Family Reunion
Chapter 23: Family Reunion
In the streets of New York, a Korean couple in at least their late forties are seen, walking through the streets along with their son, who seemed to be in his teen years. The man was wearing a button up shirt and jeans while the woman was wearing t-shirt and sweatpants and the son was wearing a t shirt and jeans. As they walked, they were heading towards a certain place to meet a certain someone.
“Mom why are we going to Parker Industries?” the boy asked. “Don’t tell me you and dad are thinking of applying for a job over there.”
The man chucked at what his son just said, “Nope, we’re here to see a certain someone who happens to work there.”
“And who’s that?”
The woman smiled. “You’ll know when we get inside.”
“Alright then,” the boy said.
As the family of three finally arrived at Parker Industries, they entered the lobby and the man told his son to find a place to wait. They then asked the receptionist about their daughter and if can they see her, but with no success.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to see Mr. Parker and Mrs. Moon without an appointment.”
“I see. Can we make one right now?”
“Unless the appointment is about work-related business, then yes. Otherwise, if you’re here to see Mr. Peter Parker about anything other than work related business, then no. Sorry.”
“Oh,” the man said gloomily. “Well thanks.”
“Well?” the woman asked.
“It appears we can’t see our daughter at the moment.”
“I see,” the woman said sadly. “We came all the way here to see our daughter, who we gave to Ezekiel for her own protection. And as soon as the chance was in our grasp, we can’t. Guess we can’t see Cindy now.”
The man then placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure out a way.”
Just then, Anna was walking by and overheard what they said. She was surprised that they know who Cindy was, her connection with Ezekiel, and the bunker. Especially since the ones that fully know her were herself and Peter. That’s when it clicked inside of her, they were Cindy’s family, and they were trying to find their daughter.
“Excuse me, but did you say you were trying to find your daughter, right?”
“Y-Yes,” the woman said in surprise.
“And that daughter happened to Cindy Moon, who spent years in a bunker correct?”
“Yeah! Wait, how did you know?” the woman asked in surprise.
“Simple, Cindy told me and Peter.”
The couple were in wonder as the woman in front of them knew about what happened to Cindy years ago.
“Excuse me, but who are you?” the man asked.
“Me? I’m Anna Maria Marconi, Peter’s advisor.”
“Anna, I have a request for you. Can you let us speak with our daughter and Peter as well?”
Anna thought about it and had multiple thoughts about her request. While it would be nice to let Cindy and her family reunite, the problem was what Cindy’s reaction might be. After all, it’s been a long time since Cindy has seen her family, and she may have harbored some ill feelings about that. Eventually, Anna had an idea to solve this.
“Just let me call Peter about this,” Anna said.
As Anna reached for her smartphone in her pocket, she then called Peter about her dilemma.
“Anna?” Peter called?
“Hey Peter. Guess what?”
“What?”
“I’ve just found Cindy’s parents.”
“Really?! Are you sure they’re really Cindy’s parents?”
“Trust me. They know about the whole bunker case. I even asked them about Ezekiel, and apparently they know as well,” Anna said. Then she took a short glance at them before resuming her call. “Is Cindy with you by any chance?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Do you want to bring her down to get her to see her family?”
Peter then gave a long thought about it and had his answer.
“Sure, but send them up to my office.”
“Okay then. Bye,” Anna said as he hung up. “Well, guess we’re going to see your daughter now.”
The man and woman then hugged in happiness as they were able to see their daughter again. “Oh, thank you!”
“Your welcome,” Anna said with a smile. “By the way, I haven’t gotten to know your names. What are they?”
“Oh, sorry,” the woman said. “My name is Nari Moon. This is my husband, Albert Moon, and the kid over there is our son, Albert Moon Jr. Speaking of which, Albert, we’re leaving.”
“Coming,” Albert Jr. said as he came up to his parents. And the family of three and Anna headed to Peter’s office.
(In Peter’s office...)
“Peter, who was that?”
“That was Anna. Apparently, she’s bringing some guests over.”
“Really? Who?” Cindy asked as she was surprised that Anna was actually bringing someone over to Peter’s office. “Don’t tell me it’s Jessica and her friends again.”
Peter laughed at what Cindy said. “Relax, it’s not her. Rather it’s some people you already know before.”
“Really? Who?”
“You’ll find out as soon as they arrive.”
Just then, Anna came in, along with Cindy’s family. As they came into the room, Cindy had a face of shock on her.
“No...it can’t be...” Cindy said.
“Yes. We found your family. Or rather they found us,” Peter said.
As Cindy looked at her family, she couldn’t believe it. Her family, which she didn’t see for years after spending years in the bunker, was right in front of her.
After a short silence, Cindy was the first to speak. “Peter, do you mind if I go outside for a moment? I don’t think I’m ready for this yet.”
“Sure. Do you want me to come with you?”
“Yes. Definitely so.”
Peter and Cindy then left the office, leaving Anna and Cindy’s family confused.
