Chapter Twelve

Basil was awoken and drank tea, so that he could calm down.
“Basil, oh, Basil, are you alright now?” Olivia asked.
“No… Not really. I don’t understand…” he said.
“Basil, we’ll get through this… I mean, there must be an explanation… I can’t believe he’s alive… He’s coming for me. He wants to get his revenge and he will come sooner, I can predict it!!” Olivia said.
“Calm down, dear. Everything will be fine.” I said.
“No, Mrs. Judson. She’s right. Ratigan… alive… I don’t know if I have to be happy or sad or worried… I’m not sure of what I’m supposed to feel.” Basil agreed.
“HAPPY? Basil, what are you saying?? HE WANTS TO KILL US, AS HE TRIED TO DO YEARS AGO!!” Olivia said.
“Oh, probably you’re right… I don’t know…”
Basil ran to his bedroom, ad he was about to cry.
“BASIL!!” Olivia screamed.
She was about to go after him, but I stopped her. Then, I went to his bedroom and said to Olivia and the doctor that Basil needed a time alone.
“Oh, Mr. Basil, come here.” I said.
He was crying as I never saw him crying in years. This time he couldn’t hide his feelings.
He put his head in my legs as I tried to calm him down.
“Now, tell me what’s bothering you.” I said.
“Don’t you see, Mrs. Judson? It’s him… My brother… He’s back.”
“Don’t say that, he’s not your brother. He tried to kill you.”
“I know, but I felt so bad when he died… Now I found out he’s still among us and poor Olivia is so scared…”
“You have to understand that she was still a child in that time and her father’s life was in risk. She obviously is afraid, while you’re relieved that he’s alive, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but it’s so wrong… Ratigan always hated me because I was smarter than him, that’s why he tried to kill me and killed all my girlfriends…”
“I’m not sure if that’s the reason why he tried to kill you and killed your girlfriends.”
“Then, why, Mrs. Judson? Why did he destroy my life, our life? We were brothers but we’ve chosen different pathways and now we’re apart from each other. I cried so many tears after I thought he was dead… Now I see he’s alive and I’m relieved, yes. Because I thought I had been responsible for his death. But you don’t understand me… You don’t imagine what it’s like to grow up with someone you love more than anything and you think you that person more than you know yourself, and suddenly that person becomes a criminal and you find out that he was responsible for all your years of despair.”
“I understand, I’ve lived with your family, remember? I’ve seen you and Ratigan growing up as brothers. It was such a shock for me when I found out who that little boy was…”
“It was more shocking for me than it was for you, believe it. And now I don’t know what to do…Poor Olivia, she must be in shock while I’m worried about Ratigan. What can I do, Mrs. Judson?”
“You should clean those tears from your pretty face, dear boy. And then, try to protect Olivia. Dry her sadness because only you can do it.”
Basil obeyed.
Olivia was crying and Dr. Dawson tried to calm her down, without success.
“Now that filthy rat is alive, he’s going to kill me and my father too! We’re not safe anymore.” She kept saying.
Olivia looked at Basil and ran to his arms.
Dawson and I left them alone in the room. But I was listening to them and carefully watching them.
“Oh, Basil… He’s alive. He’s coming to kill us all!”
“No, my dear, Ratigan won’t kill anybody. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe. I swear I’ll do everything to protect you and no one’s going to harm you.”
“Do you promise?”
“I know Ratigan for a long time, he’s coming for revenge, of course. But we’ll have to find out how did he survived or is he alone or with some of his henchman? We don’t know what he’s planning, so we have to be very careful. From now on, Olivia, we’ll dealing with a monster. I don’t want anything wrong to happen to you, and I understand your fears. But you’ll have to be strong.”
“Basil, I’m afraid. I thought this was over, but after all, he proved to be a demon. Who can beat death? Who has the power to change the destiny as he did? NOBODY! He’s eviler than I thought…”
“Indeed, he really wants to live. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have survived this way. He fell of the Big Ben, for Goodness sake! How can he have survived? I must found out, this is shocking to me. But I always felt his presence, I don’t know how to explain this, but somehow, I felt him as if he was here. And day by day, I felt his presence becoming stronger and closer of me. That’s why I never threw away his photograph. And I knew his body had never been found… I should have done something. But couldn’t. And now I feel guilty.”
