Do You Believe?

Infinite (2)

Tiffany woke up on her large blue bed and wasn't surprised because she knew that Stephen brought her to her room, she ran downstairs after wearing a brown jumper on her white pajamas and slipping a pair of white slippers into her small feet she quickly came downstairs.

When she got to the living room , she saw Patricia - the babysitter who was looking at her with the smile she hated the more than fantasy novels, for some reason this black haired partially beautiful woman in her late 40s disgusted her, she always kept talking and Tiffany despised chatty people. Patricia always talked about boys and gave irrelevant advice like anyone asked for it but Mrs. Collins spoke mostly about her favourite thing - books and about her trips to foreign countries and even the Buckingham palace to meet a friend who worked there.

"Where's dad?" She asked without bothering about a formal greeting, seeing Patricia was a major determinant of a bad day so she didn't care if it begun with her worthless scolding.

"He needed to do something real quick, I'll be gone by twilight," she said, drinking a cup of water from the glass cup on a table close by. Weird...she spoke of when she was leaving but not when Stephen was coming back. But when she was leaving was enough good news for Tiffany,she went back to her room to take her bath,then she wore a blue dress with a blue bow neatly placed on her long straight blonde hair. She decided to look childish today by wearing a pair of long white stockings and black shoes probably feeling like Alice when she arrived at wonderland.

After breakfast,she spent her morning in the library and sent Paula as a spy to watch over Patricia's activities, she had two advantages to her disposal - she could practice how to end a book with her first novella in peace without Paul's distraction and she could keep track of the lady's deeds. It was the weekend so Mrs. Collins wasn't coming.

Soon,the place was filled with countless sheets of papers and she was tired if trying,she was totally starving so she decided to go back to meet the 'demon' in the living room - Patricia. She opened the door to see Paula who kept dragging her to the living room.

"Alright, I was going there anyways," she muttered and sauntered downstairs, surprisingly,it was past twilight and Patricia was still at the living room but she was with Mrs. Collins who didn't look as happy and cheerful as she had always been. She came to meet the ladies who were whispering to each other.

"Is anything wrong?" She asked with a raised brow.

" I'll see you next week, Patty," Mrs. Collins said, sniffling and Patricia left the house with bloodshot eyes. Tiffany looked at Mrs. Collins with a worried expression on her face.

"Come darling," she said with her hands wide open and Tiffany embraced her, her hug was warm and comforting, obviously a soothing pill for heartbreaks, Mrs. Collins finally parted her lips with the slim teenage girl in her arms.

"He's gone dear, and I'm afraid he isn't coming back," she announced, bursting into uncontrollable tears and leaving Tiffany completely bewildered by her words and actions.

Stephen couldn't be dead, she spoke to him the previous day and he was perfectly fine and healthy, he took her to her bedroom last night, there was no way a looking and vibrant forty-two year old man would suddenly pay a permanent visit to the after life, maybe he went on a trip but he wouldn't just abandon her to live alone would he?

"W-what d-do you mean?" She asked in a shaky voice, she had already pulled from Mrs. Collins to give her enough space to process the news.

"Your father passed on this morning at a local market, he didn't tell you did he?"

Tiffany fell on the floor with her hand on her chest, trying to calm her aching heart, memories of Stephen flooded her head and the watery proof of her pain slowly streamed down, no.... he couldn't be dead!what about all their plans and dreams together?, she couldn't imagine life without him it was obviously meaningless,her mind couldn't give her a proper explanation so she mumbled out a few words.

"W-w-what d-didn't he tell me?"

"Your dad has been battling with asthma for quite sometime now, he dropped his inhaler in his car this morning and - " she couldn't finish as tears found their way into her organs of vision again, she embraced Tiffany on the floor and they cried together as if tears could bring him back, Paula sat close to them with her ears down, losing Stephen was like saying goodbye to breathing, she had planned on telling him how her day went at the library, she quickly understood why Patricia wasn't her usual self that morning she probably heard about it on her way to the mansion.

••••••

The next week..

At Stephen's funeral, Tiffany was looking like a ghost with her once cherry plump lips looking pale, her hair was unkept and her large blue eyes were swollen due to crying. She spent the rest of the week at the library while Mrs. Collins planned and prepared everything for the funeral. Surprisingly, Stephen didn't have any close relative not even a single soul to attend his funeral, Tiffany never saw any uncles or aunts or even a cousin at least, she was the only one he had and the only one he left.

......

"When I was eight, my father told me that even while mourning a loved one, we should learn to chin up and remember that they're comfortable wherever they are in that perfect paradise doing the things they loved, I've experienced the death of my family members but losing him is like having my soul ripped out of my body in the most painful way you could ever imagine but all I can do is to wish, wish that none of this ever happened, that he never left and that he was still here giving me the cup of the best hot chocolate ever, editing each chapter of my literary works and reading them without skipping a word,I wish I was given a chance to write his story it definitely wouldn't have an end , whatever has a beginning must have an end but my love for you dear father, is infinite - " she tried to continue but got choked up by the tears she was holding back, she slowly descended the platform after giving her heartfelt speech which left her with teary eyes.

After the other activities at the burial the priest prayed for the last time and Stephen's mortal gift was covered in the sand.