“Mom, dad, who was that?” Albert Jr asked.
“Your sister,” they both said.
“What?!”
(Meanwhile, outside of Peter’s office...)
“Cindy, are you okay?” Peter asked.
“Honestly Peter, I’m not sure,” Cindy said.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like this......I am glad that we found my parents. However...the thing is...part of my mind is telling me that. While one part of my mind is happy that I get to see my parents again, I think that the other part of my mind is telling to forget about them after they gave me to Ezekiel and sent me to that bunker and left me there, forgotten.”
Peter was shocked at what Cindy just said. “Cindy...”
“I know it sounds horrible and selfish for me to say Peter. As much as I don’t want to admit it, a small part of myself deep down inside of my heart wanted me to forget about my parents and move on with you. No offense, but after what they did to me, I can’t help but get mad at them a little bit for forcing this upon me. I’m sorry Peter and I understand if you think low of me now,” Cindy said as she was waiting for Peter to get mad or disappointed over what she just said.
However, what happened next surprised Cindy. Peter then gave Cindy a hug of comfort and played with her hair. “It’s okay Cindy. I understand,” he said soothingly.
“Peter?”
“It’s okay if you have these kinds of thoughts. I understand because I used to have those kinds of thoughts too in my life as well. Plus, didn’t Ezekiel putting you in the bunker brought us together?”
“Yeah. But-”
Peter then interrupted Cindy. “And another thing, don’t you think you’re being a bit harsh on your parents? Sure, they may have given you to Ezekiel, but isn’t it because they were worried about you? I’m pretty sure no parent would send their child to someone else without a good reason to do so.”
As Cindy heard Peter’s explanation, she knew he was right. She knew that her parents wouldn’t allow Ezekiel to lock her up in a bunker for years. Especially after all her parents did for her before the spider bite. She knew there was a good reason why Cindy hasn’t seen her parents for years. In fact, after hearing Peter’s explanation, she was starting to have some questions about Ezekiel himself.
“You’re right Peter. Guess I was being a bit harsh on them earlier. Thanks for helping me.”
“You’re welcome,” Peter said as he let go of Cindy. “Are you ready now?”
“Yeah.”
And the two headed back towards Peter’s office. When they opened the door, they saw Cindy’s family sitting on one of the couches and Anna sitting on the other. There was silence in the room as Cindy and her family were looking at each other while her family was not only looking at Cindy, but also Peter as well. As Peter and Cindy sat on the couch across of Cindy’s family, the silence continued.
Eventually, the silence was broken by Cindy, which she started off the conversation.
“It’s been a while...mom, dad, little bro,” Cindy said.
“Hey...Cindy,” Albert said.
“Yeah, it’s been a while...sis.”
Another silence came as either side had an awkward moment between the two groups.
“One question before we get started. Why now?” Cindy asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean why did it take you this long to find me? Where were you during this whole time?”
“Cindy...”
“WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME WITH EZEKIEL?! WHY DIDN’T YOU VISIT ME?! DID YOU JUST FORGET ABOUT ME?!”
Albert and Nari looked guilty as they heard her daughter’s yelling while Albert jr was shocked as this was his first time hearing of this. Peter then laid a hand on Cindy’s shoulder to comfort her as she went into tears.
“S-Sorry, I just got emotional suddenly, and-”
“We’re sorry Cindy. We didn’t know this would happen to you,” Albert interrupted and apologized at the same time.
“What do you mean?” Cindy asked in sniffles.
“When we found about your powers, we didn’t know what to do. When Ezekiel told us about your symptoms after the spider bite, at the time we had to trust him since he claimed he has the same powers as yours. He told us to give you to him for your own protection. And plus...we were duped this whole time until after we found out that you were alive.”
Cindy was confused at what her parents said. “Duped?”
Albert and Nari then let out a huge breath. “The thing is...Ezekiel told us that you died in the bunker a few months after we gave you to him.”
“WHAT?!” Cindy yelled. Peter, Cindy, and Anna couldn’t believe this, especially Cindy. After all, she just found out that her isolation was based on because of a lie Ezekiel told to her parents. “So, are you telling me that I was alone for many years was because of a lie?!”
“Y-Yeah.”
Cindy was in disbelief as she felt like she was betrayed. If there was any trust between her and Ezekiel, then all of it was destroyed now because of what he just heard. The fact that Ezekiel just lied not only to her, but also her family about her supposed death made her mad because of it. And yet, at the same time she felt relieved. She now knows that her parents didn’t ignore her for years. Rather, they were led by one stupid lie.
After a few moments, Cindy took a few breaths to calm herself from the rage and sadness she had earlier.
“So...where do you want me to start?” Cindy asked.
“Well...can you start on what happened to you in the bunker?”
“Well honestly...it was quite rough. After you gave me to Ezekiel, everything changed. Every day, I had to go through harsh training just so I can fight what he called the inheritors.”
“The inheritors?” Albert asked?