“You don’t have to feel that way, dear. You’re a detective, not a future teller.
I’m afraid about you, Basil. I don’t want you dead… I never forgot you, Basil. Never did. Always kept you in my mind, dreamed about you, I counted the days to grow up and finally meet you.”
Basil looked her in the eyes.
“What are you saying?” he asked her.
“I love you, Basil. That’s the reason why I came here. You’re the reason why I left home. I told my father what I feel for you and he forbade me to feel it. He still thinks I’m a child.”
“Olivia, your father is right. I’m not the right man for you.”
“What?”
“You’re wasting your time. You need someone younger, around your age. I’m older than you and I wouldn’t make you happy. Your father surely wants the best for you and I don’t want you to suffer. In fact, I’m not the right one for anyone.”
“Basil, I’m not the little girl you’ve met years ago anymore. I love you since I was eight, but I knew I had to wait until I become yours. Now, I’m grown enough to have you and you’re rejecting me? I need you, Basil. I need someone mature and strong to protect me. I don’t want a boy, I want a man. A man like you. With you, I’d be happy forever and I know you’d be as well. You are afraid to love, aren’t you? But you don’t have to. Love is beautiful.”
“No, it isn’t! Love is horrible, I’m saying it because I’ve been in this world way before you were born! I have experience and I know how love is! And besides, I am a detective. It would be terrible if my enemies found out I had somebody by my side. They would do bad things to you I’m sure…”
“You’re worried about me! That proves you love me.”
“I didn’t say that!”
“But you’re not denying it!”
“Listen, Olivia…”
“No, now you listen! Basil, I know that you are a detective and your profession is dangerous, but I’m ready for it. I can take care of myself. We’re in this together, I want to be by your side to fight against criminals. To fight against… Ratigan.”
Basil became sad.
“What is it, Basil?” Olivia asked.
“Ratigan is dangerous. He won death. That means he’s stronger than anything and he would kill you without any doubt, believe me. He would have no mercy for you, I know it.”
“I also know that. But you wouldn’t let anything wrong happen to me, would you?”
“Of course not. But even I make mistakes, Olivia. I’m afraid I could let him hurt you, just to bother me.”
“I’m sure nothing will happen.”
“No, Olivia, you are not understanding. We can’t be together.”
“Why not? Because I’m younger than you or because you’re afraid Ratigan can hurt me?”
“Both of them! You deserve much better!”
“No, I don’t! I want you, nobody else!”
“You are young, Olivia. You don’t know anything about life.”
Olivia became angry.
“DO YOU THINK SO? I’VE SEEN MY FATHER BEING TAKEN BY A BAT, SEEN HIM SURFERING WITH CRIMINALS OF THE WORST, I’VE BEEN AWAY FROM MY DAD WHILE I WAS INSIDE OF A BOTTLE, ALMOST SAW YOU BEING KILLED IN A MOUSETRAP AND CRIED WHEN I THOUGHT YOU HAD FALLEN FROM BIG BEN!! AND YOU THINK I KNOW NOTHING OF LIFE????”
“Calm down, Olivia!! Calm down, I understand. You are totally right… I’m sorry, I was stupid, I shouldn’t have said that… What I meant to say is that you have a whole world to explore; you have the opportunity to meet new people and fall in love for someone better than me!”
“SHUT UP, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! I LOVE YOU, BASIL, I WANT YOU!!”
“I WANT THE BEST FOR YOU!”
“DO YOU LOVE ME?”
“What?”
“Do you love me, Basil? Tell me the truth, I can handle it.”
Basil closed his eyes and I knew what he was doing: He was listening to his heart.
He looked into her eyes and said:
“Yes, I love you.”
She droped tears of happiness and smiled.
“Oh, Basil… Do you… mean it?”
“Yes, I do. But it’s wrong, I shouldn’t…”
“It’s not wrong. It’s a dream come true. I've been waiting for you to say that for years!”
“When I saw you entering in that house, I knew my heart belonged to you.”
Basil and Olivia walked closer and slowly kissed with such passion that I could feel it.
They were holding each other tight and he kept playing with her hair while they kissed.