A Journey through Paris

A Journey Through Paris

I was sitting on a chair at the hospital. My palms on my face and my eyes full of tears. Everywhere around me, there was sadness and misery. The only thing keeping me alive was hope. Hope that my mother would be okay, hope that everything could go back to the way it was supposed to be. Deep inside of me, I knew that everything wouldn’t be alright but I pushed that feeling in because I didn’t want it to be true. My mom was my life, she was the only person I had. All I could see were doctors and nurses going in and out of the room. I didn’t know what was going on. What happened to my mother? Then, a few minutes later a doctor came to me and said “We tried the best we can, but your mother is in the last hour of her life. If you want to talk to her you can go inside.” I felt like the whole world collapsed on me.

I didn’t want to go inside. I didn’t want to see my mom laying on a hospital bed about to die. I knew I had to though. She would have wanted to see me. I slowly walked into the room. There were tubes everywhere. I was scared, I wanted to walk out of that room and go home to my mom. I took a deep breath and went closer to my mother because I knew that I had to stay there. Her eyes were closed shut, her hair was all gray, and she looked very weak. For the first time in my life, she looked old. I couldn’t see her like this. I could feel hot tears trickling down my face as I held her weak hand.

She said to me “Cassie sweetie I know that it's tough for you, I know, but I want you to be strong. Go find your father, I have a box under my bed with all of the information about him. Go find him and live with him. Plz Cassie, for me.” Then there was a long beep and everything went silent. My mother’s hand slowly let go of me and I knew she was gone! She is out of my life!

The next day we had my mom’s funeral. I was her only family, even though there are other people at her funeral I feel like I was the only person there. I cried the whole time. My life had just turned upside down before my eyes. I saw my mom in the coffin and I finally realized that she was actually gone forever. I was never going to see or hear her again. I felt dizzy like I was about to faint. I wanted to run back to my mommy and cry, but I was sixteen now and I didn’t have a mom to run back to.

 I slowly walked to my room with so many questions in my head. My father left me and my mother alone so many years ago now she wanted me to live with that guy. The guy that betrayed my whole family. The guy who left me and my mom on the streets to die. Even though I hated that guy I had to go live with him, it was my mother's last wish. I went home and found the box my mom was talking about and I saw my father for the very first time since I was a baby. There were lots of photos of our happy family. Then, there was an address on a slip of paper. I assumed that’s where my mother's husband lives now. Wait for a second this address said Paris. That meant that my father lives in Paris. I was going to have to travel across the world to see a guy I didn’t want to meet.

 I booked a flight ticket with all of the money that I had and was going to Paris. I had never been on a flight since my mom couldn’t afford it, being a nurse. I was frightened to go to Paris. I didn’t know how to speak french, I didn't know anyone in Paris, and I am not that good at making friends. During the whole flight trip, the only things I could think were my mother's words and the thought that I would never be with her again. After a long flight trip, I was exhausted. I couldn’t sleep on the plane because I wasn’t used to it. After I got out of the airport there were a bunch of people and they all spoke french. I felt dizzy and like I didn’t belong. I wanted to run back into the airport and run back to my nice and cozy apartment but there was no turning back now. 

I found a taxi driver who spoke some English and asked him to take me to the address on the paper. He nodded and started taking my luggage. I got in the car and he drove for a while. I had this weird feeling that something wasn’t right. I looked around and there were no cars on the road, there were no trees and very few lights. Then, he drove into a dark alley and I knew I had to get out of the car. I tried to get out but no matter how much I struggled there was no way out. The taxi driver got out of the car and started talking to a guy that looked like a gang leader. He had a bunch of people behind him and they all looked terrifying. They were all wearing black and had spiked clothing. The taxi driver and gang leader were all talking in french so I didn’t understand anything. Then, a guy, who looked like he didn’t belong in the gang, looked at me and said something in French to others. He got in the car and started talking to me.

He said, “just be quiet and I’ll get you out of here.”

At that moment I had nothing else to do except be quiet so I did it. Soon, he drove me out of there and to a park. 