“Apparently some dimensional vampires. Anyway, every day in the bunker was pretty much became the same thing. Every day, I had to do the same thing repeatedly. It was painful, and it was starting to drive me crazy. And the worst part was that all of that I wasn’t able to have any direct contact with the world outside of the bunker. Which means I wasn’t able talk to my friends and missed out some important stuff in my life. I hated it,” Cindy said bitterly.
“Cindy...” Nari said while tears were coming up from her eyes.
“However, there was one good thing that came out of it,” Cindy said as her tone of voice shifted.
“You mean when you met Peter Parker?” Albert Jr. asked.
“Yes,” Cindy said with a smile. “One day, Peter found me in the bunker, and brought me out after years of isolation. Afterwards, me, Peter, and Anna were trying to find you guys all over the internet, but no results came up. During that time, Peter was a bigger help to me than Ezekiel ever was. He helped me adjust to the present, taught me many new things and such, and gave me a place to live. He was also my emotional support as well, because he helped me dealing with the regret of not finding you guys and the pressure of the press literally stalking both of us.”
Peter blushed at what Cindy just said. “C-Cindy, you’re making me blush here.”
Cindy laughed. “Anyway, Peter and I started dated months after he took me out of the bunker. Every day, Peter would always find a way to make me smile. Eventually, we got engaged after months of loving each other.” Cindy then showed the ring on her finger to her family.
A silence occurred as Cindy’s family was looking at the ring on her finger, examining it. Eventually Albert Jr. broke the silence.
“You’re engaged?!” Albert Jr. exclaimed.
“Yeah. It was all over the news. You didn’t know?”
Albert Jr. was in shock at what he could consider the most shocking moment in his entire life. Not only he found his supposed dead sister, but also found out that she’s engaged to one of the most successful CEOs in the world. That’s when it clicked him, the visit here was for this.
“Well then...congratulations sis.”
Cindy then let out a small laugh. “Thanks, little bro.”
“Hey, I’m not little anymore!” Albert Jr. yelled.
Peter and Anna laughed as the siblings started bickering at each other while Albert and Nari looked at them as they were reminiscing the past before Cindy had the spider bite. The married couple looked at them filled with relief as Cindy continues to bicker with her little brother normally even after all those years. Eventually, the bickering stopped, and Albert continued the conversation.
“Hey, Cindy. I have one more question to ask you.” Albert said.
“Sure. What is it?”
“Do you still hate us after what we did to you in the past?”
After a moment of silence, Cindy said, “No. Not at all.”
“W-What?” Nari said in surprise.
“I’ll admit, I was a little peeved that both of you forced all of this upon me,” Cindy stated. “And while I wasn’t okay with the changes at first, in the end, I met people that care about me, made new friends, and found someone to love and live for.”
Peter smiled at this.
“Oh Cindy,” Albert said with a smile. “I’m so happy for you. At least you found something to be happy about, despite missing a huge chunk of your life.”
“Thank you, Mr. Moon,” Peter said.
“You don’t have to use formalities with me Mr. Parker,” Albert said while leaning over to give him a handshake. “You’re engaged to my daughter, so you’re a part of the family...in the future that is.”
“Uh...okay.”
“Jeez dad, that was fast!” Cindy exclaimed. She then looked over to Nari. “What about you...mom?”
“Well...while I am a bit surprised about the details of your life in the bunker, I am happy with the fact that in the end that you found happiness with a man you truly love,” Nari said with a smile on her face.
“Mom...”
“Ms. Moon...”
Nari then looked at Peter. “Mr. Parker, I hope that you treat my daughter with the most delicate care and give her the love she needs. If you don’t, then you’re a dead man walking. Got it?” she said in a threating tone while holding her smile.
“Y-Yes Ms. Moon,” Peter said with a sweat drop. “Wow, her scariness is probably on par with Aunt May’s,” Peter thought.
“Mom! Don’t scare him!” Cindy said jokingly. “How about you little bro?”
“Well...I’m not sure what’s going on right now...but if sis is happy, then I’m happy I guess.”
Cindy smiled at what his brother said. As Cindy looked at the sight in front of her, she felt like she was going to cry of happiness. Her whole family, which she hadn’t seen in years, was right in front of her. What’s more is that her family didn’t forget about her and placed her in a bunker for no reason. Rather they were told a big lie and placed her there for her own protection. Either way, she’s happy that her questions were answered, and her family was here.
“Anyway,” Anna said as she was getting out of the couch. “It’s getting late. Shall we continue this at Peter’s apartment?”
“That sounds good, but we’ll pass,” Albert said.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Guess we’ll part ways then.”
“Guess so,” Nari said as she pulled Cindy into a hug, along with Albert and Albert Jr. “We’ll miss you Cindy.”
“Yeah. I’ll miss you all as well,” Cindy replied. “Keep in touch with me okay?”
“Yeah. You too.”
And then Peter, Cindy, Anna, and Cindy’s family left the office to go down to the lobby and went their separate ways.