Unexpectedly Bad

14: Rapunzel

                                                                     A   I   D   E   N

     That night felt so surreal to me. It felt like a dream; having her in my arms. I didn't understand how can I developed such a strong feeling towards her so quickly and how can I cared about her when I barely knew her. It all happened so suddenly. A part of me told me that she cared about me as much as I cared about her. It felt so good to know that someone actually cared about you when not even yourself did.

     Father was never there for me. He  had never been responsible for what he had done. He was the reason why mom left us, he was the reason why our family messed up. I was too young to know what was happening around me, I was too young to be able to stop mom from leaving. When I finally did understand, it was already too late.

     6 years ago...

     "Mommy, don't leave me!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. In front of me was the worst sight ever. Mom was wearing her purple coat and both of her hands was holding two luggages. I struggled to get out of Gretta's arms. Gretta also had tears on her cheeks, just like mom.

     I wanted to reach out for her, but I can't. I was too young and too weak. Father was not even there when mom left. He acted like he doesn't care at all. What was a marriage means? Mom told me that it was the day when you and the love of your life vowed to be with each other with love, through thick and thin until their very last breath. But, why did mom left?

     I was crying in my bedroom and sitting on Gretta's lap when dad walked in and told me to stop crying. "Stop crying, would you?" He yelled, but, that only made me close my eyes and cry harder. The next thing I felt was a sting on my cheeks.

     "Sir, please, don't!" Gretta yelled held me tighter, "He's just a kid. His mom just left him. What do you expect?" I felt her body shaking and her arms than held me was trembling.

     "You better take care of this kid. I've had enough problems from work. I don't want to come home to hear him cry." With that, he left the room.

     Everything fell a part when she left. Father never talked to me ever since. It was like we lived in the same roof but we didn't know each other. To him, it was never his fault and none of  those was his fault. You were f*****g wrong, father. It was all your fault. I had never wanted to leave this house, this was the only place that always reminded me of her. A part of me still hoped that one day she would come back to this house to see me. If I left, she'd never know where to find me. So, I stayed, even if that means I had to feel the pain everyday.

                                                                           L   U   N   A

     We arrived at the airport at three in the morning. Then, I took the bus to go home. It was four when I arrived at home.

     I rang the doorbell. "Hey, mom." I greeted her once she opened the door.

     "Hello, sweetie. How was the trip?" Mom's hair was a mess, I think she just woke up.

     "Amazing." I smiled.

     "Why are you smiling like that? Let me guess, you had the best time of your life?" Mom grinned.

     "I think so." I giggled.

     "Was it a boy?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

     "Yes." I smiled again.

     "My daughter has finally grown up." She hugged me. "You better get some sleep. It's barely dawn." I nodded and went upstairs to rest.

∴∵∴∵∴∵∴∵∴∵

     Mom invited me to her friend's house for dinner. Mom said she just moved in and she was my mom's new partner in work. So, I agreed to come since I didn't have any plans for today.

     We drove to her house. It was a half an hour drive. The house was small, it was painted in white and had a tiny garden in front of it. There was a tiny white round table with two  tiny white chairs. Barbie dolls and pink tea cups was on the table. I thought mom forgot to tell me her friend had a daughter.

     We rang the doorbell and a woman with brown hair and light brown eyes. Her eyes reminded me of someone but I failed to figure out who it was.

     "Hello, Vivian." She greeted my mom and they hugged, "Oh, you must be Luna."

     "Hi." I smiled.

     "Well, come in." We entered her house. The interior was designed in all white. It was very elegant. We sat on the couch and a little girl came out of one of the rooms.

     "Hi!" She waved one of her hands and the other one was holding a princess doll.

     "Hello, there." My mom greeted her and I smiled at her.

     "I'm Alyssa and I'm five!" She held out her hands and both me and my mom shook it.

     "I'm Luna."

     "And I'm Vivian. Nice to meet you, Alyssa."

     Alyssa had brunette hair. She looked cute with her space buns. She wore Princess Aurora's pink dress and a gold crown on her head. She was very bubbly and outgoing.

     "Why don't you show Luna your new tea set while mom and Vivian prepare for dinner?" Alyssa nodded to her mom and reached her hand out to me. I held her hand and she lead me outside to the garden. I sat in one of the tiny chairs slowly, afraid that it will break since it was definitely not my size.

     "Okay. So, do you want to be Kelly or Keira?" She held out her Barbie dolls.

     "Um, I guess I want to be Kelly." I said. I didn't even know which one is Kelly or Keira. She handed me the one with blue dress.

     "Nice choice!" She smiled. She was so sweet and she looked so innocent. "Do you have a sister, Luna?"

     "I don't. Do you?"

     "I don't have a sister too. Hey, we can be sisters!"

     "Ofcourse."

     We continued to play with her tea set. She kept asking me questions such as what is my favorite candy, barbie movies, and disney movies.

     "Who is your favorite princess? Mine is Snow White because she's friends with dwarves and dwarves are so cute!"

     "Mine is Rapunzel."

     "Why?"

     "Because, she was trapped inside a tower and she can see lights only from a window, but, she never lose hope. She held her hopes as high as where the stars shine. She fought for her dreams, she took the biggest risk in her life just to see the lanterns. She taught us that to reach our dreams, we must held our hopes up and be willing to take the risk."

     "My dream is to live in a castle and have a pair of glass slippers." She giggled.

     "You're too cute." I reached our and pinched her cheek. "We should get in, it's getting dark." She nodded, held my hand, and lead me into the house.

     As we walk inside, I noticed a picture on a table in the living room. It was a picture of Alyssa's mom and a boy. The boy had a black hair and light brown eyes. He looked around four or five. And he looked somewhat...familiar. "You have a brother, Alyssa?"

     She turned her head towards the picture, "Oh, yes. But, I have never met him."

     "How so?" I frowned.

     She shrugged her shoulders, "Mommy said he lives far away with daddy."

     "Where does your dad lives?"

     "I don't know." Her voice was shaking and her eyes were teary. By that, I knew that this was a sensitive topic for her. I felt really bad. I picked her up and held her close.

     "I'm sorry, Alyssa." I rubbed her back as she rested her head of my shoulders.

     "I've always wanted to meet daddy. My friends come to school with their daddies and always have their daddies kissed their cheeks or foreheads before they get into school. I want that too." She sniffed. Trust me, I knew how it feels to not have a dad and grew up without one. It was a feeling that any kid shouldn't be experiencing.

     "Dinner is ready, girls." Alyssa's mom came to the living room, "What happened?" She took Alyssa from my arms.

     "I asked about her brother and dad. I'm so sorry, I didn't know-"

     "It's okay, dear. Let's have dinner." We walked to the dining room and had dinner.

     After dinner, Vivian and Alyssa's mom had a conversation about their work while Alyssa showed me her dolls in her pink-painted room. Then, we bid them goodbye.

     "Will you come back anytime soon, Luna?" Alyssa asked.

     "Ofcourse."