
Two Years Ago
Yuri rushed into the living room happily as she could ever be. It was her mother’s birthday and she wanted to do something special for her. She placed the tip of her fingers on the ribbon which was slightly crooked and secured it gently. Her eyes glimpsed upon everything that lay on the breakfast table, including the special cake from her mother’s favorite bakery and homemade scrambled eggs she had made that were now getting cold.
“Mom, breakfast’s getting cold, come on out” She called. She realized how stressed her mother was due to her job. In her line of work there was nothing that was called rest.
“Alright I am coming down Yuri, but I have to go in like . . . “Her voice trailed off as she saw the little surprise Yuri had laid out on the table.
“Happy Birthday Mom” Yuri sang quietly and hugged her. Their bond was strong as any mother and daughter shared. Yuri’s mother kissed her forehead and whispered “Thank you”
“Okay, first have your breakfast I made for you then we’ll cut the cake and open your present”
Yuri smiled as she said. It was a quiet and happy life they had, just the two of them. Yuri’s dad Peter Williams had passed away when she was five and that broke her mother’s heart. But Yuri got all the love that deserved from her mother Claire Williams.
Their small little life in the new city was going well. Yuri thoughts gazed off to the new high school she had just joined into, it had been a week but she found herself immensely crushing on Jason Haynes. Sure, he was the most popular boy in school and she had absolutely no way of ever going out with him but cant a girl just wonder? Yuri stared as she watched her mother complimenting on her tasty cooking skills. She waited until it was time to open the present. As her mother was opening the gift she asked. “What is it? It’s lighter than a feather”
“Open and take a look” Yuri replied kindly.
The look on her mother’s face was priceless when she opened the little wrapped box that contained a silver pendant.
“I saved my pocket money and got you this. It looked beautiful and I thought you should have it” Yuri concluded.
“Thank you Yuri, It’s beautiful.” She was teary as she placed the pendant around her neck.
There was a buzz on the door that interrupted their mother and daughter interaction. Yuri went to answer it. She opened the door to the tall middle aged looking stranger. They exchanged glances and she could tell he was bad news.
“Can – Can I help you?” she managed to ask.
“Hey there, My name is Anton Gerard, I am looking for a woman named Claire Lloyd” He spoke in a rather rough voice.
“Um mom, there is a man asking for you” Yuri turned her head towards her mother who stood near the table slicing pieces of the cake into square pieces and placing them on the plate. Yuri would never forget the look on her face when she saw the man standing near the door.
“What are you doing here?” She asked rudely keeping the plate on the table and taking Yuri’s hand.
“Yuri, could you go upstairs to your room for a moment?” Her voice has turned cold and her grip pressing against Yuri’s hand was massively strong. Yuri struggled to move when the stranger spoke “Are you afraid she might learn the truth, Claire?”
Yuri felt the room getting intense as she tried to stomach what was exactly going on. They were speaking so indirectly but it seemed like this man scared her mother. She didn’t obey her mother instead she stayed right next to her in case she needed protection.
“What truth?” Yuri asked. She wanted to know what this man was talking about.
“Anton, please. What do you want? Is it money?” Yuri’s mother asked out of spite.
“I don’t need money Claire, I just want to spend some quality time with my daughter” Those words hit Yuri like stones. She looked at her mother who was unable to speak or defend herself against the stranger’s words.
“Your mother lied to you, my little girl. She slept with me then completely went off the wagon. I tried searching for her but she never settles down anywhere. Then one day I see her near your high school picking you up.” He cleared his throat as he approached me.
“Now imagine my surprise, when I see a girl who looks just like me and find out she had kept you a secret”
His hands brushed against Yuri’s blonde hair but she couldn’t move or grin the least. She heard her mother fall to the ground sobbing. Her whole life had been a lie, the man who raised her till she was five, played and sang with her and who she always thought her father was, wasn’t her real father. Her mother had lied to her about everything. She felt a sudden rage in her stomach towards her mother.
“Tell me this isn’t true, mom” She pleaded quietly.
“MOM!” Her voice shrieked but there wasn’t any response from her mother. She just stared at the floor not looking up at her or anyone.
“See, I told you. Your mother is a liar just like she always was. I will be in charge of you now” He grabbed Yuri’s hand leading her to the door.
“Don’t you dare take her away from me!” Yuri’s mother finally blurt out loud.
