Life After Prison by Silencieux (PDF) novel Chapter 4

When Severin walked back to the house, he discovered that Judith had gone out to the gate to look around because she was worried about him. As soon as she saw Severin return, she walked over with a worried face and held Severin’s hand while asking hurriedly, “Are you alright, Severin? They didn’t hit you, did they?” 

Severin’s heart felt all warm and he smiled at Judith. “Don’t worry, Mom. They didn’t hit me. I took them to get the money and gave it all to them. They won’t be troubling us anymore in the future!” 

“Really? You’re not lying to me, are you? Do you really have that much money? We’re talking about twenty-six thousand here!” Judith obviously did not believe what Severin said. After all, how could he have the money when he had just been released from prison? 

Severin explained, “Don’t worry about it anymore, Mom. I met a very generous person in prison, and he gave me a bank card when I was released. There’s a lot of money inside, and it’s more than enough to pay off the debt!” 

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that, then!” Judith was filled with emotion when she heard that. “You absolutely must repay his kindness in the future if you ever get the chance, Severin.” 

“Yes, Mom, I will!” Severin smiled, and continued, “I was only released this early because of him!” 

Severin had no other choice but to explain it thus. After all, he had to say something in order to ease Judith’s worries, but it was difficult to explain what truly happened. At the end of the day though, what he said was the truth—the old wacko was indeed a very generous person. 

“Well, it’s good that those people won’t pester us anymore. Now that you’re out, you can get a job in the future so your father and I won’t need to overwork ourselves!” Judith sighed, and continued, “Lucy is a terrible woman. She got together with Easton half a year into your imprisonment. She even sold off the house you bought at half the price we bought it. Now that you’re out of prison, we are unable to give you any money, and we don’t have a decent house. You’re already twenty-eight, so we should try and save more so you can find a wife!” 

She began to feel emotional as she spoke. “It’s a good thing that you were released midway through your sentence. If you served it in full, you would be thirty-three by the time you’re out. It’d probably be even more difficult to get married at that age!” 

“What are you talking about, Mom? I’m handsome enough that I won’t need to worry about finding a wife!” Severin smiled. He then asked Judith, “Where’s Dad, by the way?” 

“He took up a job moving bricks, so he’s at a construction site now. He still hasn’t come back yet, but he should be back anytime now!” Judith glanced around her. 

Sure enough, a sweaty, dusty man came back on a badly maintained bicycle with a lot of cardboard boxes behind him. 

“I got lucky today. I saw a whole pile of cardboard boxes when I was getting off work from the construction site. They should be able to sell for a few dollars…” 

The man parked the bicycle at the gate, where the street lights were rather dim. As he was unloading the cardboard boxes, he asked, “Who’s this, Judith? Do you know him?” 

Severin walked over and looked at his father Maurice, who had also aged considerably. Tears began streaming down his eyes as he said, “Dad…it’s Severin. I’m back.” 

The cardboard box that Maurice held dropped to the ground, and his body trembled slightly as he turned around in disbelief. “Severin? It’s really you? My son…is back?” 

Tears welled up in Maurice’s eyes and he looked at Severin in disbelief.