Post by Mimi on Aug 31, 2006 21:34:08 GMT -5
1.9 And All The While Inside I Knew
I wait for my story— the birds cannot sing it,
Not one as he sits on the tree;
The bells cannot ring it, but long years, O bring it!
Such as I wish it to be.
-- Jean Ingelow
“The truth is one of the hardest things to take hold of Roman,” Mira LeMoyne said taking Roman’s hand. “Let’s get some fresh air… it’s become rather stuffy.”
Roman graciously obliged following Mira as she led him toward the back courtyard of the house. The span of land stretched for acres across meticulously manicured grass, ceasing at the edge of the bank of a small body of murky water. “This is what God intended to be called beautiful,” Mira said over Roman’s shoulder. Her voice collided with the echoes of birds humming melodiously through the air. She beckoned Roman to a brick pathway, leading him to her prized garden well hidden beneath a wooden lattice. Mira dropped to her knees. “This is the flower I’ve been cultivating…” she clipped a pale rose, the color of a golden touched hue and handed it to Roman. “I call this Amelia.” She said as Roman helped her back to her feet.
“The small blonde in the field,” Roman recalled. “Amelia.”
“Yes, that was Amelia.” Mira said watching his reaction. She was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together; to see if Roman had a connection to Amelia. “Samantha… or as I knew her… Amelia is Samantha’s daughter.”
Roman pressed his mouth into a straight line. “How old is the child?” He questioned distantly.
“Nearly five years old.”
“Oh Doc…” he said running his fingers through his hair.
“Roman, you’ll forgive me if I skip the small talk… this John Black,” Mira said seeing the picture of John in her mind’s eye. Indigo eyes staring omnisciently at her; the familiar bone structure, much like her own; the angular chin and pointy nose of her LeMoyne lineage; dark hair and features, “I think your John Black is my son John Christopher LeMoyne.”
“Perhaps…” Roman said himself already convinced.
“It’s been nearly thirty years but I think I’d know him anywhere. Every day since his disappearance, I’ve wondered would I know him… could I pick him out in a crowd. I know now that I could. That’s my son Roman.” She said convincingly. “I don’t know what he has to do with Samantha or why you’re here… but I do know that I gave birth to John Christopher LeMoyne. John Black is my son.”
Roman helped Mira sit on a bench in the coolness of the garden. He took the seat next to her, wringing his hands together in front of him. “This is all confusing to me… we’ll sort this out together. First, we have to start with the person responsible for all of this: Stefano Dimera. You mentioned his name. What’s the association?”
Mira turned directly to look at Roman. “I was in love with Stefano Dimera… a long time ago. I loved him until he made it impossible for me to anymore… until I made it impossible for him to love me anymore. I think I knew a different man—a kinder, gentler man who was infatuated with the world. We’re one in the same. We were anyway…” her voice trailed off into a distant tone that made Roman pay closer attention to her.
Her touched her hand, “I don’t know that Stefano. He’s always been an evil son of a bitch.”
“Not always,” Mira said quietly. “The Stefano I knew was the most caring man in the world. He would do anything in the world to keep me safe. It’s hard to explain the way certain people change the way you view the world. I think we did that for each other. As life happens, we lost contact and then we found each other again… I was married to my husband Emory. It broke Stefano’s heart.”
“What did he do?”
“Pursued me… threatened me. I regrettably allowed myself to be taken in by his persuasions. We had an affair that I quickly put an end to.”
“Is Stefano John’s father?”
Mira shook her head, something held back and uncomfortable colored her face, “no. Stefano is not John’s father. I had a hard time convincing him otherwise. I think I understand… Stefano’s the reason I lost John all those years ago.”
“How did you lose John?”
“He vanished… there was no trace of him anywhere. He was sixteen years old,” Mira’s memory evoked the image of her teenage son as she spoke, “a tall, lanky kid who was my shadow. It was my fault that we were so close, after Emory’s death he was all I had. I think I expected to lose him… I knew it somewhere inside my heart that he would be gone. I’d given up hope in ever seeing him again. The last time I saw John was in my bedroom… he’d come in to say goodnight as usual. He was excited about finally going away… I was sending him to Europe to visit with my sister. It was to be his first trip away from home—away from me. I kissed him goodnight… the next morning he was gone.”
“You never saw him again…”
“No.”
“Mira as unbelievable as this is… John is alive. I believe that John Black is your son John LeMoyne. Stefano’s had him under his thumb since his disappearance. I don’t know how or what caused it but John has no recollection of his life prior to coming to Salem.”
“When did he come to Salem?”
“Almost ten years ago. The story is long and twisted… just know that Stefano is the reason you lost your son.”
