Adventures of Nathaniel Knight

Chapter 1: Reminiscing the past

Knightstay Hotel New York City Branch, USA

The sound of glass shattering into many pieces sounded all through out the gloomy room. Even the city lights that reflected through the fiber glass were not enough to illuminate the whole spacious area.  After the noise that the broken glass made, the entire room was back to being silent.

The see through glass that fenced one side of Nathan’s office provided a full view of the busy streets of New York. It would be relaxing to just sit back and observe the magnificent city but then, Nathan was not at the right mood for doing that. His body was weakening because of 28 full hours of duty. Nathan was out of energy and so he collapsed on his own desk. The stack of papers flew out there places and collided with the carpeted floor.

Nathan resolve was still high. He tied to lift himself up using his arms to support his weight. For the family. The words of Nathan’s father gave him strength.

“I must finish all of this… Mother….. is waiting for me at the mansion”. The Irish-American teenager spoke with shortness of breath. Nathan was feeling hot as if he was standing in front of boiling magma. He managed to lift his head for a moment or two until he finally fell down the floor and became unconscious. 

After closing his eyes, Nathan began to dream about his past.

At the age of 4, Nathan was sent to the most prestigious school in Ireland. Famous professors taught him advance subjects and Nathan afterwards became the school’s most intelligent student.He mastered his English subjects, got a high grade on Irish history and mastered the basics of Trigonometry. After turning 6, he started to practice in playing the violin. With his accompanist, Nathan was able to master the instrument for 5 months and with that, he started playing during parties. Because of Nathaniel’s busy life, he was not trained at socializing and he often spends his time reading books and playing his instruments alone. Even though the most popular kid in the whole academy, he was not friends with his anybody, nor his greedy relatives and not even his cold hearted father who detested him for not being a perfect. Nathan was a complete loner who hates everybody except for his mother.

But then, as Nathan reached 7, he never expected to have another member of the family. Nathaniel’s mother gave birth to a baby boy and they named him Percy. As Percy grew up, he received the same treatment that his big brother had. But unexpectedly, Percy’s behavior was completely different from Nathan’s. During classes, Percy would just doze off and daydream about food and fistfights. Nathan’s fashion was composed of American suits and tuxedos yet for Percy, he always favored t-shirts and khaki shorts. Compared to Nathan who always smells really nice and was commonly found alone or at some formal party, Percy always goes home with a terrible odor and during parties, he was the trouble maker. Even though Nathaniel doesn’t agree with Percy’s actions, Nathan still liked his brother since Percy’s cheerful face and active smiles made him warm and happy. Percy had always been the kind of boy that would reach out to you all the time. Because of that, Nathaniel became open to his brother and their bonds became strong as ever. Nathan learned to get out of his own shell and share his joy to everyone.

When Nathan was about to turn 17, their father suffered from a heart disease and shortly after that their father passed away. Even though the two young boys hated their father, they had feelings of grief inside them. Since their father was gone, they had to carry a big burden on their backs. Nathan spent the day at school while at night he watched over the company. Percy assisted Nathan and the two of them managed the hardships through helping each other.

But then, when things were finally working out, a terrible accident took away Nathan’s happiness. In one blow, it was all gone.

It started at that particular day.

Nathan was busy signing papers in his office since he became the officer- in- charge of his father’s company. He was stuck in that room for seven hours now and Percy was getting worried. Percy entered the office silently. The door squeaked as he closed it slowly.

“Uhh…. Nathan.” Percy started the conversation

“Yes, what is it?” Nathan was busy with the papers.

Percy moved closer. “Well, I’ve been keeping this for a long time now but, if you don’t mind I want to show you something remarkable!”

“And what is that something?” Nathan asked. He was not able to look directly towards Percy since he occupied by his work.

“It’s a surprise! But I’m sure you’ll find it interesting! If you come with me below the cliffs, I’ll show you where it is!” Percy was in high spirits.

After hearing what his younger brother said, Nathan stood up and gave Percy a scary glare.

“Percy, how did you get down there? I demand an answer this instant!” Nathan was angry

“Well, I made a path leading to the back of the house, then after that I made a ladder using a rope.” Percy got scared of his older brother; he backed off and spoke with a low voice.

“I’m sure that you are knowledgeable about the fact that nobody is allowed to wander at the back of the mansion, many of our relatives have been careless enough to walk there and fall to their doom.” Nathan warned his brother.

