Chapter 2 Revelations

That morning was absolutely running smoothly. Nothing was out of place.

Mr Gonzalez also seemed to be enjoying the moment more as his daughter was. The freedom they both enjoyed on the horse was more than enough to make one walk a mile on thin ice.

It was always moments like this one that Joan would find her playful and serious imaginative sense take the absolute control of her mind. This was no different but but she still could not think of anything otherwise than the beautiful skin of the horse as well as its vibrant nature of activity and strength.

Joan found herself sitting in-between his legs atop the horse in no time and they were both laughing and having a wonderful moment for themselves.

Gonzalez loved very few things unconditionally in his life but Valentina and Joan were his favorite favorite-two. He would move the world to make them happy and that did not stop at just being a caring husband and a most loving father, but it also seemed that he enjoyed making them happy at any slightest chance he got to do so.

Before he ventured into fishing, following his friend Cleopas' advice, he would only stand there and watch them play all day as though nothing mattered to him like their happiness. He seemed to derive absolute joy from seeing his family smile and living freely and happily in nature's assuring bosom of time and space.

That was at a time when he had decided to change his identity for his family's sake and therefore assumed an entirely different one. He had come with so much to have a noble life but that would still sell them off as affluent and so their name might travel to places they did not wish to be known at. He became a fisherman, made some local friends due to his friendly nature and compassion for the human being and eventually climbed through the ranks of the local fishermen association of Grandale but on a different identity and never when for meetings outside of Grandale but his assistants.

Joan was begining to let herself go by freely waving her hands in the wind up and down in a semicircular motion as the horse continued to race about and made no time to stop at its lightning speed when suddenly, she heard a peculiar voice.

"This girl!". It was her mother, Valentina.

She knew she was supposed to go and report to her mother that she had done her part in the barn and that it was her mother's turn to come do the rest but, as usual, she does not let an opportunity to mount the horse like that pass her by without a sweet tour atop the horses back.

"You must start shunning the activities of men or one day you will wake up with loins hanging in-between your feeble legs and only then will you learn to focus on womanly tasks" said her mother jokingly and her father joined in the laughing.

Joan did not find that joke funny at all or the fact that her father would find it funny.

She always knew that her mother had an exaggerative sexual sense of humor which seldom manifests but which also always pissed her off but this one was way off the line. Her parents held a strang

She only dropped her hands and frowned.

"C'mon MI armor, we were just having a great daddy and daughter moment with her you know. There's nothing wrong with that. Even you used to like it" he said while patting Joan on the shoulder.

"Well, she is wasting time learning how to be a woman from a man, ha!" Said Valentina as she picked up the bucket and hurriedly headed into the open barn.

While inside, Joan could hear her mother cursing at the top of her voice," where did all this water come from? "

There was silence and Joan joined her father in laughing." I thought the plan was to wash the pigs only not to reek a flood upon the whole barn? " asked Valentina rhetorically.

Joan and her father laughed the more and she could hear her mother laughing too.

"You will not kill me this one. You're indeed a lot to handle. Hahaha", Valentina added.

The duo had had enough of the horseback and had begun to be bored of the pleasures that should always seem unending.

Joan had found absolute happy moments like this with her father the best remedy before any day sprang open for school.

Yes it was time for Joan to head out to school. She knew too absolutely well to go get ready before Valentina came calling once again.

So Joan headed to her room and changed , got ready for the bathroom while her warm water was already set by her mother. She headed straight to the pot and get her herself a bucketful and dangled her way to the bathroom where she would always sing her favorite songs while bathing and having the best of the moment.

At moments like that where she sang her whole lungs out, nothing more than what Abel the butler would say always rang in her minds.

"Stop singing you.", he would say. "Don't you know that there are spirits capable of stealing people's voices while they sing and bath?" He would add.

And just like that, she would find herself shutting up in an attempt to preserve her voice from being stolen by the mighty magical invisible spiritual being of the bathroom.

One of such memories that she remembers vividly is one where Abel handed her some towels while the other female maids ensured that her other clothing's were handy. The next minute, of course, she would throw herself in the dirt of the gardens and dirty herself to her satisfaction.

What was more satisfying was just how the maids would frown at her but be powerless to correct her the traditional way.

Was this still an illusion or was it some fragments of her past? She could always only wonder.

Joan had prepared for school when someone came into the house and requested to see her father immediately.

Her mother did not ask "why" as she often did when strangers came knocking.

