The Numbers That Brought Our Fates Together - 326 Too Late.

“Excuse me, can you tell us how to get to the serpentarium?” The ringing female voice distracted the couple from a lively discussion. Amelia raised her head and saw two pretty girls who kept their eyes on Marcus.

The man gave the ice cream to the girl, got up from the bench and began to explain the way to two strangers. The zoo was large, and getting lost in it was easy enough.

Amelia immediately realized that these visitors did not even listen to the explanations, but only were giggling playfully and looking at the man. Serpentarium, my foot.

She went to Marcus, grabbed his hand and looked at the girls with maliciousness, “When you get to the place, do not forget to take a picture with a pair of vipers, you look so much like them,” and smiled.

For a moment, silence fell in the air.

The frozen faces of the girls in the next second warped from indignation, “Oh, you are little thing! What did you say?!”

“Sorry, my daughter is just not in the mood today,” Marcus tried to smooth out the delicate situation, but his comment only added fuel to the fire.

“Who is your daughter here?! You don’t see that they weren’t even listening to you! But they were ready to wrap themselves around you like two snakes!” When Amelia was outraged or annoyed, she was not shy about expressing her thoughts the way she wanted.

“I will teach you some manners!” one of the girls took a step towards Amelia, but then backed away when she felt Marcus’s murderous look on her. The man covered the child with himself and made it clear that he is not the kind of person to look for troubles with.

The girls looked at each other, snorted, and walked away with displeased faces.

“What is the matter with you today?! Do you even understand how rude you behaved?” Marcus began to chastise Amelia when strangers disappeared from sight.

“What is the matter with you?! They are openly flirting with you, and you’re glad about it! But what about Polina?” she objected in reply.

“F-fliringt? You are ten years old, where do you know about such words at all?! And what does Polina have to do with it?”

“It’s all about her! If you are going to marry her, you have to be more serious!”

“Marry?!” Marcus ran his hands through his hair, this argument took a strange twist, “Lord, where did you get this from?”

“I saw it in a dream! You had a daughter! And then Polina played with her! And you two hugged and kissed! And don’t tell me that this is not so! All my dreams come true! She said she loves you! And you know what? Don’t come to visit us anymore! You make me feel weird! You only promise to be by our side, but when you have your own child, you will not need me!”

Marcus froze for a moment from the unexpected tirade of Amelia. Tears appeared in the eyes of the girl, and she was looking at him as if he was the last traitor on earth.

The man sighed, took the child by the hand, and sat her back on the bench. He took a photograph from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to Amelia. In the photo, he was dressed in a Japanese kimono and was sitting at a low table, enjoying the tea ceremony.

“Who do you see here?”

“You,” the girl answered, wiping her wet nose with her hand.

“Nope. This is Armand. My twin brother.”

“You have a brother?! A twin brother?!”

Marcus nodded his head affirmatively, “That’s right. Polina loves not me, but him. Therefore, it wasn’t me in your dream,” the man watched as new information was loaded into the girl’s head, “Now we move on to the next point. What were you saying there? Something like I won’t need you in the future?”

Amelia’s cheeks blushed instantly. So he had a twin brother! Now everything became clear to her! What a shame…

The corners of Marcus’s lips turned up, the girl embarrassingly lowered her head and played with her fingers crossed on her knees. He tenderly stroked her head and replied, “So you sulked at me? Thought that I would marry Polina and would not visit you anymore?”

Amelia froze, and then she nodded her head slightly. Marcus smiled. What a charming child…

Her birth alone made his life truly vibrant. It was thanks to Amelia that he could meet every morning like an ordinary person, without the need to take someone’s energy to get rid of the pain that was tearing him inside out. She was his air, filling his existence with meaning.

“Do not worry. I’m not going to marry or start a family. If you need my help, I will always be there. As long as you yourself want it. So do not be sad anymore from such trifles you got me?”

“I got you,” Amelia answered quietly, without raising her head. She was embarrassed by her impulsive act and wanted to end this conversation faster. But deep down she was pleased by the words of the man.

Marcus was her family, as were her parents. Those who were near her since birth and the girl could not imagine that he would suddenly disappear from her life.

“Ta-dah! Amelia, look what a cool dolphin I bought for you!” Polina ran to the bench and handed the girl a small toy.

Bang!

The loud bang and the ensuing noise attracted everyone’s attention. There were screams.

Marcus walked forward to check what happened. In one of the arcade machines located along the pedestrian alley, electricity shorted out and it burst into flames like a match. An employee working with the machine was running back and forth with a scream, trying to find a fire extinguisher, but that no longer made sense, since the machine was damaged.

“Hmm, it seems nothing serious. Let’s move on,” Marcus commented indifferently and turned to Amelia. The girl stood with a chalk-white face and did not take her eyes off the fire-covered gaming machine. Sparks of flame danced in her pupils.

“Amelia?” the man asked in a slightly alarmed voice, the girl backed away, and then turned and ran toward the exit as fast as she could.

Marcus and Polina rushed after her, not understanding what was happening.

“Amelia, wait! What happened?” he grabbed her hand as soon as he caught up, but the girl pulled it out.

“Don’t touch me! It was because of you that I didn’t feel anything! I told her that I didn’t see anything near you, but she didn’t listen to me!” Amelia shouted with a tear in her voice, she was on the verge of hysteria, and Marcus did not understand what was happening.

“What the hell is this?! Can you explain normally?!”

“Mom… mom… she…,” the girl choked with tears, unable to utter a word, “To the clinic… I need to go to the clinic…,” she turned to run on, but Marcus grabbed her and picked her up.

“Let me go now! I don’t see her because of you!” Amelia beat his chest and tried to break free, but Marcus’s hands, like strong chains, riveted her fragile body to him.

“Take it easy! There are five kilometers to Martin’s clinic. Are you going to run there? By car, we will be there in five minutes!”

The man’s words calmed the child down a little, but Amelia continued to cry without ceasing. Marcus had never seen her in this condition; the anxious feeling in his chest only confirmed that something serious had happened.

He put the girl in the back seat with Polina, got behind the wheel and pressed the gas pedal hard. The car roared along the road, crossing traffic lights into a red light until it hit a traffic jam. A motorcade of police cars blocked the road, noise and sirens were heard around.

There was only one turn left to the clinic. Marcus looked out the window and his hands went cold.

A huge cloud of black smoke towered over the buildings.

“Amelia!” the man shouted after the girl who jumped out of the car right on the roadway.

He ran after her, leaving the car and not listening to the yells of indignant drivers. All his attention was focused on the child, whose silhouette began to get lost in the crowd of onlookers filling the street.

Amelia ran as fast as she could, stumbling and crashing into passers-by. In her ears stood the sound of sirens and the cries of people.

The girl turned around the corner and froze, horror gripped her body, her hands and lips trembled.

She knew she could prevent this, but she was late.

By the time Amelia got to the clinic, the whole building was already on fire.