“I bet my lawyer would say otherwise. You of all people should know hiding a child’s identity from her biological father is more than enough to start a case. I want what’s best for my daughter so I’m filing a case against you. She will be under my custody” Yuri’s father spoke.
Yuri didn’t know what to feel, whether to be happy or sad. The person who she spent her entire life together had deceived her or that she now has to live with a man who she had never met in fifteen years and call him dad?
“Anton, I’ll do anything, don’t take her away from me.” Yuri’s mother begged. At this point everything was horrible, this was the exact opposite of what Yuri wanted her mother to feel on her birthday.
“If you’ll do anything, how about you hand our daughter to my custody?” He replied.
“Never! I’ll fight you against court if I have to. You are an alcoholic; this is exactly why I kept Yuri a secret from you. You’ll never win custody over her”
“Watch me” He whispered as she dragged Yuri out of the house.
Yuri kept quiet knowing he wouldn’t hurt her. Her anger at her mother had died down but she needed to get away from her lies and deception. She sat in the car and didn’t utter another word. Her father drove for another three hours but failed to even make an attempt to talk to her or even try to console her. The neighborhood that they made a stop at, looked like a dangerous place. Yuri’s father made the final stop at an old small house.
There were three girls about her age sitting on the front porch with dark lipsticks and gothic looking eyes. One of them were smoking, they narrowed their eyes at her as she went inside. The house smelt funny, it was not clean, meaning unhygienic. The place was filled with smoked joints, and dirty clothes. She looked around as her eye caught a black heavy object on the table. She couldn’t figure what it was at first but as she approached to it, her eyes popped wide open realizing what it was.
A gun.
She was wrong, coming to this place to reunite with her biological father wasn’t ideal at all. She sort of understood why her mother had wanted to lie and hide it. Her panic state was caught by Anton.
“What are you looking at? My lawyer and child protective services agent will be arriving soon if your mother has reached them, which is very likely. Now you be a good girl and tell them how nice I’ve been to you or else this gun right here is going to get used on you.”
His words sounded harsh and scary. Every nerve inside Yuri’s body was terrified. She trembled as he continued “Now get rid of everything that might send me back to prison”
The man her mother had feared was now threatening her. She wasn’t capable of doing anything to defend herself. She was weak and she needed protection, but now she was trapped. There was no way out. “Mom, where are you?” her heart screamed.
*BLANK*
I gasped for air as I woke up. I had seen the most realistic dream. For a moment I thought it was actually happening to me. I turned around only to see a note stuck on the other side of the bed.
“If you can get inside my body, I can try to get inside your head while you’re asleep. There is something I want you to see and know. Yuri”
Was Yuri trying to show me that? I turned the camera on to give her a video update and spoke.
“You tried to show me your past?
Can you really do that?
How did you get inside my head and show me everything that happened?
I could literally feel what went on. I had no idea you had to go through all that; it must have been hell for you Yuri. But you can’t hide forever. It’s been two days and every time I call you out you don’t respond. I won’t let anything happen to you, I swear on you Yuri. You are safe and that man could never hurt you, I won’t let him”
My mind was now in the clear of what kind of a person Yuri’s father is. I sat up on the bed and thought
“This was the reason Yuri changed”
Her personality, her endurance in a traumatizing past that she had to go through with her abusive father. I heard a faint knock at the door and Yuri’s mother stood with some baked cookies on a plate.
“I know you have this whole figure conscious thing going on, but I figured you could use a little sugar in your system” She handed the cookies over to me as I happily took them.
“Mom, I am sure I never really told you this, but I just want you to know that I forgive you . . . for everything”
I felt tears rolling down my eyes as I said it. I was sure Yuri had wanted to say this to her for a long time but I decided I would say it in her favor. Yuri could never bring herself to say it to her mother but I knew it was the right thing to say. Her struggle to keep them safe was impeccable and for that I appreciated Yuri’s mom.
Suddenly I felt this responsibility build up on my shoulders; I knew I had to protect Yuri as she was my host. The dream had made me more connected to her than I ever imagined. I could never really hate Yuri but I knew it was time to stop judging her for the mistakes that she has made in the past. After all the Yuri that I had seen in the dream was more like me, caring loyal and completely alone.
I would never let anyone hurt Yuri, the way she was hurt in the past. I found myself ready to become her shield of protection. If anyone was going to harm Yuri, they’ll have to go through me first.
End of Same But Different Chapter 19. Continue reading Chapter 20 or return to Same But Different book page.