It seemed, to Joan, as though she knew this strange man from somewhere but that was not Joan's concern at the moment.

Joan still went on her own to the kitchen and fetched herself some chips and spaghetti.

After a good meal, Joan asked her mother to accompany her to school.

Valentina had to ask her husband who was in a serious meeting with the stranger if allowing their daughter to go to school in such a situation was the best thing to do and her husband nodded and told her not to worry. He told her that the issue was based on an agreement and he was going to take care of it. He also advised Valentina to accompany the young girl to school just in the case of any contingencies.

On their way, a man called Valentina by a name Joan had never heard her mother answer before.

He ordered them not to do anything stupid.

The mother held her ground and obeyed.

" What was going on?

What had Valentina done to these men?

Was Valentina even her name?

Was Joan safe? "

These were some of the question that freely ran through Joan's troubled mind as they awaited further orders from the men who seemed to be appearing from anywhere.

Joan and her mother were taken into a corner, blindfolded and guided into a vehicle that came afterwards and taken deep into the forest and where they found a building and put them the women in.

Joan could not particularly make sense of what was happening anymore. It was no longer funny or even conventional. Sunset was already making its way beyond the valley and it felt as hot as the afternoon had been because Joan's heart was beating faster than it had ever done in her entire life.

Those men whom Joan knew not were still holding the two of them captive, at least they were not too harsh on her. They treated her differently and ensured she had a good meal. But her mother, Valentina, they didn't care a bit about.

Valentina on the other hand was unfazed, she did not plead or ask for an explanation. This only made Joan the more curious.

"Mom, what's going on?" She asked.

"Fear not my cherry papaya," Valentina said in a carefree but yet comforting manner.

"These men simply kidnapped us for ransom, " she added.

"But why? What have we done to them?" Joan asked.

"My dear, do not be afraid. Be the strong girl I raised you to be. Your father has everything under control. He will surely come and get us out of here alright?"

"Ok mommy."

The duo sat there in the cell, looking around and checking to see if Mr Gonzalez would appear at any moment.

The anticipation between the women and kidnappers hung in the air, but as time went by, Mr Gonzalez never showed up. Joan's hopes of being rescued grew and then fell again.

Then Valentina started thinking and everything began to make a little sense. She began to put the pieces together, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

Valentina realized that her husband must have been doing everything he could to come and get them, but at that point in time, it seemed like there was more to his coming than she knew or realized.

The kidnappers were not known by many people, except those in their line of work. They were a notorious gang known as legendary Mannetii Militia. They were a clan and rather an offshoot the Mannetii Revolution who had decided to break out and form their own alliance, and they made their living in very shady and immoral ways.

They began by stealing and snatching things from people, and gradually, this developed into a pattern of organized crimes, and soon, they could no longer agree to survive on petty robberies and so, went into burglary and eventually into kidnapping for ransom.

They became structured and well coordinated. They knew everyone.

Valentina realized that the militia had learned their secrets despite their years of hiding. She knew they had done their best to keep their secrets hidden, but it was not enough.

This militia was, of course, cunning and deceptive. Their methods were devious and inscrutable. They were strong, innovative and resourceful, willing to sacrifice anything to achieve their ends. The biggest question now was whether Valentina's husband was truly coming to help them. She was certain he knew all about the situation, but she could not be sure of his intentions.

Joan on the other hand, had stopped thinking about her father and instead focused on finding solutions.

She had wondered if perhaps they could escape, even though they had no weapons. She knew they had to outsmart the men, who were clearly no longer paying attention to them. Her perseverance and determination were the catalyst to her thoughts. Despite the bleak situation, she was still refusing to give up.

Perhaps she had seen movies or TV shows about people who escaped from captivity, or read about similar stories in the news. These experiences inspired her with the hope and courage to think that she, and her mom, could be able to do anything.

Her resourcefulness was her asset – she is never willing to sit back and accept her fate, but was always actively thinking of ways to improve her situation.

Those men did not seem to care a bit about the women anymore. They were more concerned about something outside the house rather than inside.

Joan noticed this change in their demeanour and wondered what could have caused it. She watched them carefully, trying to discern any clues that might help her understand the situation. Her mind began racing with possibilities.

Could it be that her father was on his way to rescue them?

If not, why were the men suddenly so alert and on edge?

Valentina had noticed the men's behaviour too. To her, it felt as if something big was about to happen.

She knew that the men were about to face something significant, but she did not know what it was or will be; She knew her husband, he is a man of many surprises. So they waited and it came.