Ryan walked up to the front desk and spoke to the receptionist, explaining why he was there to her. But the receptionist denied him entrance, stating her reasons for it. He tried explaining how important it is to see Ciara at the moment but the receptionist kept turning him down, no matter how hard he tried.
Ryan was frustrated, how was he supposed to explain his relationship with Ciara to this lady? He will only sound like a madman telling her he was her ex-husband since no one knew about their marriage -he doubts it if her family knows anything about it too.
"I'm sorry, but I really need to see her." Ryan pleaded, his frustration mounting, and was left with no choice but to spill the beans. "She's my ex-wife, and I need to talk to her. I'm not at rest hearing about her predicament, that's why I'm here; I just want to make sure she's okay."
The receptionist still looked skeptical, but she could see the desperation in Ryan's eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't make an exception, no matter how much you want to see her or who you are to her." She replied in her best calmed voice. "I'm not trying to be a bad person here, I'm only doing my job. I hope you understand."
Ryan unconsciously nodded in reply as he felt like he was running out of options. He knew he had to find a way to see Ciara, no matter what it takes. Cajoling this woman was out of the option, he'll still end up with the same answer, no matter how hard he tried.
He sighed continuously, rubbing his temples slowly in total frustration and confusion. This was driving him crazy, he thought of a possible way out to see Ciara as he rested his weight on the receptionist's counter, but couldn't come up with one.
As Ryan stood there, struggling to come up with a solution, he heard the sound of a door opening and closing. He looked up, and saw an old lady walking towards the
receptionist's desk. She was wearing a displeased look and a little boy was holding on to her grip equally wearing the same look as hers -if not worse!
As he stared at the little boy, his eyes widened in surprised and at that moment, he felt as if his vocal cord was taken away from him. He's been through different shocks and surprises, but this one was farfrom every other ones.
"Why does the little boy look so much like me...？" He questioned himself, his eyes still widened in surprised and find it hard to believe what he was seeing.
Ryan was mesmerized by the sight before him, this was far from what he was expecting -who would have thought there's a little boy somewhere who looks exactly the same as himself. Of course, no one -not even his mother, will.
The little boy looked up at Ryan before he got the chance to snap out of his trance and turn away, his eyes mirroring the same surprise that Ryan felt. He tugged on the woman's dress, pointing at Ryan and whispering something to her. The woman looked up at Ryan, her gaze narrowing as she studied his face.
"Are you related to Ciara Fellers?" The woman asked, her voice sharp and demanding and before Ryan could say anything, she beat him to it with another demanding question. "Why are you staring at the little boy with such kind of stare?"
Ryan hesitated, unsure of how to answerthe question. He knew that telling the truth would lead to a lot of questions, and he would rather not get into all of that right now; he did not have any plans forthat at the moment.
But it was difficult to avoid, not with the Little boy who looked like him and the old lady who's being hard on him. He gulped down the invincible lump in his throat, suddenly overwhelmed with anxiety.
"Uh -I..."Ryan found himself suddenly losing his confidence as he stammered, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a response. "I'm...I'm her friend. I'm visiting her because I'm worried about her -it's been years since we've seen each other, I just arrived in the States lately."
The woman still looked skeptical, but she seemed to be willing to accept his answer for now. "Well, I'm afraid you can't see her right now. She's isolated and only close family members are allowed to visit." She told him in reply. "I'm sorry you can't see her at this time."
Ryan felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, knowing that there was no way he could convince the woman to let him in. "I know, the receptionist already told me this too." He muttered, his voice sounding downcast. But the woman did not botherto reply to him as she turned towards the receptionist instead.
"I'm sorry, uncle." The little boy voiced, sounding sympathetic. "We are also here to see mom, but the doctor advised we visit some other day because her condition is severe, I understand how you are feeling too."
Ryan was shocked at the boy's words, 'did he just say Ciara is his mother?' He asked within himself, unable to comprehend what he heard.
"Did you say she's your mom?" Ryan finds himself asking the little boy with so much curiosity laced in his voice. He's not only mesmerized by the fact that he's Ciara's son but at his level of intelligence too. Who would have thought a little boy like him was capable of such words.
"Yes, uncle." The little boy replied with a curt nod. "And it saddened my heart to see her in such a helpless situation. The doctor said she's trying her best on mom, but I doubt if it's enough to restore my mom's health. You are mom's friend, right?"
Ryan was forced to tell the little boy the truth about his relationship with his mother, but he couldn't, he isn't even sure ifthe boy is Ciara's son as he claimed. "Yes, I am." He replied slowly.
"Can you please help my mom, uncle?" The little boy begged with trepidation in his eyes. "Since you are her friend, you should be able to help her, right? No one can stand seeing their friend in the same condition as my mom's."
"I'm afraidI..."
The old lady suddenly grabbed the little boy by his wrist, cutting Ryan off abruptly. "Haven't you been warned not to speak to strangers, Herzl?" The woman cautioned the little boy.
"I'm sorry, auntie, but he's no stranger. He said he's mom's friend, is he still a stranger?" Herzl asked innocently.
"Of course, he is." The woman replied almost immediately. "Can you prove that he's a friend to your mom? Since you can't, he's still a stranger; you shouldn't be talking to him."
Herzl sighed with the glint of guilt in his eyes as he stared at Ryan, who smiled warmly at him. He watched the little boy leave the reception with the old laugh, heaving out a small sigh. He couldn't deny the fact that he has already grown affection forthe little boy.
There was enough evidence proving the boy might be his -Ryan did not want to live or base his belief on probability, he'll have to find out if truly the little boy was his!