Dorcas attended a college outside of town. She found love. Peter secured a paying job and was ready for a family. He had all he had ever wanted, except for one thing: his abandoned precious cargo. He wanted his baby back. He regretted the day he had uttered hurtful words to Dorcas. His baby was with someone he didn’t even know.

His blood was somewhere between here and there, but where? He tried reaching out to Dorcas and failed. She didn’t want to hear a word. She was focused on her studies and a fruitful relationship that almost led to marriage until Peter ruined things for her. He tracked the soon-to-be husband and told him Dorcas sold their baby to strangers because she was a sex worker and couldn’t deal with a baby in that type of field. Her fiance was furious. Dorcas had not been truthful about the whole situation before so Peter got his way even though he was lying.

Peter would post on social media about his long-lost child and how much he loved him. He would even go as far as offering rewards to anyone with information as to how he could track his son down. Dorcas had to deal with a difficult situation as things weren’t going according plan any more. She came clean about everything that happened.

Peter bought a house and three cars, but they weren’t enough. His blood was still not with him. One night, he got a message from a boy matching all the information he had provided. The boy was adopted but hated his new home. Peter had never been that happy. He received a live location notification in the morning, and it was the boy. He rushed to the place. The boy had physical features similar to his. He was the happiest. He took the boy to his house, they were a happy family instantly. All he wanted to do was make up for lost time.

Dorcas went to college and had no funding but there was some mystery money paying all her fees and allowances. She just went with the flow: she needed the money because her parents were no longer supporting her in anything since her pregnancy. It kept coming in until she finished her course.

Peter stopped going home, it was too low and boring for him. There was just one problem with this son: he was a thief and hated school. Peter would give him money and he would steal some more. The boy would receive calls and start acting strange. He thought it was maybe because his son struggled all his life and behaved meanly to make ends meet.

When the boy was 22 and in Grade 11, Peter decided to finally go for a DNA test that would tell the obvious. He wanted to be sure. Results came back and devastation took place. The boy was not his. It was a dead end. He had been supporting a stranger. The boy was not and never had been his. Peter wanted to die.

Peter chased the boy out and found out that the boy knew his roots. It was just a part of his hustle. Peter hated himself for failing his child again. He couldn’t deal with that any more. He lost his job because of stress so he made a lot of bad decisions in his workplace. He tried getting Dorcas arrested but didn’t succeed.

He finally brought himself to go home and go to their local hospital where Dorcas had given birth. He went up and down looking for information, names, birth dates, and got them. He searched for his child using the little information he had. He would gather a little detail here and there and then try to connect the dots.

His life was falling apart. He finally tracked his child but was in for a big surprise. When he got to that quiet house, his knock made some real noise. He was scared but, at the same time, felt content that at least he was on the right track. Some man opened up and looked at him with disgust.

Peter tried speaking but went mute. After a few seconds, he introduced himself and told the man his reason for the visit. The man sat down and called his wife. The baby died when he was two. They couldn’t love him like their own so they suffocated him and acted like he died mysteriously. They just told him that his son slept one night and never woke up.

They knew the truth but never whispered a word. They had been sending Dorcas money anonymously for her studies because they felt guilty. Peter never met his son. His blood was suffocated by some strangers because he failed to take responsibility. He was shattered. He left the place without saying a word.

He arrived home and cried his eyes out. There was nothing he could do. Dorcas moved on with her life, Peter couldn’t. Suddenly he couldn’t sleep a wink for nights until he suffered a stroke and died.

***

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