“Bastard.”
“And also the reason I lost my wife… Marlena,” he finished.
“My Samantha,” Mira said sweeping hair from her face. “Your Marlena.”
“Yes… how is it that you think Marlena is Samantha?”
“That’s what she called herself when she was here,” Mira explained watching Roman’s face twist in perplexity. “I took care of her… I helped her deliver Amelia.”
“Wait, Doc gave birth here?”
“Yes… it was a hard birth. Amelia almost didn’t make it. Why do you call Samantha Doc?”
“First off, she’s not Samantha Mira… her name is Dr. Marlena Evans Brady. She is a psychiatrist in Salem. She’s also the mother of my children… three of my children. Samantha was her twin sister who was murdered.”
Mira’s mouth dropped, “murdered?”
“She was killed years ago.”
“She came here to the house in the dead of night, pregnant and frightened. I didn’t know what to do… I wanted to call the police but she refused. She was running away from something… or someone.”
“Stefano.”
“Stefano?”
“He’s been torturing my wife for years. He brainwashed your son into thinking that he was me in order to get to Marlena.”
“Roman I’m confused.”
“It’s natural… but what about Doc? How did she seem when she was here?”
“Frightened. She gave birth to Amelia two months after coming here… and six weeks after she was born, Saman… I’m sorry Marlena disappeared. I didn’t know what to do with Amelia. I didn’t want to see her raised in some stranger’s home… and so I decided to adopt her. While your wife was here, she recuperated from whatever pain she was in, emotionally. I think she really believed she was Samantha, Roman. Whatever happened to her made her want to become someone else.”
Roman realized the clarity of Mira’s last words, “She couldn’t possibly know that she has a child here.”
“She was pretty attached to Amelia during those first weeks. Doting on her—she was vigilant about protecting Amelia. It’s why I’m so protective of her still.” Mira said proudly looking across the yard, spotting Amelia’s head bobbing in and out of sight. “Roman, could Stefano be Amelia’s father?”
Roman shook his head sadly, resigned to the truth. “Doc was married to John when she disappeared.”
“John?”
“Yes… Amelia’s your granddaughter. You’ve been raising John and Marlena’s daughter Mira.” Roman confessed feeling a jealousy searing his conscious. The very thing he’d wanted to do was rid John from his life; he was going to bring this child back to her parents: Doc and John. They would forever be connected.
“I want to go to Salem…” Mira told Roman.
I wait for my story— the birds cannot sing it,
Not one as he sits on the tree;
The bells cannot ring it, but long years, O bring it!
Such as I wish it to be.
-- Jean Ingelow
“The truth is one of the hardest things to take hold of Roman,” Mira LeMoyne said taking Roman’s hand. “Let’s get some fresh air… it’s become rather stuffy.”
Roman graciously obliged following Mira as she led him toward the back courtyard of the house. The span of land stretched for acres across meticulously manicured grass, ceasing at the edge of the bank of a small body of murky water. “This is what God intended to be called beautiful,” Mira said over Roman’s shoulder. Her voice collided with the echoes of birds humming melodiously through the air. She beckoned Roman to a brick pathway, leading him to her prized garden well hidden beneath a wooden lattice. Mira dropped to her knees. “This is the flower I’ve been cultivating…” she clipped a pale rose, the color of a golden touched hue and handed it to Roman. “I call this Amelia.” She said as Roman helped her back to her feet.
“The small blonde in the field,” Roman recalled. “Amelia.”
“Yes, that was Amelia.” Mira said watching his reaction. She was trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together; to see if Roman had a connection to Amelia. “Samantha… or as I knew her… Amelia is Samantha’s daughter.”
Roman pressed his mouth into a straight line. “How old is the child?” He questioned distantly.
“Nearly five years old.”
“Oh Doc…” he said running his fingers through his hair.
“Roman, you’ll forgive me if I skip the small talk… this John Black,” Mira said seeing the picture of John in her mind’s eye. Indigo eyes staring omnisciently at her; the familiar bone structure, much like her own; the angular chin and pointy nose of her LeMoyne lineage; dark hair and features, “I think your John Black is my son John Christopher LeMoyne.”
“Perhaps…” Roman said himself already convinced.
“It’s been nearly thirty years but I think I’d know him anywhere. Every day since his disappearance, I’ve wondered would I know him… could I pick him out in a crowd. I know now that I could. That’s my son Roman.” She said convincingly. “I don’t know what he has to do with Samantha or why you’re here… but I do know that I gave birth to John Christopher LeMoyne. John Black is my son.”
Roman helped Mira sit on a bench in the coolness of the garden. He took the seat next to her, wringing his hands together in front of him. “This is all confusing to me… we’ll sort this out together. First, we have to start with the person responsible for all of this: Stefano Dimera. You mentioned his name. What’s the association?”
