Beep..beep...beep.. beep...
Cassidy strutted into the room wearing a pair of sleek trousers with a blue polo.
Just the way she liked it!
She wore a light brown hat to compliment her caramel coloured hair.
She picked up her phone which lay on the table side, and scrutinising it closely, she let out a pained whimper.
This could be one of those silly truants.
Someone could be playing tricks with her.
She quickly slid into one of the sneakers that lay by the bedside and scampered away.
Where to?
She wasn't sure, but she would let her intuition lead.
" Cassidy," Khalid called from the bathroom.
Silence greeted him.
He called again but no one answered.
Khalid smiled shyly to himself as he thought she could be at one of her pranks.
His childish smile withered completely when he couldn't find Cassidy in the room.
He went further to search the piano room.
She wasn't there.
Khalid felt sweat break out on his forehead and palms.
She ran away?
She ran away!
From him?
****
Cassidy yawned uncontrollably as she hailed down a taxi.
The gloomy weather seemed to make things worse for her.
Her eyes slowly became teary.
She didn't know how but she knew she needed her mother to be well until her return.
The worst wasn't supposed to happen - at least not just yet.
She needed more time.
" Crescent," she announced to the taxi man.
" Hop in."
Cassidy quickly threw the door open and signaled the driver to be on his way.
***
Cassidy opened the centre door of the house.
Her senses were on fire.
She felt empty despite the heavy feeling.
Every touch seemed like a sword that pierced her heart - her soul.
Her father had chased her far away from him, from her family and from every familiar thing she had known.
Cassidy stepped inside.
There was no going back.
****
No one made a sound, not even the click clack click of the feet.
The only audible sound was the sound of her feet which echoed out a sound of ' I'm here! I'm here!'
Cassidy was certain she'd never heard a silence so silent before except in movies when something was amiss.
Once she stepped fully into the sitting room, the air turned black all around her.
Kevin's shrill cry echoed in the sitting room.
Her aunts and uncles sat by one another with their faces in their hands.
Her father sat beside Kevin and crossed his arms.
" What's wrong?"
Everyone stared wide-eyed.
The question seemed to bring back consciousness.
Their mouths popped open and there was this kind of expression on their faces that Cassidy couldn't comprehend fully.
She shouldn't have mistaken those long glances as ' a welcome back home' stare.
How disappointing!
Her father stood up and faced her.
He shot her an icy, aggressive and long glare that sent unease down her spine.
" An illegitimate daughter shouldn't be here," he spat.
Cassidy wanted to chortle but she held herself.
No, it didn't sound funny.
Maybe, he called her illegitimate because he was angry.
She knew her father never liked her.
But she could only see truth in his eyes.
Those eyes glared like flames of fire that was ready to consume her completely.
How could he call her illegitimate?
Her father could be up to so many things at a time again.
He could probably be doing this on purpose to make her feel bad.
She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt.
" Your protective mother isn't here anymore to play her role. Leave."
" Play her role?" Cassidy retorted unconsciously.
It only meant one thing and her head spelt it out fully but she wasn't ready to accept it.
There was only one reason behind the teary eyes and pale faces in front of her.
It couldn't be true.
It shouldn't have claimed her mother yet.
She had so much she wanted to say to her.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she choked on her breath.
Her mother hadn't kept her promise before she left.
She hadn't even told Cassidy the reason behind every other thing.
That day, she had been snooping around her parents' room and stumbled upon a large box on the ground.
She quickly opened it but a file had caught her attention.
The clock had seemed so slow as she read.
Her eyes had grown wider as she scanned each word on the page.
It couldn't be true.
She had started at the top and begun to read it again.
Although she couldn't understand one word, her head had been quick enough to register the deadly word - cancer.
She had known it was lumps formation, but she had never known it had gotten to this extent.
It had claimed her mother.
Cassidy broke down.
Tears ran down her cheeks freely, in torrents.
His impetuous rush towards Cassidy startled everyone.
" Leave," his rash words lashed at her.
Cassidy felt a cringe in her stomach and chest.
She felt a pain ( scalding hot pain.)
She winced as she stared at her father speechlessly with countless thoughts bouncing on her mind.
Again, her father was chasing her away... farther than before.
" We'll plan the funeral. You aren't supposed to be here."
What?
Something rang in her head....
They would plan her mother's funeral, her father's wife, without her?
Her hands limped beside her body helplessly and with ease.
Cassidy felt shattered.
There was nothing left of her being; nothing was left behind to break or destroy.
Kevin caught sight of his sister's drooping eyelids.
He choked on his breath as tears welled up again in his eyes.
He felt a stab of pain in his chest.
Staring at his father and sister this way made him wail more.
The only person that held the entire family together was gone.
They were all on the verge of separation and destruction.
Cassidy exhaled and turned around firmly without a second thought.
Was it firm?
She was in a bad state already, and those long glares from her other relatives didn't help.
Those glares could be pity, or so she misinterpreted them.
How could she call herself her mother's daughter when she couldn't even be around when her mother needed her?