PART TWENTY
"THE STORY"
BY UMORU PRAISE
The trio assembled at the center four days after their talk with Jeremy and Malia. Their countenance were still sad. Quinn had called in that she had to make an emergence trip but told the trio to meet at the center where she would meet up with them. Although both teams had filled her little details from their interviews
Quinn walked into the room also with a sad countenance
âWhere have you been, you just zoomed off and refused to tell anyone a thing âTony snapped but gave her a hug âyou got everyone worriedâ
Quinn froze when Tony hugged her but her brain shook her to the real issue
âI am so sorry. I just had an idea that instance and I quickly took it, I wanted to have something in hand before telling you guys anythingâ
âWellâŚwe are finally done with our storyâ Alex said from a far end seating on a stool and leaning on the wall melancholically
âSadly we areâ Eli breathed a heavy sigh on the sofa
âIt turns out Frank died of Obsessive love Disorder (OLD)â Tony said
âWhat? What does that mean?â Quinn was confused
âItâs a delusional condition where a victim loves someone and feels they are meant to be together and if things doesnât turn out the way the victim wants, they can likely cause themselves harmâ Tony explained
âIt seems thatâs what happened to Frank. He was really in love with Malia and not being able to have her, he committed suicideâ
âWhat!?â Quinn was stunned at what she was hearing âwho gave you guys that ideology. That isnât what happened. Frank never had a case of OLD whatever⌠neither did he commit suicide.
Frank was sickâ
âWhat!?â the trio all exclaimed in oneness
âAnd how do you know that?â Alex asked
âBecause thatâs what his autopsy and mum told meâ
âWait!â Tony halted the details âyou flew over to his house?! Why would you do that without telling anyone?â
âBecause you might act this way and stop me if I had told you. But that doesnât matter now, does it. Iâm back and I am fine besides I didnât go aloneâ
âWho accompanied youâ Tony asked out of concern
âA nice person. My parents wouldnât let me go alone and he volunteered to accompanyâŚâ
âA âheâ?!
âWould you guys please continue this your âI must protect my best friendâ interrogation and letâs get to the bottom of this story pleaseâ Elizabeth snapped
âSorryâ Tony apologized. He went off to seat beside Eliâ
âSooooâŚâ Eli beckoned on Quinn
Quinn began âwhen I got to Frankâs house the first day, I couldnât get it because of the security. Nobody knew me and because I had no one that I knew, I wasnât let it. I had to call my parents the next day if they could pull me through to the Family but they didnât know them but luckily my dad had a senior ambassador as a friend who he called to see if he had a connection with the family. Few hours later, I was told something had been worked outâŚâ
âQuinn no offenceâ Eli cut her in âjust cut the long story short and start from the part you met the family and they told you what happened to Frankâ
âEishh fine. I was only able to see his mum. She was still grieving because I still saw her on black. I thought it would be difficult getting her to talk about her son, but when she knew I was from the school and that I knew Malia, she gave me her attention.â
I went straight to the Question after giving my condolence.
*****
âI wouldnât want to waste your time ma because I can see you are still grieving but I came on behave of the school. We lost a friend but we didnât know how, when or why. We were only given a bombshell about his death. We just want to know what really happened. Because a lot has happened after his death and I wonât lie to you, it has affected a lot of peopleâ Quinn spoke with the voice of a consoling voice of a journalist. Frankâs mother gave a heavy sigh of guilt
âWhat really happened ma?â
âMy pursuit for wealth and fame didnât make me realize the hurt I was causing my son. As a parent it is only normal that we want the best for our children. I and my husband grew up with a silver spoon, so all we wanted was our children to live the same comfortable life throughout their years on earth. We traveled very often, in a month only, we would travel about ten times for one reason or the other. Our first three grew up so well following the familyâs choice of career and when it got to Frankâs timeâŚâ she wiped a tear with her white handkerchief.
A maid brought Quinn a glass of juice. Mrs. Ambrose waved her hands towards the maid and she left
âWhen it got to Frankâs timeâ Mrs. Ambrose continued âwe thought it would be the same but he was very slow. We felt he just needed time. We didnât take things seriously.
Before we realized he had dyslexia, he was already in high school.â
âMy point isâ she wiped the tears that streamed down âwe just never gave him our time and thatâs why we couldnât even see that our son was going through tough times. When we started seeing good improvements both in his academics and his behavior I was so happy all our efforts where paying off.â When he came home the day before his death, he behaved all enthusiastic and so elated. Frank looked so cheerful with his smile on. He was saying a lot of things during dinner, but we never knew those were going to be his last wordsâ Mrs. Ambrose hesitated
âHow do you mean ma?â
She breathed heavily âFrank died from Melanomaâ
âExcuse me?!â Quinn didnât know when she raised her voice in confusion. Mrs. Ambrose was bewildered âI mean, what is Melanomaâ
âIt is another name for Skin cancerâ
âWhat? Oh my God. Cancer? How?
