48 Hours a Day

It was a bit of an awkward atmosphere.

However, the mother wasn’t bothered about educating her daughter at the moment. When she heard the knocking on the door downstairs, she immediately got dressed, rushed down, opened the door, and saw the man that she had been thinking about for the longest time.

Twenty-one days had passed since Matthew’s disappearance. Inevitably, some bad thoughts had crossed her mind, and her heart had sunk many a time. Now that her husband had safely returned, tears started welling up in her eyes.

Immediately, she ran into Matthew’s embrace.

But then, she heard someone talking. “Shouldn’t you introduce them to me, Matthew?”

Wendy’s mother looked up and saw an elderly hunchbacked man and three burly men standing behind Matthew. If the bar owner were here, he would probably recognize one of them as the one who brought him the liquor yesterday afternoon. The old man then took off his hat and bowed to her, “Don’t worry, ma’am, we are all friends of Matthew.”

Wendy’s mother looked at her husband.

The latter nodded, “Jane, this is Cook, Cook, this is Jane, my wife.”

Jane breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and stretched out her hand, “Forgive my nervousness. Matthew hasn’t returned from home for a long time. Wendy ran away with an Asian man earlier, and we didn’t know where he came from. There was a rumor saying that a group of bandits was planning to rob the town, and so on... I remember that the leader of the band was also called Cook.”

“There are a lot of coincidences in this world, madam.” The old man kissed the back of her hand, continuing politely, “I hope I didn’t disturb you. Seeing you is like seeing my daughter. You are so kind and pure. It’s a pity she wasn’t as lucky as you.”

“You are too kind. Why would you say that?”

“Oh, something has happened to her, terrible things, but it’s all over. It’s better not to mention it,” said the old man said to the three men behind him. “Stay here.”

The three men nodded.

Then the humpback and Matthew walked into the house together. When he saw Wendy coming down the stairs, a smile broke out on his wrinkled face. “Look at this lovely girl. She’s your daughter, I suppose? Matthew has spoken about you many times. Your name is Wendy, right?” The old man touched his pocket and took out a gold bar. “Sorry, I was in a hurry along the way. I didn’t have time to buy any candy. Let me give you this instead.”

“The is too expensive!” Jane quickly rejected the gift. “It’s nothing. It’s just a small gift. Good people like you deserve nothing less than this. Just treat it as a gift of fate.”

“Jane, go get something to eat. Neither Cook nor I had dinner yet,” said Matthew while waiting for the old hunchback.

“Okay, I remember I baked some cookies in the morning.”

“Very well. Please make two more cups of tea as well.” After Matthew spoke, he looked at Wendy again, “Go and help your mother.”

Wendy glared at her father, then looked at Cook suspiciously before finally followed her mother to the kitchen.

After the two left, the old hunchback said, “The child has eyes quite like yours. When I first saw you, you were just like her, vigilant, stubborn...”

“Don’t beat around the bush, Cook. Aren’t we here to check out the town? Why come to my house?” Matthew interrupted.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. Morris had already inquired about everything that I wanted to know yesterday,” said the old hunchback said leisurely. “I did ask him to inquire about your residence.’

“What do you want?”

“Nothing, just a little curious about your life.”

Cook put his foot on the table in front of him. “I have always regarded you as my son. I want to know how you’ve been after we separated.”

“You can ask me directly,” Matthew said with a sullen face.

“Yes, but I prefer to see it with my own eyes.” The hunchbacked old man smiled, “I’m sorry to interfere with your life. Really, I hope we can warm up a little. Let’s start with what we’ve done all these years. I’ll start first; then, you will tell me how your life has been...” “I don’t need you to tell me. I know what you have done all these years. You’ve been quite a frequent topic in the papers.”

“Well... I must admit that I am really popular with reporters and newspapers. As long as I’m still here, they will never be unemployed.” The hunched old man shrugged.

“Whatever you have done... those things... they’re not funny. You and your thugs burned and looted every place you come across. Whether the rich or poor, the old or young, you wouldn’t let them live. You set fire to the church and slaughtered babies...” Matthew snapped coldly. “Fear is power in itself. You must learn and harness it and use it to your advantage. I am a robber, not a priest. Why should I do good deeds and listen to everyone’s bitter tales?”.

The hunchbacked old man paused.

“Damn it. I thought you would become a little more mature after that incident. In the end, it appears you are no different from your past self. Okay, that’s all for the topic. Let’s get down to brass taxes. I know you have heard a lot of news about me over the years, but the next thing I want to tell you has never been reported in the newspapers. No... I should say that even most of Cook gang members know nothing about it.” “What have you done this time?”

“It has nothing to do with that.” The hunchback looked straight into Matthew’s eyes. “I’m going to die, Matthew.”

“After you have done so many bad deeds, do you think you will get a good death?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Cook waved his hand, “I said I am going to die, and I’m referring to my health. My time is running out. I can feel it. This is why I’ve come back to find you.”

Matthew fell silent after hearing this. “How do you know you are dying?” “It is my body; of course, I know I am dying,” the hunched old man said. “I have seen the face of death himself. He has blue eyes, just like Mary. I am not afraid of death, but I do have a few things to do before I die. And the most important thing is to look for someone who can take over the Cook gang.”

“And you want me to take over the Cook gang and become the next you?” “Why not? Believe me. You will love this feeling of freedom. You are now trapped by the menial and the mundane with a pretense of false happiness. I’ve come to your home tonight to free you from this tragic cycle.”