59: Come with me

Henry watched her go, his chest tightening with a mix of emotions he hadn’t felt in years. The sky above had darkened, and a sense of foreboding crept into his thoughts. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, that Khana and her child were in danger. 

He quickened his pace as he followed her down the street, where she had entered a modest building. His heart sank when he arrived. A small crowd had gathered outside, local officials huddling together, and concerned bystanders murmuring in low tones. Henry's pulse quickened. Something had happened. 

He pushed through the throng of people, the faces of strangers blurring as panic tightened his throat. He couldn’t lose her again—not like this. Memories of the past, when he had lost Khana to circumstances beyond his control, replayed in his mind. Not now, he thought desperately. Not when she’s right in front of me again.

Breaking through the crowd, Henry saw Khana standing near the entrance of the building, motionless. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with a distant, haunted look. She seemed completely detached from her surroundings, as if she was frozen in time. The world buzzed around her, but she was lost somewhere deep within herself.

"Khana, what happened?" Henry asked, but the lady was too lost in her thoughts.

"Khana," Henry called out, his voice full of concern as he reached her. She didn’t respond. He gently shook her shoulder, trying to snap her out of whatever had taken hold of her. "Khana, what happened?"

 The priest had to shake Khana's shoulder to snap her back to reality.

Her eyes finally blinked, slowly coming back into focus. She looked up at him, bewildered. "Father, why are you here? How did you know I was staying here?" she asked, her voice a mixture of surprise and nervousness. Her gaze darted around, noticing the curious eyes of the crowd that had gathered around them.

Henry took a deep breath, relieved that she was finally responding, but worry still gnawed at him. "I have been following you since you left. I just wanna make sure you both are safe."

Khana's face crumpled as she rummaged through her bag. Her hands trembled as she realized what was missing. "A goon must have broken into our room," she said, her voice cracking. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to search through her belongings. "One of my bags is gone. It had all my money in it—100,000 in cash. I was going to use it for our daily expenses." 

She paused, relief flickering in her voice, "I don't plan to return yet to where that liar is." 

She's now teary-eyed,  knowing how much great money had stolen from her. Good thing, she asked Serina to keep some of her money.

A police officer approached and began asking her questions. Khana answered mechanically, her mind still reeling from the shock of the break-in. After the brief interview, she sat down on the edge of the empty bed in her ransacked room. She held her son, Kharl, close, cradling him in her arms as he slowly drifted off to sleep. The weight of the situation settled heavily on her shoulders, but for now, her priority was keeping her child safe.

Henry watched her, his heart aching at the sight of Khana struggling to hold it together. He couldn’t bear to see her in such a vulnerable state. "Are you going to stay here?" he asked quietly. "It’s not safe for you and Kharl. You can’t stay in a place where someone could break in again."

Khana sighed deeply, the exhaustion evident in her voice. "Do I have another choice, Father? I can’t afford to waste more money at this rate. I barely have enough to survive."

Henry considered her words for a moment before offering a solution. "You can stay at the monastery. We have empty rooms, and the sisters will look after you. It’s a safe place, and it won’t cost you anything. You can stay there until you figure out your next steps."

Khana hesitated, her pride warring with her need for safety. But the thought of staying in a place where she and her son could be in danger weighed too heavily on her. Finally, she nodded. "Alright, Father. I’ll come with you."

They left the hostel and made their way to the monastery. The atmosphere there was calm, a stark contrast to the chaos and fear that had plagued Khana over the last few days. As soon as they arrived, Henry introduced her to the sisters.

Khana hesitated but decided to leave the hotel and join Henfry at the monastery. It would be safer there than staying in an unguarded hostel.

As soon as they arrived, the priest introduced her to sisters/nuns.

"This is Khana and her son..." Henry uttered, but forgot to ask what the child's name was.

"Kharl," Khana resumed.

"She's a good childhood friend of mine. She'll stay here for a while. Please take care of them. They are very dear to me," Henry added.

The sisters were polite and kind to her. She even forgot that it had been three days since she arrived at the monastery.

Khana was busy sweeping the floor, leaving Kharl in the care of one of the sisters, as the latter insisted on taking care of the baby. She jolted when Henry approached her.

"I almost had a heart attack," says Khana.

"I just wanna ask, are you staying here or you wanna go back to your family?"

"I haven't thought about it yet..."  Khana replied.

"The thing is, I'm done with my mission here and I'll be reassigned to another local church. If you don't want to return to your family bor stay here, you can come with me."

Khana stared at the priest and absentmindedly asked, "Can we really come with you?"

"He won't lay his hand around you if you're not around him," says Henry, reassuring Khana that he'd take care of them until she made up her mind.

Then, the priest smiled sweetly, and the lady's heart was beating crazy with those smiles once again.