“But…but…the tides are low today, the shore will be visible until sundown, and you can still have a chance see the cave before the storm arrives.” Percy explained with all his heart.

“You want me to go to a dark cave? That’s preposterous! Depart from my sight Percy, I’m busy with my work! You should go watch over mother, don’t be playing around and pretend that everything is fine.” Nathan scolded Percy and pointed to the door.

Percy bowed his head.  He was downhearted by Nathan’s bitter words. Tears started falling down from his eyes and now he was outraged. He looked back Nathan with a furious face.

“Who are you and what have you done with my brother?! Nathan would never say things like that! Instead, he would he smile warmly and apologize for not being able to come with me. You’re not the Nathan I know, you’re just like father when he was alive!!” Percy made his statement and ran out of the room crying. The after made a loud noise as Percy shut it.

“I’ll go there by myself!!” Percy shouted at the hallway

Nathan was in a state shock. His eyes wide open and no words were coming out of his mouth.

You’re not the Nathan I know, you’re just like father when he was alive. The thought was playing again and again in Nathan’s mouth. He looked down the floor, trying to absorb what his brother said.

“Me? Like…….that cruel buffoon?” Nathan whispered to himself.

He sat down his swivel chair and started to rethink his action.

As night ruled the skies, Nathan finally decided to say sorry to Percy. As he looked outside the window, the storm was getting worse and the lightning kept on appearing, the winds were terrible and they knocked out the trees outside the manor. Nathan went to Percy’s room stopping in front of his room and knocked three times at the door. Nobody responded, Nathan sighed.

“Percy, I know you are there. If you still detest me for my actions, then at least lend me your ears. Look, I’m sorry for what I’ve done.” Nathan turned the door knob and entered Percy’s room.

“I was just trying to-“

As Nathan entered the bedroom, it was dark and silent. Nobody was there at the moment. Then all of a sudden, a soft hand patted his shoulders. Nathan turned around to see who it was and found out it was his mother.

“Mother, it’s you” Nathan spoke.

His mother was quiet. The look on her eyes made Nathan uncomfortable, he was clueless unto why but there was a bad feeling that creeping around his body.

“What’s wrong mum?” He was worried.

Natalie Knight’s was still silent. All she could do was to turn her head from side to side. Finally, Nathan understood what it meant and it was something he can’t accept easily. It turned out that Percy went to the cave shortly after quarreling with Nathan. He spent all of his time inside the cave not expecting for the storm to come sooner. It was too late when he realized that the tides were getting higher, but then he was still able to climb up the rope. The rain fell heavily and the winds got stronger, the waves crashed with the rock and Percy was about to reach the ground when suddenly, the rope snapped off, plunging Percy into the sea.

“I just learned it when one of the male servants failed to find Percy, he found a secret trail made by Percy and after reaching the back, he saw a cut rope tied to the iron bars. The authorities will be here soon to look for Percy and I hope they will find him alive.” Nathan’s mother explained as tears fell down her cheeks.

“No! Percy’s alive! He can’t just vanish like that, he can’t!” Nathan hit the table loudly.

Nathan and his mother were at the dinning hall waiting for some rescuers to come. They searched and looked for Percy desperately for six months. Sadly, not a single body was found. By that time, Nathan was willing to give up. He refused to believe it but there was no other choice but to accept that Percy wil never come back.

Nathan was left with his mother in the mansion. The company was heading to bankruptcy since no one was taking care of it. For the family’s sake, Nathan, who was already full of pain and sorrow quit school and finally took over his father’s place as the president completely. The employees were at disbelief. They were certain that Pernel Knight’s son was not yet ready for it. Amazingly, the company gradually rose up again and was even extended all around the globe. Many investors gambled their money, hoping of becoming richer through the well managed company. Work became Nathan’s most precious doing.

Little by little, Nathan’s attitude changed badly. He lost his gentle smile and became a gloomy person. All he could think about was work, disturbances were unacceptable to him and he became bitter and cold. During meetings with other companies and investors, he would use fake smile and would bring up a nice attitude for he believes that it will mask his true intentions. Nathan thought the world had always been unfair from the very start. Happiness can never be found and sorrow still reigns. But even though Nathan has become a harsh teenager, he wasn’t completely devoured by the darkness. The care and worries of his mother back at home continued to reach him anywhere he goes. Deeply hidden within him was a heartwarming feeling of loving gentleness, there was still shining hope in him that sleeps and was waiting to be awake.- hope that was going to change his life forever.

(End of Chapter 1)