Grandfather (16 page)

“Oh my,” Karen
said.

“I caught a glimpse of
them. They definitely weren’t from within the walls.”

“Oh,” Karen said.
“Outsiders rarely get in. That’s quite unusual.”

“It is,” Cornelius
said.

“Well, I guess you never
know what to expect from them.”

“Never know what to expect
from anybody,” Cornelius said.

Karen cleared her throat
again. “So you weren’t in any danger?” she asked.

“Absolutely not,” he said.
“Just two kids playing pranks.”

“Reports say that when you
first came out, your forehead was swollen quite badly.”

“Karen, I was in such a
hurry to get out that I slipped and fell.” Cornelius
laughed.

Karen laughed with
him.

“
And for all I knew, the
place was actually on fire. I don’t think I’ve run so fast in my
life.”

They laughed even
harder.

I caught Ashton’s glance
and grin. We knew the truth.

“Well, we’re all glad
you’re okay.”

“
That’s kids for you,”
Cornelius said, still chuckling.

“
And
speaking of kids,” Karen said right away. “That brings us to the
next big topic people are just dying to know about.”

“
Yes,” he said. “I knew it
would come up, and I don’t blame people questioning the
situation.”

I listened
intensively.

“
Reports say you were seen
outside the wall earlier today.”

“
Unusual, isn’t it?”
Cornelius said.

Cornelius outside the
wall? Now that was something I couldn’t imagine.

“
Sources tell us that you
were recently at an orphanage.”

Whoa. I quickly glanced at
Mae, Marley, and Ashton. They looked at me, just as shocked and
turned their attention back to the radio. I noticed a few people in
the room glancing my way. When they caught me looking them back,
they quickly turned away. Edgar was one of them. I continued to
listen, leaning toward the radio; just as I had seen other people
do.

“I was,” Cornelius
admitted.

“Mr. President,” Karen
said. “This is surprising to us. If you don’t mind . . . we’d like
to hear why. Were you just helping? And outside of the wall? It’s
not very safe there.”

“Safety wasn’t an issue,”
Cornelius said. “Yes, people outside are rowdy, but I had plenty of
security to keep me safe.”

Karen exhaled deeply, as
if she had been holding her breath. “I’m so glad to hear that,” she
said. “But why did you even take the risk?”

“
Let me tell you a story
first,” Cornelius said. “A story I think everybody deserves to
know.

“Well, do tell,” Karen
said, the excitement in her voice returning. “I love a good
story.”

“I had a friend . . .
Benjamin Hawkins was his name. Like myself, he wanted to make a
difference. He wanted to see people living a much safer life.
Karen, he and I would stay up late, discussing different ways we
could better this society and the people in it. I remember one
time, he came up with the idea that the walls should be painted a
different color.” Cornelius paused to chuckle.

I just couldn’t believe
how normal he sounded. No wonder so many people were fooled. It
could be easy.

Cornelius continued.
“Benjamin wanted it to be a bright color . . . said it would make
us happier to see a jolly color while we get our shopping done and
take our families to eat.”

“
It sounds like he really
cared,” Karen said. “I personally would love to see a purple
wall.”

“
That would match your
hair,” Cornelius said.

She giggled. “It would,
wouldn’t it?”

They chuckled for a few
seconds.

“
Anyways,” Cornelius
started again. “He was a good friend . . . told me everything.
About twenty years ago . . .” He paused for a second . . . “Yes,
it’s been about that long. I was working in the west region and he
called me, telling me how he had met the most beautiful woman. Her
name was Jaclyn.”

“Her name certainly does
sound beautiful,” Karen added.

“She was amazing,” he
said. “Absolutely gorgeous. And they fell in love, of course. They
knew they were perfect for each other, so they quickly got married,
and a few years later, she was pregnant. I can’t even tell you how
exhilarated Benjamin was. He loved children.”

“A love story,” Karen said
as Cornelius paused. “I love a romantic story.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t
have a happy ending,” Cornelius said.

“Oh my,” Karen said. Then,
she said in dread, “Please continue.”

Cornelius did so.
“Unfortunately, Jaclyn didn’t make it through the birth, leaving
Benjamin alone with the child.”

“Oh no,” Karen said. “Many
folks today don’t understand what that’s like because our
technology has improved greatly these last ten years, making this
problem very rare. So sad, Mr. President,” Karen said.

“Sad, indeed,” Cornelius
said, slowly. “She was a dear friend of mine. And she was the love
of Benjamin’s life. She made him happy, and that’s all he wanted in
life. That and to help people.”

Everyone focused on the
radio more than usual, wanting to know what the point to
Cornelius’s story was.

“And unfortunately,
Benjamin felt as if he couldn’t take care of the child on his own,”
Cornelius continued. “He had become depressed. And can you blame
him?”

“
Absolutely not,” Karen
agreed. “I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose the
love of your life. And he had to care for the child all by
himself!”

“
I’ll say it again,
Benjamin was a good guy. He didn’t mean harm. But he just couldn’t
help it, and he did start drinking . . . until it got out of
control.”

“
Oh no,” Karen said,
legitimately sounding sad.

But I had to agree, it
was
very
sad.

“
I tried talking to him,
but he had completely lost it. I still don’t blame him. I don’t
know how I would’ve reacted.”

There was another pause. I
couldn’t help but think how I first thought these people were
lunatics as they had their eyes glued to the radio. There I was,
feeling just as dedicated as the others.

Cornelius said, “Anyways,
Benjamin didn’t think his boy was safe with him. He didn’t think he
could be a proper parent. He did what he thought was right and
placed him in an orphanage . . . to keep him safe from his own
misery.”

