Chapter 4

Keva was woken up by the constant ringing of her cellphone. It was just five minutes before seven. She was lying down on her stomach, with the thin blanket covering just her feet. She groaned and opened one eye to reach out for her cellphone that was placed on the bedside table. She checked the screen but squeezed her eyes shut. She swiped the green phone icon and placed the gadget on her left ear.

“Mom? What’s up?

“Your father’s birthday is coming up. Aren’t you coming this weekend?” Her mom spoke in Tagalog whenever it was just the two of them. If not, they spoke in Cypriot Greek.

She groaned.

“Keva! Don’t you just groan there! Do you want me to come down to Limassol and drag you back home? Or… if it’s any of importance to you, someone might just be able to make you get your round ass back here. Do you want to know who it is?

That got Keva’s attention. She rolled and sat up on her bed. She was just wearing her white cami top and panties.

“Don’t scare me, Mom!” she said. “Who is it? Is it… Dad? Did something happen to him?” She got up from the bed with one hand on her forehead. Her heart was beating so fast and hoped it was not that bad.

She heard her mother’s sigh. “It’s Kyrenia. She’s been missing since yesterday.

She froze. She felt like the world stopped turning right that very moment. And it was as if all her strength left her body. She sat heavily on the edge of the bed.

“T-that’s… impossible. Maybe… maybe she just went somewhere. She goes everywhere, Mom!” She almost squeaked.

“The police are starting their investigation when her mother reported it. I think you should come over here and we’ll see. And maybe they will also question you.” She sighed.

Keva tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Her thoughts were reeling in her head. If that was the case, her ex must have been missing since that night she last video called her. But how and why?

Cyprus is generally a safe island country. Although it has experienced a violent serial killing of women recently that rose fear in people, most crimes were less violent than that. Had Kyrenia fallen as a victim?

She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it. The serial killer was already behind bars.

“I-I’ll just take a shower and come over, Mom.” She hung up after that.

She just had some coffee after she changed and drove her car up to Nicosia. On the way, she talked to Rumeysa.

“Okay. I’ll cut my vacation short and help you in any way I can.

“Thanks, Rumeysa. I owe you this one.

Over an hour later, she entered the automated gate and parked her car in the garage. She greeted her parents who were in the middle of their breakfast meal. Fried hotdogs, homemade tocino and sunny sideup eggs were in front of them, together with fried rice with garlic. The delicious smell of the food her mother prepared wafted through the air in the dining room. Oh, how she missed her mom’s home-cooked meals.

Her father was at the head of the long table, while her mother was seated next to him on the right side. Both were wearing casual clothes. That meant her father would be staying at home today. She noticed his chestnut hair was cut shorter than she last seen him and had a hint of gray hair. He looked at her with sharp dark eyes.

“Sit down and have breakfast with us. You must haven’t had a bite when you left your apartment to get here because your girlfriend’s missing!” he said bitterly.

She stepped closer to the table but remained her distance from her father.

“Ex-girlfriend. We broke up more than half a year ago. But she’s still my best friend, Dad. I can’t just go on staying another day in Limassol while she’s missing. Right?” she pointed out.

“If she hasn’t gone missing, I will not even see your face! You don’t call, you don’t text, what’s with you?

Her jaw dropped, and she blinked. “I-I thought you don’t care about me anymore. After learning I’m a lesbian and had a relationship with my own best friend, you sent me away! And now, you’re asking me what’s with me?

Her father slapped the table that almost made her poor mother jump. “You’re my only daughter! I did tell you to go away from my house! But it doesn’t mean I meant what I said! How could you do that to me and to your mother?

Keva noticed her mother holding her father’s hand, trying to calm him down. She swallowed, trying to hold back her tears.

“No, Dad. How could you do that to me, your own daughter? Shouldn’t parents love their children no matter who or what they are? Shouldn’t they be supportive of their children no matter what they will choose to be in their lives? No matter who and what they love? I know that parents should guide their children to not go astray from their path… But is loving the same sex straying away from my own path? Isn’t it love all the same? I didn’t cause any harm to any people. I didn’t kill or did something evil. You may consider what I feel as bad love. But isn’t it still love that I feel about her? Isn’t it the same love that you feel for Mom?

The chairs scraped the tiled floor as her parents both stood up. In long strides, her almost six-footer father came up to her and embraced her tightly. Her tears fell from her eyes, and her shoulder shook as she cried.

She hugged her father back. “Dad!

“Keva! I’m so sorry! I just… I just wanted you to be normal,” he uttered. Her father let go of her, holding her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. His eyes were misty, too. “I love you, my daughter.

“We love you so much, Keva!” her mom said, embracing her and kissing her cheek. “Now, can we have a peaceful breakfast, Yegor?” Dalisay looked up at her husband. Her mother was only five feet and two inches tall, with petite form and pretty face. Her hair was black as night, and she looked like she was just in her late thirties when in fact she was almost fifty. Her father was only six years older than her.

Keva was told that her parents met in a restaurant in Paphos, while she toured with her employers’ family. She served as a nanny to a Cypriot diplomat’s child at the time. Her father, on the other hand, was in a business meeting in Paphos. They said it was love at first sight, which was kind of unbelievable but romantic. Keva knew it won’t ever happen to her. Love at first sight seemed impossible for her. For her, love must develop over time. Like hers and Kyrenia’s.

“I want to speak with Kyrenia’s mother, Mom.

Next chapter