My Step-Uncle Calls Me Mate

The Letter

Rosie sat at her desk, the soft glow of her desk lamp casting a warm light on the letter that lay before her. Her hands trembled slightly as she reached out to pick it up, the paper crisp and white, the handwriting familiar yet distant.

It had been ten years since her mother had left, walking out of their lives without a word of explanation. Rosie and her father had picked up the pieces as best they could, their bond growing stronger in the face of abandonment and heartache.

But now, here was a letter from her mother, the one person Rosie had thought she would never hear from again. The words on the page beckoned to her, calling her to a reunion that she had both longed for and dreaded.

"Dear Rosie," the letter began, the words written in her mother's elegant script. "I hope this letter finds you well. I know that I have been absent from your life for far too long, and for that, I am truly sorry."

Rosie's heart ached as she read on, her mother's words filled with regret and longing. She explained that she had found peace and forgiveness within herself, that she had remarried and built a new life far away from the home she had once shared with Rosie and her father.

"I understand if you are angry or hurt by my actions," the letter continued. "But I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me and to give me a chance to make amends. Your step-father and I would like to invite you to come live with us, to start anew as a family once more. Your father told me in his letter how you have become a strong woman since I left. I always thank him for understanding me and my nature."

That was new for Rosie. She didn't know that her father had been talking to her mother for those two years she left them.

Tears welled up in Rosie's eyes as she reached the end of the letter, her emotions swirling in a tumultuous storm. A part of her yearned to reach out, to embrace the possibility of reconciliation and healing. But another part of her recoiled, the scars of abandonment still raw and tender.

Picking the picture she once loved to see makes her heart lonely. His father smiled while hugging her from behind. It was taken when she graduated from high school last month. Her tears falling unstoppable. Her heart sunk at the image of her dad's last wishes when she saw him in the hospital.

"Rosie, my beautiful Rosie. It is time, my dear. I hope you reconcile with your mother. She doesn't want to leave us. Her nature is bound to stay where she belongs. She did that to protect us not to harm us.”

"What are you talking about, Dad? Stop defending her already and focus on yourself. Please don't leave me. You’re everything I got. If you leave me, what will I become?”

Her father touches her face and told her their story. The one she’s been waiting for a long time to hear. His father ignores her wishes before, but now.. he is willing to tell her their love story, when she doesn’t want to hear it anymore.

She smiled to his father and hold his hand.

"I can still remember when I first met your mother. It was a medical mission when we visit their town. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. She turn me down overtime I tried to approach her. I never gave up on her even when people around that area ignored me too. It seems like they hold grudges to me because I tried to pursue her. It was a disaster back then. Animals attack get worse every day. On our supposed last day there, we found her crying into a man corpse. She’s been calling her mate. That’s when I found out that she’s a married person but her husband died by an animal attack. Ever since that day, she looks like a dead person trying to live. I once asked her to come and live with me, in my surprise, she agreed. That’s where our love story started. But she’s different. Her natural instincts are different from ordinary human. She started to be more aggressive and sensitive when she gave birth to you. She almost hurt me when I tried to get you away from her because of her aggressiveness. After that day, she left.” A tears in his eyes started pouring down.

Reminiscing their last moments together, Rosie started to cry her heart out. The reality that suffocated her and the decision she needed to make.

Why is the fate so cruel? Why did the fate took my father? Why is my life like this? I am afraid of what will happen to me next.

As she sat there, the letter clutched in her hands, Rosie knew that she stood at a crossroads. The choice before her was a difficult one, fraught with uncertainty and emotion. But whatever path she chose, one thing was certain - her life would never be the same again.

She started to pack her things when her best friend Troy visited her.

“Why are you packing? Where are you going?” He asked panicking.

“I am living with my mother in our town where she and dad met.”

“Your mother? I thought she left you and your father along time ago.”

“That’s what I thought myself, but father last words was to reconcile with her and make a new life.”

“You can ignore her and live with me. I am alone in my apartment. You can still continue studying. I can provide work for you in my father’s company.” Troy said, trying to persuade Rosie.

“Troy, this is my decision. I also need to follow my dad’s wishes. Thank you so much for all the help you gave me. I will message you once I get there. You can visit me to in the future.”

Troy looks sad but he understands.

Now, it’s time for me to leave my life here and try to get along with my mother.