RETURN OF THE FORGETFUL HEIR

STRANGER IN THE SHADOWS

The darkness of the evening was beginning to thicken and a cold wind blew into the room through the open windows. It seemed like it wanted to rain, but Dennis was quite sure that the threat was empty and it wouldn't rain. He sat on the bed since Hailey left the room, thinking and wondering what to do with his life. He was grateful that he at least had a chance to spend one more night under this roof before he'd take off tomorrow. He would pick up whatever he was allowed to take tomorrow and leave. He didn’t need much anyway, just a bag full of clothes, some toiletries, and maybe the laptop that the late Mr Bellwether had bought for him a while ago. If they refused to give him any money, at least he could sell that and use the money from the sale to get by for a while. As for the other necessities he needed to be alive, he would find a way out one way or another.

He placed his chin on one palm, and the other palm on his knee. He tried to recall anyone he knew who'd be of help to him, anyone who'd take him in for the time being. But he drew a blank. While staying with the Bellwethers, he rarely associated with outsiders, and the few people he had interacted with during social events weren’t really friends, just acquaintances. Anyone who had tried to get close to him had just done so to try and get favour from the late Mr Bellwether because they knew he had a soft spot for Dennis. With no one else to call, he made up his mind on what to do. He would start looking for a place to work from tomorrow, but before then, he'd plead with Hailey to let him stay in one of the rooms till he found a place to move to. He didn’t mind if he was assigned to the servant’s quarters as long as he would have a roof over his head.

This thought made him a little merry because it was a good solution, and a little more sad because it meant acknowledging how badly things had changed for him. Tears fell from his eyes and he quickly flicked them away. When he had cleaned off the tears, he took off his glasses and put them on the table. He was fond of taking them off whenever he was alone. His eyesight had gotten worse over the past months and a simple surgery would correct it but the surgery was expensive and so much has been happening in the Bellwether family lately. Dennis didn’t want to be the cause of more problems by talking about getting surgery. Though, now that the old man was gone, no one would pay for his surgery anyway so he was stuck with the glasses till further notice.

He laid on the bed when he was tired of sitting. He looked at the time on his phone, it was a few minutes past 8pm. How time flies, he thought. He wiped his eyes with a handkerchief he always kept in his pocket and just stared at the ceiling for several minutes. He closed his eyes and tried to clear the intrusive thoughts from his mind and soon drifted off to a sad sleep. 

It was only a matter of minutes before he was woken up by a resounding slap on his face. He would have thought it was a dream or a case of severe sleep paralysis, if not that he saw Hailey and her mother when he opened his eyes. He could not tell which of them had slapped him, but what he could tell from their expressions was that the situation would be an unpleasant one. 

"Your stuff is outside, pick them up and leave now," Hailey was the first to speak.

 Dennis was still trying to process what was before him. He sat up slowly, searching for something with his hands. He could vaguely see their figures enough to know who they were, but he would feel better while wearing his glasses because it made his vision clearer.

"Oh, your glasses," her mother, previously Mrs Chamberlain but now back Ms Bellwether after the death of her husband chuckled, "those are in the waste now. I threw them away. Anything that belongs to you is just as useless as you." 

Dennis thought he heard wrong. He kept searching, still. 

"Where's my phone?" He asked nobody in particular. 

"In the waste bin, too."  The mother snickered.

"Why..."

"Oh, shush!" Ms Bellwether thundered, "if you want them, you can get them before they're incinerated. But would you have that time? Given the situation you're in now."

She had gone from thundering with anger to speaking in a low, mocking tone. 

"What situation are you talking about?" Dennis asked with a perplexed expression.

Mother and daughter exchanged stares. 

"You're leaving my house this minute, young man."

"I was only just informed about the divorce papers tonight, I haven’t even had a chance to fully get over my shock and contemplate if I should sign it or not. I thought I had until at least tomorrow before everything would be finalised?" Dennis asked with wide eyes.

Ms Bellwether laughed.

"Change of plans, darling. You will leave tonight, and there’s nothing to contemplate, you either sign the papers right now, or be thrown in jail.”

"But I have nowhere to go yet," Dennis said. 