I had so many questions circling in my head. Who was he? Why did he save my life? Should I trust him? He was quiet for a while then he asked me “What is a 16-year-old girl doing in Paris all by herself?” I didn’t know if I should trust him. My palms began to sweat as the silence continued. I decided that he was trustworthy since he had saved my life. I slowly started to explain to him the whole story of how I was searching for my father. Then he asked me what the address was, I showed him the address and he said: “This is hours away from here.” I tried to hide my panicked face. Hours away, I didn't have food, water, or a place to stay. The more I thought of it the more frightened I became. I think he may have seen the look on my face because he quickly said “I’ll take you there. We’ll be there by tomorrow afternoon.” Then immediately, I sigh of relief swept over me.

 While we were driving I got curious about why he was helping me. I didn’t know if I should ask him or not. The reason I can’t make friends is that I say the wrong things at the wrong time and lose them. I really need him if I was going to survive in Paris. I decided to leave the matter for now. Then a few minutes of silence later, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked him. He said, “My life has been a complete mess and I thought that if I helped someone like you then maybe things would get better”. He said that “His father wanted him to take over his company but he didn’t want to live his father's legacy. After he finished high school he ran away and joined the street crew. It was his biggest mistake but he just couldn’t go back and face his dad. He didn’t know what to do”. Then he asked me “Aren’t you trying to find your father?”. I then said, “I’m going to find my mother's husband.” He then said, “Isn’t your mother's husband your father?” I then strongly said “I have no father, that guy left me to die. Why would he be my father?”  

Then, it started to get late and I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten a very good lunch and I had no money for dinner. Even if my mother was a nurse she had never let me starve in my life. The thought of my mother formed tears in my eyes but I held them in because there was no point in crying. I could feel my stomach rumbling and I’m pretty sure David was hungry too. He stopped the car by a pizza store and went to get pizza. After he gave me a pizza I realized how hungry I really was and started eating as fast as I could. Then, I noticed that he was staring at me so I started eating slower. Then, he started laughing so much. I could feel my cheeks turning red with embarrassment. I quickly changed the subject, “How did you get the money for the pizza?” I asked. He turned quiet for a while then said: “My dad gave me a credit card, I didn’t want to use it but this was an emergency.” “We can sleep in the next hotel that comes up,” He said calmly.

That night, I couldn’t go to sleep. David did all of this for me and I had not done anything for him. I felt really bad. I decided that I would try my best to reunite him and his father. Soon, I drifted off to sleep. The next morning, I woke up hoping that my mother dying was just a dream and that I wasn’t in Paris. Sadly, it wasn’t a dream. I washed up and went down for breakfast. A few minutes later David came down. He told me that we would be there in the afternoon. After we finished breakfast, I got my things and went back to the car. While we were in the car I remembered the decision I made last night. I decided to ask him who his dad was. Before he could answer we pulled into a giant driveway. 

The house was huge with pillars and lots of lights. “This is your father's house,” he said. I couldn’t believe it, my mother and I lived in a tiny apartment while my father was in a giant mansion. David and I went up to the front of the house and I rang the bell. Then I started to feel a little frightened. What if he didn’t even know who I was or who my mother was? What if he had forgotten all about us? Then a man who looks like an older version of the guy in the picture opened the door. I could feel my palms sweating. Did he recognize me? He looked me up and down, pointed at me, and said “Cassie?” I could feel my body start cooling down. Then he looked David up and down and said “David?” I was confused. How did my dad know David? Then David said, “Hey, dad how are you doing?” Then it hit me, David was my stepbrother! 

My dad welcomed us inside and told us to sit down. Then he started to say “Cassie, I’m so sorry I left you and your mother alone. We just couldn’t stop fighting with each other. I loved her and I didn’t want to fight and hate each other. So, your mother and I both decided that it was best if we were separated. I did send her money every month and she sent me pictures of you. I watched you grow up but could never be with you.” I was surprised. My dad really did care for me. He did love me. Then he started talking to David. He said “I’m sorry that I pushed you so much, son. I just wanted you to be the future of the company. I never thought of your dreams and I am very sorry about that. I wish you could forgive me.” Then there was a long silence. My dad was never a bad guy like I thought he was. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I and David become best Friends more than a Family. 

 Me, David, My dad, and David's mom all lived together as one happy family. 

                                                              The End