THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

"Oh," Zachary said, looking at the wooden chest. "So, where is my father now?" He probed, shifting his gaze from the chest to his grandma's face and back.

"He already left this world," his grandma said in a plain voice, not projecting any emotion. "He has already passed on."

"Oh," Zachary said, letting the information sink in.

To his surprise, he didn't feel any grief after hearing the news. He was a bit disappointed, yes, but that was all. It wasn't as bad as the time he'd heard about the death of his grandma during his previous life.

"Then my mother?" Zachary asked in a hush after another few seconds of silence.

His grandma sighed audibly on hearing that. "I never got a chance to meet the woman that should be your mother," she said, sighing again and starting to open the wooden chest.

"What do you mean?" Zachary asked as he watched her start to scan through the contents of the chest. From his position across the table, he couldn't clearly make out what was inside it. But he could guess it mainly contained papers and books — basing on the sound he heard as his grandma's hands shuffled through the contents.

"What I mean is that I've never met your biological mother," his grandma said, finally fishing out what seemed to be a few old photographs from the chest.

"Oh," Zachary said, his emotions then, in a jumbled mess.

"Your father, my son, was a budding musician who was just beginning his career before his passing," she said in a flat voice. "He'd made a breakthrough in his career by the time he was twenty and had started traveling to other African countries to promote his music."

"But, one day, he returned from a trip abroad with you in his hands," she said, her voice low but steady. "He presented you to me and said that you were his son — my grandchild. I was happy, of course."

"I asked where your mother was. The man just scratched his chin and said she was somewhere abroad. He also claimed she wasn't Congolese and promised to introduce me to her when the opportunity arose. But that was after I'd promised to help take care of you for some time."

The aged woman paused, looking away as if she was trying her best to muster her emotions. She then faced Zachary and continued, "But then, he went and got himself killed in the 1996 - 1997 war to overthrow the Mobutu regime. And that was together with my husband, your grandfather. Even up to this point, I don't understand how they got involved in that armed conflict. All I know is that it claimed their lives. But that aside, your father passed away before telling me where I could find your mom."

"Oh!" was all that Zachary could manage. He was totally at a loss for words for a few moments. But then he checked himself and decided to console his grandma before anything else.

"Grandma," he said, his voice taking on a sympathetic and concerned tone. "I'm sorry to hear all that. I can't even begin to understand what you've been going through all this time. But I want you to know that I'm always here for you."

"Thank you, Zachary," she replied, shaking her head. "But, it's okay. It has been a long time since they left this world. You have to know that by the time of their passing, you were only two years old. So, I've long gotten used to not having them around."

"What about my mother?" Zachary asked after a few moments of silence. "Is she alive?"

"That, I don't know," she replied, finally handing out the few photographs within her hands to Zachary from across the table. "What I know about her is that she might not be Congolese. She also got together with your father when he was abroad. That's her in your father's photographs."

"Oh," Zachary said, receiving them and fixing his eyes on them.

In one of the photographs, he could see a tall big man, carrying a guitar, standing together with a beautiful African lady in a party dress. They seemed happy together in the picture. So, Zachary couldn't help but wonder why his dad had had to bring him to his grandma's place instead of leaving him in the care of his mother.

"Do you have her name or any other information about her?" He asked after a while as he glanced up from the photos.

"Do you want to look for her?" His grandma countered with her own question, raising a brow.

"Maybe," Zachary said, sighing. "I only need to get some closure about the issue. If I don't find out more, I'll only remain in emotional limbo, wondering whether she's alive or dead and why she abandoned me. That will keep torturing me from the inside and deny me any peace of mind. I can't have that."

"Oh," his grandma said, a genuine soft smile outlining her face for the first time since the start of their chat. "I'm glad you're still calm even after hearing all that. It seems living alone in Europe has helped you become more mature. I'm proud of you, Zachary."

"Thank you, grandma," Zachary said, smiling back. "So, do you have any more information about her? I mean about my biological mother."

"I only know her name. And that's from the only letter from her that I managed to find in your dad's stuff. Unfortunately, there's no return address on it since it was only an informal note. Otherwise, I would have tried reaching out to her long ago."

"Where is it?" Zachary asked, trying his best to keep calm. If he could find out her name, perhaps, he could find her if he hired the right people.

"In here," his grandma replied, patting the chest beside her. "But are you sure you want to read that letter? I previously had someone read it out to me, and I noticed it was her parting message to your dad. She seemed to have penned it just after you were born. So, it may be quite painful for you to read."

"Don't worry, grandma," Zachary said, flashing her a forced smile. "It's not like I'm a ten-year-old. I can take it."

"Good," she said and then fished a folded letter pad from the chest. "Here you go." She handed it over to him from across the table.

"Thanks, grandma," he replied, receiving it.

On taking a closer look, he could immediately tell that it was from a long time ago. It was already yellowing and had many creases on its surface. But what mattered to him the most was the message inside. So, without any dilly-dallying, he unfolded the note and then started reading the letter that his biological mother had penned down in French.

****

"Dear Samuel,

You are fascinating as a person, and I have always envisioned a future with you. I know we could have been happy together if circumstances were different.

But I can't do this anymore.

It hurts right now, but I believe this is what's best for both of us. Please take care of our son. And don't contact me since that will create more problems on my side.

Please forgive me.

Céleste."

****

Zachary could not help but fall into a daze after reading the letter. He'd found out the name of his biological mother. But there wasn't any other information to help him find her location. So, he was at a loss of what to do. Moreover, it didn't feel good at all to find out that the woman who was supposed to be his mother had abandoned him, leaving him in the sole care of his other parent.

"Don't be sad, Zachary," his grandma said from across the table. "Finding your biological mother won't add anything to you. Look at you. You're already a big star in Europe, even without getting any help from her. So, cheer up and relax."

"Thanks, grandma," Zachary said, a forced smile outlining his face. "And thank you for telling me everything."

"Did you get the closure you needed?"

"To some extent."

"That's good enough," his grandma said. "Here is your dad's chest. You can keep it since it was meant to be yours in the first place. But be careful while searching for your biological mother. Make sure you don't bring any trouble to yourself. Do you get what I mean, Zachary?"

"Yes, grandma."

"Then, that's good. Go ahead and finish your dinner before you head to bed."