"You will still have nowhere to go tomorrow so what’s the difference?"

“It’s already late and…”

“Do I look like I care what time it is? I want you out of my property, now!” Her mother shrieked.

"O.okay, then. I should… I’ll get my things together." He stuttered, partly because he was still trying to come to terms with all that was happening and because he couldn’t understand what he did to deserve this level of cruelty.

"I'm not sure you heard me when I said your stuff was outside. Well then, listen now. Your stuff is in the waste bin, you can go get them if they're so important, or just leave. After all, they're as worthless as the owner."

Dennis was not surprised. He knew that this new development was Ms Bellwether's doing and it saddened him how such a mother could behave so petty. Hailey must have reported to her that he was now aware of the situation and they decided there was no need for him to stay any more. He didn’t even have the courage to pleade for them to let him stay for a while until he found a job, and he couldn’t ask for money either, he knew they would refuse. He got up from the bed, signed the divorce papers and began to leave the room with mother and daughter trailing behind him. His only saving grace was the credit card that was in his pocket. He had used it to shop for Hailey earlier in the day and had forgotten to return it. 

He walked slowly, touching the walls to prevent himself from falling, and refraining himself from breaking into tears again. His mind was numb. He couldn't think of anything, not even his present situation at the moment. His slowness irked Ms Bellwether and before he could take another slow step, she went to him and pushed him forward before she dragged him by the waist of his pants till they were out of the house.

"I hope you find goodness in your new partner..." He turned to say to Hailey, but was cut short in the middle of his sentence. 

"Oh, please. Don’t act like you're actually happy for me. You don't have to act all saintly now, Dennis. Just get out of this place. Grandpa may have believed your goody two shoes act, but I know you’re nothing but a gold digger who took advantage of him to steal my inheritance." Hailey said and went back in, as did her mother. 

As soon as he was sure they had locked the door, Dennis went over to the waste bin and searched for his properties. He had a hard time finding them, but succeeded only at finding a small bag of clothes. His laptop was nowhere to be found which wasn’t a surprise. They must have decided that it was too expensive for him. He couldn't find his glasses and his phone. They must have destroyed those ones as well just to give him a harder time. He heaved a sigh of surrender, picked up what he found, and left. If he tried knocking on the door to ask for anything, who knows what they would do to him.

He wandered about, wondering where to go. The night was getting darker, and he was struggling to see; he had to squint or strain to see anything. He decided to visit Papa's grave at the church graveyard which was only a stone throw from the house. He wanted to say goodbye to the man who had taken care of him all these years before leaving. Who knows when he would be able to return here. If they knew he visited the man’s grave, they may even ban him from setting foot here again. He squinted till his face hurt as he walked to avoid tripping and cursed his selfish in-laws for destroying his glasses.

Luckily, there was more light in this area so he could see a bit better here, and when he could see somewhere suitable, he sat. He sat quietly without saying a word for several minutes as he looked between the two graves that were close together. The old man had insisted on being buried close to the love of his life, his wife. He didn’t want to speak about the problems in his life so he just thanked them both for their kindness and stood to leave.

Unknown to Dennis, a man stood afar, looking at him. The man looked at him like one who knew who Dennis was, but Dennis did not see him. Just when Dennis raised his head to the man's direction after feeling like someone was watching him, the man blended back into the shadows so Dennis wouldn’t see him. The man knew that it wasn’t the right time to reveal himself, he was just glad that after searching for years, he had finally found Cade Milton.

Dennis began to squint his eyes again as he left the more illuminated path in the graveyard. He could hardly see. Whether he liked it or not, he would have to get a new pair of glasses tomorrow with the credit card in his pocket. He didn't even know what the time was, but he could tell that it was already late. He had to make it to any small hotel around. He succeeded at finding his way to the gate of the graveyard, and then he hit someone. 

It was a female figure. Even with his bad sight, he could tell that much at least. He held her waist involuntarily to prevent her from falling. His squinted eyes met her glaring eyes, before she yanked his hands off her waist and pushed him aside, causing him to fall and hit his head on a rock with a big thud. The lady gasped at the fallen man. She hadn’t meant to push him so roughly. He looked like he had died. Did she just commit murder?