He's dashing and young, a free spirit what they call him. Hey buy everything I like, he holds my hand and piggybacks me when I'm too tired to walk. If I fall asleep in the car he'll carry me gently into the house. This guy is kind, isn't he...
"Cathiey... Do you like Zack?" My mom asked me one night.
"Yes, I do. I like him" I say happily as I do my kindergarten worksheets.
"Then you can call him Papa soon"
My pencil dropped and I looked at my mom in disbelief. A dad? Can our family finally be completed? Mom will be happy right? Finally... I got to be the same as the kids my age and have a complete family. I quickly stand up from my desk, run towards my mother and hug her tightly.
"Thanks, mom! You're the best!"
Days after that are filled with various happy moments. He was everything I ever wanted. We even got to dance at the father-daughter dance together! Years went by and everything felt so natural. My sister was born soon after and my little family was so happy because another day of light shined into the family. The year after, another little sister was born and life has never been more perfect. I've two baby sisters that I could cherish all I want all thanks to my Papa.
***
"Hah!? Money again? How many times has it been?"
They bickered again, every night filled with yelling and cursed words. I don't think I should hear an adult saying such vulgar words. I pulled my sisters into my room whenever they started to yell at each other because my sisters would only make his anger even worse. I told my little sisters that we should play together while Mommy and Papa were busy.
The things in our home started to disappear one by one. The vacuum, the laptop and several of my grandma's gold jewellery were missing over time. I know well who stole them but I was tied into a promise;
"This will be our little first secret"
I didn't understand what was happening but I promised him anyway. Mom was always working, he's the only one who has always cared for me.
But the sea isn't always calm, my mother had her second divorce when I was 9. She was crying every night and Grandma was always by her side, grandma kept calling him a greedy son of a bitch. Now I understand why because he was born from a bitch.
***
He had 2 children from a previous marriage which he abandoned because his wife was sick. One of them is a girl who is older than me by a year. She lives in an orphanage. How hurt will you feel when you know your parents are still alive but don't want you? Her name is Myra, someone I call an older sister. She's pretty and was excited when I wanted to be her little sister but my mother has no custody of her since she has divorced her dad.
She ran away from the orphanage to meet her father again but he refused her immediately. He insulted her, calling her a whore like her mother. Who in their right mind will say that to their biological children? You'd be surprised because people like them do exist and in this story his name was Zack. I often cry thinking about Myra, I had her father's love even if it was fake... I feel guilty for doing that.
She has no family anymore, she was living on the streets and even stealing from stores to make a living. Soon she was sent to juvenile prison for stealing. I want to scream that fate isn't fair, what did she do? She was just a child like me. She didn't have anything, I had everything. Life isn't fair.
***
When I was 15, I entered a boarding school. While hanging out with my friend I got a call from a number that I'd never seen before. I answered the call cautiously and it was a familiar voice, Zack. I tried to talk innocently as I was still depending on him.
"You're a daughter that I'm most proud of"
My whole vision went black and one thought slipped my mind 'What did this fucker want from me?' he keeps babbling about how he has raised me from little and how of a genius I was that now I managed to get into a prestige boarding school.
No, I don't deserve to hear those words, Myra should. Ah, am I stealing from her again?