When he finally woke up, he felt like it was all a dream, that he was still in that cell and had finally lost his mind, because he just couldn't comprehend all the things that happened. That in one day he was eating shit, and in another, he was pardoned, kidnapped, beaten the shit out of, and then was saved… and ate food like kings…
But it was reality, not a dream, as he got out of his bed, stood in front of the mirror, and looked at his body, at his face, at his hair.
It was truly like he was reborn… he looked nothing like how he was before. His face was clean, no beard, his hair was cut short. The housekeeper did a perfect job with it, and he just felt his body too was reborn, thanks to that bath he took.
"I'm skinny…" He whispered as he looked at his arm and his body, and he was like a skeleton. But it wasn't something that he could cure with sleep or something, his whole system was fucked up, and eating a lot was just going to fuck it up even more.
With that, he just turned toward the wardrobe and stood in front of it for a few seconds, then reached out for the knob.
"Let's see what a don wears." He said and opened it, and it was nothing surprising.
Black suit and white shirt… nothing else but those in a row. But there was something that caught his attention, a little drawer, which he reached out for and pulled open.
Now that was something surprising. It was like a little treasure box, with golden signet rings in there, and a gold watch. But the most important of all was the pistol. There was nothing special about it, it was an ordinary one but the way it was there, prepped for him, was telling.
That the path ahead of him was really a Don's path.
The other thing he found funny was that Pablo, or whoever it was, had literally prepared everything for him. Like the rings, it was just so unnecessary, but still, it was there in front of him.
And the thing is, he started to understand why they had no money.
The rings were basically all the same but in different sizes, and even the suit, the pants, the shirt, all of it was in different sizes so he could try it on to see which fit best. Even the shoes, as he looked down, were all different sizes but all from the same brand, just like the suit.
They bought him a whole ass packet from who knows how much money, because it was all from expensive brands.
But shit he needed to dress up and when he was finally done, he looked back at the mirror, and what he looked like… was a Don, a gangster. The black suit with the golden signet ring truly fit together and the last touch to it was the pistol. He grabbed the holster with the gun and clipped in.
"So it begins…" He whispered once again and with a last look, he was out of the room and as he did, it truly felt like home.
Like when Pablo said home, and when he first saw this place, his first thought was emptiness. A huge-ass home that was filled with nothing but emptiness all around. Not even a single noise, not even something that would say it is a lovely home full of life.
But now it was exactly the opposite of it.
His nose was immediately hit by some kind of fragrance. It was flowery, but as he smelled it, it felt nostalgic. He felt like he was back in the past. Memories flooded him, the good ones that he had, but not just that, he felt the smell of food too. A smell that was just on a whole other level.
And as he made his way downstairs, it wasn't just the smell but the noise, laughs of people, the noises outside and inside, the noise of a vacuum, of a broom.
It was just like a home.
But as he turned toward the dining area everybody just seemed to freeze the moment they noticed him.
Pablo was at the table eating some kind of sandwich, while the chef was chopping up and cooking food. And of course, there was a familiar face, the housekeeper who cut his hair down. But it seemed different. It wasn't the same as yesterday, their heads weren't down with their eyes, but they were all looking at him, with kind of shock in their eyes, in their expression.
"Wow… you look… good." Pablo spoke first, truly shocked by how much Joseph had changed with the haircut, and how well he looked in that suit.
"Charismatic… that's the right word." The housekeeper said and it was a whole different vibe about Joseph.
He didn't look like some caveman, like a real prisoner lost in dirt and despair. No, he looked more like a proper businessman, like the don of a family. Calm, clean, and in control.
The second thing was the shift in his presence. Yesterday, he had radiated an aura, the kind that made it clear he was ready to kill anyone who disrespected him. Maybe it was the blood, his broken nose, that distant eye of his… he looked menacing yesterday but now it was with fashion, with charisma.
A ture Don, that is how he looks.
"Really?" Joseph said as he looked down at himself.
"Yeah, really." The woman said again as well. She was even surprised that Joseph's haircut actually looked good, like he went to a real barber. She did a good job cutting him.
"Do you want something for breakfast, sir?" The chef spoke behind the counter.
"No, I'm alright." He said as he looked now at Pablo and asked a very strange question.
"Do we have shovels? Or like something we can dig with?"