âYou know the saying that too much of everything isnât goodâŚâ
âYes maâ Quinn answered attentively
âFrank got too much of the radiation from tanning beds which affected his skin for years which resulted into the skin cancer that finally resulted to his deathâ Mrs. Ambrose busted into tears âand I am such a terrible mother, I didnât even notice my baby was sick all because of my carelessness.â
Quinn didnât know what to do or say to her
âI am so sorry maâ Quinn muttered âbut I donât understand ma, how does a tanning bed cause skin cancer?â Quinn felt confused âI thought the tanning bed is a means of relaxation and a mode of giving the skin a good glowâ Quinn never fails to use the tanning bed whenever she returns home for the holiday. So she didnât understand how it was of any disadvantage.
Mrs. Ambrose consoled herself, wiping her tears
âI thought same myself, because I use it also. But the doctor who did a verified autopsy threw more light into it. He said the tanning bed emits Ultraviolet radiation that stimulates the production of melanin; which is a pigment producing cell that gives color to the skin which is cancerousâ Quinn gave Mrs. Ambrose a confused look which made Mrs. Ambrose explain better âthe ultraviolet is an organic tanning method. The radiation it gives is just like that of the sun, and with this the skin is assaulted, abused in that short period by the artificial UV(Ultraviolet) rays which are even more intense than the natural sun rays.â
âSooâŚâ Quinn began to see clarity âconsistent use causes the skin cancer?â
âYes, especially fair people, they are more prone to the sickness after usage. There are other reasons and ways it is cancerous to the body and thatâs why I have stopped myself from it. Prevention is better than cureâ
âI understand what you mean ma, the symptoms. Was there any?â
âWe saw a red mole on his chest, it is the first and primary symptom, according to the doctor. His skin had some side irritation also in other placesâ
âI am really so sorry maâ That very moment Quinn already banned her heart from the love of tanning before she told her body. She gave Mrs. Ambrose some minutes to get herself back together then she asked
âyou said he was saying a lot of things during dinner, can I ask what they were?â
âHe begged every member of the family to come home so we could have dinner all together that he had something really important to tell us about. Because of his continuously pleading everyone had to reschedule whatever they had planned. I can still remember the broad grin he gave when everyone sat down. He made jokes to my hearing for the first time. It was the best dinner I have ever had with all my children. I had always prayed and wished I had the chance to seat with my family all together again. No body usually had the time to come home again, everyone was always busy, but that day, my dying son made my wish come trueâ she busted into tears again âI didnât know that would be the last time I would be seeing my complete family laugh all togetherâ she spoke amidst her tears.â
âHe told us everything about his life, and that the joy of seeing us all together intrigued him. He even told us about a lady he had feelings for back in college. He said her name is...â Mrs. Ambrose shrugged her head trying to remember her name
âMaliaâŚâ
âExactly, Malia is the name. Oh he spoke sweetly about the lady. I could see his blush whenever he mentioned her name or spoke about her. I could see the joy she brought to him. He told us about his meeting with her. His brothers and sister teased him about his love for the lady he spoke ofâ Mrs. Ambrose laughed and cried at the same time âit was a lovely family gathering that I will never forget thanks to my lovely son. I wish I had spent so much time with him instead of wasting my time outsideâ she could no longer hold her tears
Mrs. Ambrose didnât look like she was in the mood to talk anymore, so Quinn stood up to take her leave
âMy dear, could you put me through to Malia pleaseâ Quinn heard Mrs. Ambrose say amidst her profuse tears
Quinn was surprised and wanted to verify she heard her well enough âma?â
âWhen we got to Frankâs room the next day, we found a box in his hand beautifully wrapped. It seemed he slept with it in his hand because it was difficult removing it from his gripâ
âDid you open it ma?â
âI couldnât dare, it was written âTo Maliaâ it wasnât our place to read and it was his last wish for us to fulfillâ
Quinn melted emotionally. Quinn quickly gave Maliaâs contact to Mrs. Ambrose
âI gave Malia the gift alreadyâ Mrs. Ambrose said noticing Quinnâs curiosity âbut she didnât want to read it. But I wonât pressure her. I just want to keep in touch with her. She has done a lot for this family, and she doesnât deserve to be let off the hook just like thatâŚâ
*****
âWowâ the trio exclaimed all together
âDo you think she has opened the gift?â Alex asked the Trio
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