Louisa's POV
I stretched out my hand and held Vincent's hands.
I couldn't believe I was holding a vampire's hands.
They were as cold as the ice on the tundra.
"Vincent, I was in your cave this morning. When I saw that beautiful furniture and wall decoration, I thought to myself, the person who used to live here must have been really rich and enjoyed his life. But as far as I'm concerned, possessions don't make a happy family. People make it. It takes years of heavy labor of love. I don't know exactly what happened to you and your son, but I know that you must have tried very hard..."
Vincent wailed.
He shook his head and said, "No. I'm not a good father..."
Will yelled at his father, "No, you aren't! You're not even a hUman being! You've changed me into a vampire and you didn't even ask me if I wanted to be changed into one! You just want me to be one of your possessions, being stuck with you for a thousand years! You don't need a son! You just need your freakin' golden egg!"
As he said, he threw the golden egg at his father. It hit Vincent's head and bounced back on the floor.
Will continued indignantly, "You're obsessed with your possessions! That's why all the people who steal our stuff get cursed. They're cursed because they're consumed by your obsession! I'm not a toy! Look at me, I'm your son! I'm standing right in front of you!"
Vincent bent down and picked up the golden egg. He looked at it and then shifted his sight to his son.
"I'm sorry for everything," he said in a shallow voice, "I'm sorry for changing you into a vampire without giving you an option. You were sick when you were little. No doctors could save your life, no matter how much money I offered to them. I didn't want to lose you, so I changed you into a vampire. I know you've been stuck in a little boy's body for all these years and you hate me for not being able to grow up..."
"I'd rather die than be a little boy for the rest of my life!" Will screamed.
"It's all my fault, Will. Please forgive me." Vincent covered his face.
Will roared in tremendous anger. He charged at his father and tried to push him. But he failed because he had only the strength of a little child.
Vincent held him in his arms, but he protest violently, beating and kicking his father.
"No! No! No! You have no right to ask for my forgiveness! Don't touch me! You sick greedy old bastard! Can't you just let go?! Let go of your obsession! Let go of me!"
"I've already let go, Will," Vincent cried and said, "You're dead. All my possessions are gone. I've got nothing now."
"I'm not dead! I'm still alive!" Will screamed, trying to break free from his father's arms.
Vincent looked puzzled.
Then, he said in a chilling voice, "But that's not possible. I've killed you. I buried you in the marsh..."
"The salamanders saved me! They pulled me out of the marsh and took me home! They were the only ones for me while my life was hanging on by a thread. Now you're crazy because you drank your own son's blood. Now you want to end this by begging for my forgiveness?! Don't even think about it! You'll be suffering from your own madness for the rest of your life! That's what you deserve!"
I was literally speechless.
This didn't make any sense at all.
Vincent was crazy. Yes, he was.
But he just didn't come across as being a guy who was capable of killing his own son and burying him alive.
I looked at the salamanders.
"What happened to them?" I asked.
Mr. Salamander couldn't speak a word, because he was missing some part of his tongue.
He looked at Ms. Salamander and nodded his head.
Ms. Salamander said, "We shouldn't tell you about this, but it's really high time put this whole tragedy to an end. Vincent and Will were having a happy family life. Vincent used to be rich and generous. He has helped a lot of people in his life. My brother used to play with Will all the time in the cave. But when Vincent changed him into a vampire, they started to fight each other all the time. At first, we thought it was just a family thing. You know, I fight with my brother all the time, but it didn't mean that we don't love each other anymore. But this kid went crazy. He mixed his own blood with ox blood and gave it to his father. He wanted to kill his father. But after Vincent drank his own son's blood, he went crazy and almost killed his son. He dumped Will's body in the marsh and my brother saved him. I told him to stay out of this, but he just wouldn't listen to me."
I was shocked.
I had some feeling that this whole thing was ugly.
But I hadn't thought that it would turn out to be this ugly.
"Let go of me! I hate you! I curse you! I want to kill you!" Will used all his efforts to shout at his father.
Vincent just didn't seem to hear what he said and looked at me.
"What have I done with my life? What have I done to my family? I used to have everything. Now, the people whom I used to help are trying to steal from me. They were cursed and dead because of me. I've killed so many people... It's pouring rain outside, but I can't even go home because my own son is trying to kill me," he murmured to himself.
I noticed that he had regained sanity, so I said, "Vincent, I really understand you. My father blames me for taking away my mother's life because she passed away while giving birth to me. I have always wanted to beg for my father's forgiveness, but no matter how hard I've tried, I just can't bring my mother back to life. Eventually, he sold me to a murderer and I knew that I would never ever reconcile with him in my life. That's how destiny works. Everything has already been written. If you know you can't get forgiveness from others, the only thing you can do is redeem yourself. You're a loving father. You're not supposed to be living a dog's life like this. Stop punishing yourself. Get yourself together. You're not insane. You're just... Sad. It's OK to be sad and there's nothing wrong with it."
Vincent held his son tightly in his arms and cried his eyes out.
The tears of remorse and sorrow zigzagged all over his pale, chiseled face.
"Vincent, I know it's not the time to ask for a favor, but I really need you to lift the curse on my friend. He's got a big family. His children are expecting him to go home. Take this as the first step for you to redeem yourself. It's never too late to stop killing and start helping others."
Vincent was lost for a brief moment, but then, I saw resolution on his face.
He put the golden egg on top of Mr. Weasel's body and said in a low voice, "It's yours now. Take it as my gift of a new life for you."