You will Know the Truth

Chapter 10

Daddy had been driving the car for about 50 minutes on the highway. I admitted that I was feeling bored with the scenery of the highway and my iTunes Radio station kept playing the same songs over and over again. I kept my eyes focused on the road and there were only trees, trees and more trees along the highway. I turned my gaze from the trees and fixed my eyes to him as I took a deep breath and breathe out slowly. "How much longer until we get there, daddy?"

Daddy took a quick glance off the road to looked at me. "It's just around the corner sweetie. I know it's kind of boring but you just need to be patience for a little bit. Okay?" I just nodded without uttering a single word.

After awhile, we finally reached the bottom of the Griffith Park at 12:01 pm. Griffith Park was a great resource for LA hikers especially for training hikes and for quick escapes when we didn't have time to make it out for a longer trek. This route up to Mount Hollywood was short and can be done in around 90 minutes if we're making good time, it will make us feel like we got a good workout along the way.

This hill was one of the famous hill in Los Angeles with the beautiful view of the Valley, downtown, the Hollywood Sign and more on clear days from the top of the hill. There were thousands of visitors each month from both locally and internationally. Before we reached here, I saw a billboard sign "Welcome To Griffith Park", a few resorts and hotels near the hill for visitors to stay overnight.

Dad stepped on his break and cut the engine as he pulled into the parking space. "We're here," he said calmly as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "You ready?" I looked at him with shining eyes and smiled from ear to ear.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and went out of the car with excited face. I put both of my hands on my waist and looked at the bottom of the hill. There were many tourists scattered around the area. Some were getting ready to start their journey. Some were enjoying themselves at the gift shops while buying memorable things for their loved one. Some were taking pictures with a smile on their faces. I didn't want to forget these beautiful moments so I took my Canon camera and snapped these memorable moments in my life.

Daddy quickly unloaded our backpacks from the trunk of the car and locked the car with his remote car keys. I gasped both of my hands excitedly, "can't wait to reach the top, daddy! Before that, let's take some pictures together." I said energetically. Frankly I was so excited to start our journey since it was my first time. I looked at my watch to set the timer and started to hiking up the road with Daddy.

In about half a mile, the trail hits a three-way junction with another trail that came into the area from the south. As with many areas in Griffith Park, this north-south route officially stop at the junction with the trails that leads us to the different ways to reached the Mount Hollywood.

* * *

I saw a small fenced-in area with picnic tables and I grabbed this opportunity to get some rest. "Let's take some rest." I said breathlessly after 45 minutes of hiking while putting my left hand on my leg and right palm on my head. I bent a little bit and I could feel my breath was breathing fast. My legs was shaking due to exhausted and I quickly sat on a chair under a shady tree. I took a long deep breath and slowly breathe out to cold down my body. Sweats were pouring off my face and back, it makes my clothes soaked so badly.

As I turned and looked back, daddy was just a few steps away from me. He looked up at me and grinned a little, "poor girl, you look tired." He walked towards me and sat down beside me.

We sat side by side for a few minutes and we enjoyed the environment. There were a few visitors who took some rest before they continued their journey. Suddenly my throat felt dry, I reached my hand into my backpack on my back and pulled a half-empty water bottle. I opened the cap and took a large gulp of the water, letting it cool down my throat before we continued our journey.

While putting back the water bottle into my backpack, I noticed daddy was trying to reached for his water bottle inside his backpack so I lend a hand to helped him. "Here, let me help you."

Daddy smiled generously and said, "thank you." I returned his smiled, then looked away. I asked daddy curiously, " why did you choose this place?" I was so eager to know his answer because he looked so excited with our journey even though he didn't said anything to me.

Daddy gazed down into my brown eyes and said, "I used to come here to release my mind and to be alone." He smiled again.

"Next time if you suddenly went missing, this is the first place I will find you." I teased him nonchalantly. We looked at each other and burst out laughing and it breaks the silence around the area. After that, "we should continue now", he said before we stood up and continued on our hike to the top of Mount Hollywood.

On our way to reached there, Daddy eyes met mine and he showed the sign written "1 miles to the Mount Hollywood" with a picture of sun and a few trees.

* * *

The sky was blue because of the way the Earth's atmosphere scattered light from the sun and I had never seen anything like this before. In the sky up above, free birds were flying from all directions. The hill might seem like an intimidating challenge when seen from the center of the city, but hiking was actually not that difficult. The road that leads to the top was not entirely steep and surrounded the hill, making it easier to hike.

When we finally reached the top of Mount Hollywood, we were lucky because we came on a clear day. At the top of the hill, we got 360-degree views of everything and a great view of the Hollywood sign. I quickly ran to the edge of the hill. Without thinking twice, I put my hands over my mouth and yelled as loud as I can. "Ahhhhhh!" I felt like a great burden has been lifted from my shoulder.

"Daddy, you should try it too!" I said without looking at him. I felt strange because he didn't respond to me. Maybe he just too tired so I ignored it.

* * *

It was one of the amazing moment in my life. After almost an hour at the top, we walked slowly back to the bottom of the hill. I walked approaching our car and as I turned my gaze, all of sudden my whole body started to shaking and freezing cold, I just couldn't stopped it. My eyes widened as I saw daddy was surrounded by crowds of people. He was lying on the ground with one hand on his chest and struggling to breath for the air.

I quickly approached daddy and sat beside him while holding his hand. "Daddy? I looked deep into his eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks like a waterfall. His eyes were full of tears but he was not moving even an inch and I felt pain in those beautiful blue eyes of him. There were many questions went through my mind and demanding for answers.

Without any hesitation, I shouted, "somebody, please help him! Please call 911! Please help him!" Without looking at his face, suddenly a young man get passed the crowds and came up to us. He bent down where Daddy lays, he puts his fingers on Daddy's neck to check his pulse. He asked the crowds to move backward by taking one or more steps to give some air. He pressed Daddy chest for a couple of times and I heard him muttering numbers under his breath.

I looked up to see his face and I widened my eyes in surprise while shrieking, "you again?! It was the guy I bumped into the other day. Daddy had been sent to the hospital by the ambulance that came 15 minutes later. He had a heart attack just now and he had been saved by a doctor, thank God! That young man aka mystery man introduced himself as James.

* * *

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update and it's almost 4 months. I'm too busy with my student life and I don't have time to update my story. Let's get straight to the point, what will happen between Amanda and James on the upcoming chapter?

A) Become friends with James

B) Tells James that she called him "mystery guy"

C) Stays at the resort for a day

D) Going back home like there's nothing happened

If you have more ideas, share with me kay :)