Mira turned directly to look at Roman. “I was in love with Stefano Dimera… a long time ago. I loved him until he made it impossible for me to anymore… until I made it impossible for him to love me anymore. I think I knew a different man—a kinder, gentler man who was infatuated with the world. We’re one in the same. We were anyway…” her voice trailed off into a distant tone that made Roman pay closer attention to her.
Her touched her hand, “I don’t know that Stefano. He’s always been an evil son of a bitch.”
“Not always,” Mira said quietly. “The Stefano I knew was the most caring man in the world. He would do anything in the world to keep me safe. It’s hard to explain the way certain people change the way you view the world. I think we did that for each other. As life happens, we lost contact and then we found each other again… I was married to my husband Emory. It broke Stefano’s heart.”
“What did he do?”
“Pursued me… threatened me. I regrettably allowed myself to be taken in by his persuasions. We had an affair that I quickly put an end to.”
“Is Stefano John’s father?”
Mira shook her head, something held back and uncomfortable colored her face, “no. Stefano is not John’s father. I had a hard time convincing him otherwise. I think I understand… Stefano’s the reason I lost John all those years ago.”
“How did you lose John?”
“He vanished… there was no trace of him anywhere. He was sixteen years old,” Mira’s memory evoked the image of her teenage son as she spoke, “a tall, lanky kid who was my shadow. It was my fault that we were so close, after Emory’s death he was all I had. I think I expected to lose him… I knew it somewhere inside my heart that he would be gone. I’d given up hope in ever seeing him again. The last time I saw John was in my bedroom… he’d come in to say goodnight as usual. He was excited about finally going away… I was sending him to Europe to visit with my sister. It was to be his first trip away from home—away from me. I kissed him goodnight… the next morning he was gone.”
“You never saw him again…”
“No.”
“Mira as unbelievable as this is… John is alive. I believe that John Black is your son John LeMoyne. Stefano’s had him under his thumb since his disappearance. I don’t know how or what caused it but John has no recollection of his life prior to coming to Salem.”
“When did he come to Salem?”
“Almost ten years ago. The story is long and twisted… just know that Stefano is the reason you lost your son.”
“Bastard.”
“And also the reason I lost my wife… Marlena,” he finished.
“My Samantha,” Mira said sweeping hair from her face. “Your Marlena.”
“Yes… how is it that you think Marlena is Samantha?”
“That’s what she called herself when she was here,” Mira explained watching Roman’s face twist in perplexity. “I took care of her… I helped her deliver Amelia.”
“Wait, Doc gave birth here?”
“Yes… it was a hard birth. Amelia almost didn’t make it. Why do you call Samantha Doc?”
“First off, she’s not Samantha Mira… her name is Dr. Marlena Evans Brady. She is a psychiatrist in Salem. She’s also the mother of my children… three of my children. Samantha was her twin sister who was murdered.”
Mira’s mouth dropped, “murdered?”
“She was killed years ago.”
“She came here to the house in the dead of night, pregnant and frightened. I didn’t know what to do… I wanted to call the police but she refused. She was running away from something… or someone.”
“Stefano.”
“Stefano?”
“He’s been torturing my wife for years. He brainwashed your son into thinking that he was me in order to get to Marlena.”
“Roman I’m confused.”
“It’s natural… but what about Doc? How did she seem when she was here?”
“Frightened. She gave birth to Amelia two months after coming here… and six weeks after she was born, Saman… I’m sorry Marlena disappeared. I didn’t know what to do with Amelia. I didn’t want to see her raised in some stranger’s home… and so I decided to adopt her. While your wife was here, she recuperated from whatever pain she was in, emotionally. I think she really believed she was Samantha, Roman. Whatever happened to her made her want to become someone else.”
Roman realized the clarity of Mira’s last words, “She couldn’t possibly know that she has a child here.”
“She was pretty attached to Amelia during those first weeks. Doting on her—she was vigilant about protecting Amelia. It’s why I’m so protective of her still.” Mira said proudly looking across the yard, spotting Amelia’s head bobbing in and out of sight. “Roman, could Stefano be Amelia’s father?”
Roman shook his head sadly, resigned to the truth. “Doc was married to John when she disappeared.”
“John?”
“Yes… Amelia’s your granddaughter. You’ve been raising John and Marlena’s daughter Mira.” Roman confessed feeling a jealousy searing his conscious. The very thing he’d wanted to do was rid John from his life; he was going to bring this child back to her parents: Doc and John. They would forever be connected.
“I want to go to Salem…” Mira told Roman.
