Chapter 126 Shakir's Regret

On Ricus's words, miss Aletta lead the children upstairs where his office was. When she got to the front of the office, she pulled the door open for the kids to go in first then followed behind them.

When she was in, she saw Shakir sitting on the bare floor near the couch, and his pale old body dried out in his thoughts.

Miss Aletta stood still at the door, not wanting to draw Shakir's attention to herself. She is swollen with worries on what kind of excuse should be given to Shakir about Dana's absence.

She is beguiled with worries on the city sky becoming so heavy with hollow's of death wandering about in their midst. That is why she had the children brought to the adventurers guild where it should be safe from being captured in the dreadful arms of the grim reaper that has come to them in the form of the sky striken with blood, and the atmosphere tensed with misfortune.

It is during this hazardous times that she lost his granddaughter with no explanation of where she might be in. If her calculations were on point, the Dire Hammer should have been back with the kids in their arms after being notified by the guild of the situation outside through the communication orb.

Not being back in time, or the guild not able to get in touch with them can only mean two things in general, but in the trying times they are stuck in, the generality that had been splitted in two, has been narrowed down to one, with it being the possible death of the Dire Hammer and the kids.

Miss Aletta however wanted to have faith in the pridefulness of the Dire Hammer's strength by believing that the reasons for them not yet arriving and the guilds inability to get in touch with them, can all be faulted to there not being a trustable connection to get through with them.

"Miss Aletta..."

She was ridden with anxiety when Shakir's lifeless voice called out to her. He had been taken out of his brooding with the help of the children's voices lightning up the room.

When he came to and saw miss Aletta and the children, the first thing Shakir did was to scan around for Dana's presence forgetting that she would have ran up to him first immediately she entered and saw his figure laying on the floor.

Not seeing or feeling Dana's presence among the midst of children he is surrounded by, Shakir began to panic and strained his eyes to look for their teacher instead, to demand where Dana was from her.

"miss Aletta...."

Shakir called out again to miss Aletta who had shyed away her eyes in fear of what to tell Shakir. Being called out to twice left her with no choice but to answer.

"old man Shakir....., what...., what are you doing here".

She got herself together and turned to Shakir, reluctantly speaking to him.

"Miss Aletta, where is Dana?..., where is my Dana, why isn't she here with you...., why can't I find her here".

Shakir forced himself up, slowly moving closer to Miss Aletta as he continued to pester her for answers.

"old man Shakir....., I am sorry".

Miss Aletta's words took the life out of Shakir, causing his legs to lose strength and stumbling down. He couldn't even force out the tears no matter how much he wanted to.

"she..., she is gone?....., how".

He asked with hesitation and involuntary speech repetition.

Miss Aletta knew telling Shakir she got lost is simply giving him false hope. If later they end up finding only her cold dead body, the effect on him might be even more Catastrophic. So, she ended up telling a lie by not giving him a direct reply.

"i am sorry old man Shakir..., I am sorry...."

She said as she crouched down to Shakir's current size, consoling him, and self blaming herself.

Shakir ignored Miss Aletta's attempt in consoling him, got up from the floor and began to walk towards the door.

"old man Shakir....."

She called out once more, but Shakir did not give her any responsive act.

Shakir walked out the door, climbed down the stairs and walked his way back to his house all the while remaining silent and lifeless.

He got to his home and went straight into his room, specifically to his bed. Crouching his lower body down, he dragged out a box that he later placed on the bed.

"this is my fault, it is all my fault".

He says as he stares at the box in front of him with eyes filled with regret, sorrow and loneliness.

"where did it all go wrong?...., I desired to be by your side until you grew to an age where you could live without me, but you ended up living the world before me".

"i have failed you as a father figure, as a mentor, and as one who has vowed to keep you safe for the rest of my life".

"if only, if only I had taken better care of you. If only I had done everything in my power to assure your safety, if only I wasn't so weak, if only I had stopped you from taking the same path our ancestors did...."

"not knowing your birth father and abandoned by your mother against her will. You poor child, why did you have to come into this world through me?...., why did you have to leave me behind to vacate this world?..."

"you shouldn't have been born in this family. If you hadn't, then you could have lived a more blessed life".

"every single day, I loathe myself for not being able to give you a better life, one that you truly deserved. I bury myself in anguish and torment, but your smile and assurance kept me going. Despite the rough life, you always showed a beautiful smile, telling me that everything was okay, that everything was going to be fine".

"now, now you are gone forever. Your smile is something I will never get to see again, and it is all because of that monster".

"my angel, worry not for grandfather will be with you soon enough. With my last breath, I will make sure to bury into your killer the fear of taking you away from me".