Father
991 Words
The wind had died down, leaving only the rhythmic lapping of the lake against the shore. Amelia stood beside Dominic, her fingers still loosely tangled with his. She hadn’t meant to reach for him—hadn’t meant to need him—but now that he was here, she wasn’t sure she could let go.
“I should go back,” she murmured, but made no move to leave.
Dominic studied her, his dark eyes unreadable. “Do you want to?”
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “No. But I don’t have a choice, do I?”
He hesitated. “Amelia… you always have a choice.”
His words struck something deep inside her, something raw. Did she? Wasn’t that the whole reason she had left years ago? Because staying had felt like a slow death, like suffocating under her mother’s expectations. And yet, here she was, circling back like she’d never left at all.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, breaking the moment. She pulled it out and saw Lillian’s name flashing on the screen.
Her stomach twisted. “I have to take this.”
Dominic nodded, stepping away as she answered.
“What’s wrong?” Amelia asked, skipping the greeting.
Lillian’s voice was strained, panicked. “Mom’s gone.”
Amelia’s heart stopped. “What?”
“She’s not in the house. I went to get her water, and when I came back, she was just—gone. The front door was open.”
Adrenaline surged through Amelia’s veins. “Did you check outside? The backyard?”
“I checked everywhere,” Lillian snapped. “She’s sick, Amelia. She can barely walk. She wouldn’t just leave.”
But she had.
“I’m on my way,” Amelia said, ending the call.
Dominic was already watching her with concern. “What happened?”
“She’s missing.” Amelia’s voice was hollow. “My mother is missing.”
The drive back to the house was a blur of headlights and rising panic. Lillian was waiting for her on the porch, arms crossed, her face pale in the dim glow of the flickering light.
“Any sign of her?” Amelia asked as she climbed out of the car.
Lillian shook her head. “I called the neighbors. No one’s seen her.”
A sick feeling crawled up Amelia’s spine. Their mother was frail, weak. She shouldn’t have been able to go far.
“She wouldn’t just wander off,” Lillian said, more to herself than to Amelia.
“She was lucid when I saw her last,” Amelia agreed.
That left one terrifying possibility.
“She left on purpose,” Amelia whispered.
Lillian’s eyes widened. “But why?”
Amelia didn’t have an answer.
Just then, a sound echoed from the side of the house—a rustling in the trees. Both sisters froze.
Dominic, who had followed behind them, narrowed his eyes. “I’ll check it out.”
“No,” Amelia said quickly, her pulse hammering. “I’ll go.”
She grabbed a flashlight from the porch and made her way toward the sound, every step hesitant. The light swept over the trees, casting eerie shadows along the fence.
Then she saw her.
Her mother stood near the tree line, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown, her feet bare against the frost-covered grass.
“Mom,” Amelia breathed, rushing toward her. “What are you doing out here?”
Her mother turned slowly, her eyes unfocused. But then, as Amelia reached for her, she whispered something that made the world tilt beneath her feet.
“I had to see him.”
Amelia’s breath caught. “See who?”
Her mother blinked, and for a second, something sharp and lucid flashed in her gaze. “Your father.”
A chill ran down Amelia’s spine. “Mom, Dad is—”
“Alive.”
Amelia recoiled as if she’d been slapped. “What?”
Her mother’s expression crumpled, and she suddenly seemed so small, so fragile. “I never told you.”
Behind her, Lillian’s sharp intake of breath echoed in the still night.
Amelia shook her head, her mind racing. “No. That’s not possible. He died. In a car accident. You told us—”
“I lied.”
The words hung between them, heavy and suffocating.
Lillian stepped forward, her voice shaking. “Mom, what are you talking about?”
Tears glistened in their mother’s tired eyes. “He’s alive. I saw him.”
Amelia’s heart pounded. “That’s not possible. He’s been gone for over twenty years.”
Their mother swayed slightly, her strength finally giving out. Amelia caught her just in time, gripping her arms tightly.
“I need to lie down,” she whispered.
Amelia and Lillian exchanged a glance before helping her back inside.
Once their mother was settled, Lillian turned to Amelia, her face a mask of disbelief. “What the hell just happened?”
Amelia rubbed her temples. “I don’t know. She’s sick, Lillian. Maybe she’s confused.”
Lillian’s expression darkened. “Or maybe she’s not.”
A sharp knock on the door made them both jump. Dominic, who had been sitting quietly by the window, stood up. “I’ll get it.”
Amelia followed him, her stomach twisting. She wasn’t sure she could handle more surprises tonight.
Dominic opened the door.
A man stood on the porch, his face shadowed by the dim light. He was older, his hair streaked with gray, his expression unreadable. But there was something familiar about him—something that made Amelia’s skin prickle.
The man’s gaze landed on her, and when he spoke, his voice sent ice through her veins.
“Amelia,” he said softly. “It’s been a long time.”
She couldn’t breathe.
Because she knew that voice.
She had heard it in memories, in dreams, in nightmares.
It couldn’t be.
And yet, standing before her was the impossible.
Her father.
- Writer