My heart dropped. I could
feel everybody’s eyes staring a hole through me. I forced myself to
keep my eyes on the radio. At that moment, I didn’t care about
them.

“He wanted to do what he
thought was best,” Karen said slowly.

“He did. I was sad to hear
that Benjamin drunk himself to death a few weeks ago from
today.”

“
So sad!”
Karen cried. “I’m sorry to hear that. I can tell you two were
close.”

“
We were,” Cornelius said.
“You see, Karen, I got to speak to Benjamin one last time before he
passed. Of course I didn’t know he was going to drink himself to
death at the time. I would’ve tried to stop him, although he
wouldn’t have allowed it. I even begged him to stay with me until
he got his feet back on the ground. But he just wouldn’t do it. He
said he didn’t deserve it. He went on telling how he was a terrible
person for putting his kid in the orphanage. He had heard that it
was hard on the kids.”

I could’ve laughed if I
wasn’t so focused. Hard wasn’t the right word to describe life at
the orphanage. Miserable, devastating, tormenting . . . yeah, those
words fit better.

Cornelius kept talking.
His tone was completely different from the calm one he’d had in the
beginning. If I wasn’t mistaking, I would’ve said he seemed . . .
sad.
Very
sad,
actually.

“
He said that he wanted so
badly to change things and give his boy a good life. I remembered
his words after his passing. I was at the orphanage looking for the
boy. I wanted to take care of Benjamin’s son. My good friend
deserves to rest in peace, knowing that his son is
okay.”

I took a deep breath. The
dining hall was dead silent. I did take my eyes off of the radio
for a second. Everybody seemed worried. I just knew they were
thinking the same thing. Up ahead, Edgar, Belladonna, and Robert
didn’t look at me. But I know they were thinking it too.

Finally, Karen asked the
magical question. “What was his name?”

“I held my breath, knowing
the answer already. He confirmed it.

“Carsyn,” Cornelius said.
“His name is Carsyn, and he’s been taken away.”

Yeah, I was expecting it,
but hearing it made it official. It was like a bomb exploded right
on top of me. Edgar jumped up and immediately walked in my
direction. Everybody’s eyes beamed at me as they whispered to one
another. Cornelius saying my name echoed in my head. Mae placed a
hand on my shoulder. Edgar reached the table, just as Cornelius
started talking again. Edgar was about to say something, but
decided to let Cornelius finish. I forced myself to
focus.

“Somebody has taken him,”
Cornelius said. “He’s been missing for the last couple of weeks.
And I intend to find them.”

“Such a tragedy,” Karen
said. “Oh my goodness, Mr. President.”

I heard Cornelius sniff.
“I just want to make a better place for him, because it is what his
parents would’ve wanted.”

“
And you tried,” Karen
said. I pictured Karen placing a hand on Cornelius’s shoulder to
comfort him. I pictured Cornelius crying. Man, I had so many
questions.

“
You see, just before
Benjamin died, he told me how he had something he wanted Carsyn to
have one day. It meant a lot to him. He showed it to me. So after
his passing, I went straight to his house and found it. I intended
to find Carsyn, but it took so long to track him down. Benjamin
never mentioned where he had dropped him off at. They got to him
before I did.”

“They?” Karen asked. “Who
do you think
they
is? And why do you think they took him?”

“As I said before, Karen,
people just do not like the
Bill of Border
Control
. I suppose they figured out I was
looking for Carsyn, and they took him as a punishment for me
passing a bill that will help protect all.”

“
So you believe that these
people found out you were looking for Carsyn, and they kidnapped
him in order to get back at you?” Karen asked, absolutely
perplexed.

“
As for who they are? I
don’t know exactly. But I know they’re listening right
now.”

“
Well, Mr. President. I
think this is a tragedy and you deserve to send them a message
while we’re on the air.”

Cornelius was silent for a
few seconds before answering with an even deeper, rougher tone.
“You think you can beat me,” he said.

“He’s talking to us,” Mae
whispered.

Everybody in the dining
hall fidgeted in their seats.

“You won’t win this,” he
continued. “We will find you, and you will give Carsyn to
me.”

There was another pause of
silence. It was official … Cornelius knew we all existed, planning
to take him down. Thankfully, that was all he knew. Edgar looked at
me again, shaking his head. Mae still had her hand on my shoulder.
I knew they were just trying to help, but it was annoying to have a
bunch of people gathered all around me. It was drawing attention,
and I needed less of that.

“
I think I speak for the
rest of the nation in saying we’re behind you,” Karen
said.

He knew about us, and he
would search for us, not stopping until we were found; not stopping
until he got his hands on me.

“I hope so,” Cornelius
said. “If only the
Bill of Border
Control
had already been passed, we
could’ve possibly prevented the kidnapping.”

“You believe they’re from
another region?” Karen asked.

“I think there’s a good
chance they might be,” he answered.

“Riveting story,” Karen
told him. “Is there anything else you’d like to say before we sign
off?” Karen asked.

“
There is,” Cornelius
said.

“
Whenever you’re
ready.”

“
I know you’re probably
listening too, Carsyn,” he started.

I listened more closely,
swiping Mae’s hand off of my shoulder.

“
If you can get away,
please do so. You can find me in the capitol at the Presidential
Tower. Get here if you can. I want to give you a better life. Find
me. You won’t regret it.”

Karen signed off and more
commercials came on. Belladonna turned down the radio. The room was
completely silent at first. Eyes stared into me, of course. I kept
my eyes on the radio, trying to avoid eye contact with anybody.
Then, they all began whispering. I heard Grandfather and my name
repeated.