"Goodbye, and don't come back now, sir," a prison guard said from in front of the barred exit.
"Thanks for your cooperation these last 20 years... I'll be on my way," replied Maxwell, who was now about 55 years old.
Maxwell's body looked very thin as he walked away from his home of the last 20 years: prison. He walked weakly, carrying his only bag, which contained all of his clothes and belongings. His face looked grim because he didn't know where to go. He took a piece of paper from his pocket with a person's name and address on it. Then he started walking, and after walking all day, his steps led him to the middle of the city.
He saw many tall buildings, like a dense and crowded concrete jungle. He also saw many different kinds of pedestrians: some were running in a hurry with worried faces, looking at their watches, some were walking leisurely and joking with their friends, and some were sitting, looking at the advanced smartphones in their hands. All of it was foreign to him, who hadn't seen the outside world for 20 years.
Finally, after walking for a very long time through the city, he arrived at an old, dilapidated, and uninhabited house. He took the paper out of his pocket again and looked at the house in front of him.
"This is the house, but it makes sense that it's in ruins now. She gave me this paper about 13 years ago," he said to himself with a smile.
Tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at the name written on the paper that his tears had fallen on and smiled bitterly.
"Carmen, you must be happy now, huh? I'm sorry, Dad is sorry," he said to himself.
Maxwell started walking again, leaving the house. Almost all the pedestrians in the neighborhood moved away from him, whispering. He ignored them and kept walking until he finally reached a river. He went down and walked along the riverbank under a bridge. When he arrived, he put his things down and leaned against the wall, then drank from a bottle he was carrying.
He looked up and thought about what he should do with his life now. He had no one, nothing, and didn't know where to go.
"If I knew this would happen, I would've been better off staying in prison, hahaha," he muttered to himself.
He took his paper out again and looked at the name Carmen, his beloved daughter, who was 10 years old when he was arrested. She had visited Maxwell in prison about 13 years ago when she was still a teenager, secretly, without Fiona's knowledge. She had given him the address where she lived with Fiona. He fell into a daze, ignoring his surroundings.
***
My name is Maxwell Morisson, the first of two children in the Morisson family. My father's name was Henry Morisson, and my mother's name was Linda Morisson. I have a younger brother, two years my junior, named Oliver Morisson. Since childhood, I was the golden child because I was the first son and the heir to the family business. To be honest, my family was very rich and lived in a big mansion in the middle of the city.
Because I was always spoiled, I always sought attention and got angry if my parents started paying attention to Oliver. I was handsome, had a good body, and many women liked me. But even so, I always made sure that my brother didn't get any attention from my parents. Meanwhile, I always lived a glamorous life. In high school, I bullied kids who were weaker than me.
I always treated girls and, of course, slept with them as payment. It's safe to say I was a real piece of garbage, but a rich one because my parents always gave me as much money as I wanted. After I met Fiona in college, she was initially a fun person, but after we got married, she would always lecture me, even though my own parents never did.
I never talked to my brother, but at my mother's birthday party, I saw my brother arrive with his new wife, Melissa. My envy toward my brother returned. The reason was, after I investigated, my brother was always independent, had his own social circle, which in my opinion were people below me, had a stable job outside of my father's company, and looked very happy with Melissa, who looked very beautiful to me.
Of course, I couldn't let that be. Even though I already had my daughter Carmen at that time, my relationship with Fiona was not good because she was too chatty and always made an issue out of saving money for Carmen's future. I started to destroy Oliver's life from behind. First, I attacked his job because I knew that Melissa looked like a woman who always wanted a glamorous life, and if Oliver didn't have a job, she would easily move on to me.
I kept an eye on Oliver. As soon as he was getting back on his feet, I would destroy his life again until Melissa started to crack and constantly fought with Oliver. That's when I came in as a good brother and a bridge for both of them, although my real goal was to get closer to Melissa. After trying to hold back my ego for a few months, Melissa fell into my hands. I felt satisfied and continued to live two lives at once. On one side, I went home to Fiona and Carmen, and on the other, I was secretly with Melissa.
But everything was ruined when Melissa told me she was pregnant. That's when I started to panic because I didn't want to disrupt the dynamics of my two lives. At that time, Fiona started to watch me and often asked me all sorts of questions. Although I managed to avoid her, I never suspected that they were planning behind my back and would take me down until I was in prison. My parents couldn't defend me, my uncle Jake hated me, and of course, my brother Oliver didn't consider me family anymore.
I knew that Oliver, Fiona, and Melissa no longer wanted to have anything to do with me when Carmen came to visit me in prison 13 years ago. She told me that Oliver had finally married Fiona and had become her father. He was also raising Melissa's son, named Caleb. They had become a happy family without me and Melissa in it. Of course, that news broke me, but Carmen said something I never expected.
"To me, you're still my dad, but I can't condone what you did that hurt Mom and Papa Oliver. If you get out and change, I'm willing to have a relationship with you again. This is our new address," Carmen said, giving me a piece of paper.
Since then, I have spent my time thinking, and I regret everything while serving my sentence. I even refused the parole that the court offered because of my good behavior in prison. I chose not to get out and to continue reflecting on my life until it was time to leave. Although it was too late, I couldn't meet them and disrupt their lives again. I was relieved when I found out that the house at that address was in ruins and no longer inhabited. That way, I didn't know where they were and didn't have to look for them.
But, I really wanted to meet Carmen. I miss seeing her. I want to know if she's okay. I want to know if she's married or not. I want to know if I have grandchildren and so much more. Now, nothing can go back to how it was before. Everything has changed. I have no choice but to live the rest of my life alone and regret all my actions since I was a child.
***
While he was lost in thought, suddenly, "Thief!" a woman screamed. Maxwell turned to see a motorcycle with two people on it, riding along the riverbank toward him. Without delay, Maxwell stood up and stood in the way of the motorcycle, which was coming toward him quickly. The driver, seeing Maxwell standing in front of him, panicked and turned the motorcycle so that "splash," the motorcycle and its passengers fell into the river.
Maxwell saw a few people running toward him, chasing the motorcycle. He turned to look at the motorcyclists who were trying to get to the riverbank with their friend. Of course, Maxwell tried to block them, but "stab," the passenger suddenly plunged a knife into Maxwell's stomach and kicked him, making him fall backward, while the passenger fell back into the river.
Maxwell held back the pain of the stab wound in his old body and tried to get up to block the motorcyclists who intended to get out of the river and run away. The two motorcyclists tried to get up and pulled Maxwell's legs, making him fall again. They pulled Maxwell into the river and hit his head so that Maxwell would pass out and they could run away. But Maxwell caught the leg of one of the two men and made him fall.
Before the motorcyclist caught by Maxwell could attack Maxwell again, some people had already caught him, and the rest were chasing the other motorcyclist who had run away. Maxwell felt relieved. Suddenly, his consciousness faded, and he couldn't feel his body anymore, but he smiled as he closed his eyes, which were filled with tears, as he sank deeper into the river.
"So... this is how it ends. But I don't regret it. I hope those thieves get caught. I'm sorry, Oliver, Fiona, Carmen. I was wrong... I'm sorry. If only I could have a second chance, I would never make the same mistakes again."
Maxwell passed out, and everything went dark. He died in regret, and his last words in his mind became his final prayer.