When was the last time Azul felt so vulnerable? So scared?
This fear was an emotion he thought he had lost forever.
Memories long forgotten flooded back to his mind as the beeping of the hospital machines slowly faded away.
'Beep….Beep…..Beep....BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-'
The little boy's head shot up as he stared at the woman before him hooked up to what seemed like hundreds of large machines.
Her bobbed black hair was greasy and sprawled back against the flattened pillow.
"Mama?" The little boy questioned with tears in his eyes as he placed his hand on her bruised arm, shaking it gently.
Nurses and doctors rushed in and began shouting words he couldn't understand.
The following moments were complete chaos.
It was as if time had slowed, and yet it seemed like the hospital staff were moving so quickly that their forms were blurred.
"MAMA!" His tearful scream blended into the commotion of the room.
"Azul, come with me, okay?"
One of the nurses approached the boy and held her hand out to him.
A sweet smile was plastered on her face, yet her expression didn't seem so happy.
Not knowing what else to do, Azul placed his tiny hand in hers and allowed her to lead him out of the room.
He turned around to see the doctors lift the blanket over his mother's face.
His heart felt like it tore in two, one half felt like it dropped in his body, while the other felt like it was shoving itself up his throat.
The nurse tightened her grip on his hand as his sobs only increased in volume.
What was he going to do now? His mother was gone….he was all alone.
He sat in the waiting room, tears and snot streaming down his face as he sat there quietly sniveling, his head hanging low.
His dirty, worn sneakers hung in the air, his legs too short to reach the floor.
"Azul…" the nurse approached and squatted in front of his seat so she was at eye level.
It was a moment he thought he'd never forget - the blurred image of that nurse, a soft expression on her face, her blonde hair pulled back into a bun as she placed a hand softly on his knee.
"Your father is coming to get you. He's on his way."
Her words echoed loudly in his mind as he tried to comprehend what she'd just said.
"I don't…..I don't have a father…" his weak little voice cracked as he spoke.
For his whole life, it had only been himself and his mother.
According to her, she had fallen in love with a handsome police officer who had saved her life when someone tried to rob her one night.
After she became pregnant with Azul, his father had passed away during a shootout when a bank robbery had gone wrong.
So, who was this 'father' that was appearing out of nowhere?
The nurse's eyebrows furrowed, "Of course you do. Your mother wrote him down as her emergency contact with instructions that if something were to happen to her, he be called."
Confusion enveloped him as he began to process this revelation.
'Father? I have a father? I'm not….going to be alone? Why did mama never tell me? Has he been alive this whole time? Did she lie to me?'
Questions began to pile up in his head as each one only led to another.
A month ago, Azul's mother had been involved in some sort of accident, one that no one would give him details about.
Her body had been battered and bruised, with cuts along her arms and legs.
For the first few days, she'd been conscious. The bruising on her face had made her look like a different person, but her personality was still his same old mom.
She'd told him not to worry, that everything would be okay. She'd hold him in her arms as he slept at night.
Throughout his sleep time wiggling, she flinch and wince as his powerful little legs would accidentally kick or press against her injuries, but she never complained.
That's just the kind of mother she was, she always put him first, she never lied to him and always remained strong.
Just like she had remained strong after losing the love of her life in a bank robbery shootout, just like she had remained strong after unexpectedly becoming a single mother.
So, he believed her, just as he always did. Why wouldn't he?
Yet, unexpectedly, a few days later….she went to sleep and never woke up again.
Had she known the whole time she wasn't going to make it? Had she prepared this in that short amount of time?
Or….had she always known something like this may happen?
Suddenly, it seemed like his mother lied to him all the time.
Was his father dead, or not? She said she would be okay, but she wasn't, now she was gone.
What else had she lied about?
"Azul." A deep, powerful voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
In the time he had been thinking, the nurse had left and standing before him was a tall black-haired male with bulging muscles, scars on his face and a thick beard.
Peeking out from beneath the sleeves of his black t-shirt appeared to be a few tattoos.
He was holding onto a plastic bag – filled with Azul and his mother's things that they'd had at the hospital.
Azul's eyes trailed from the contents to the man's hands.
His knuckles were bruised with scrapes and cuts. He had three large golden rings on his middle fingers and a fancy looking watch on his wrist to match.
Other than their shared hair color, Azul didn't see the resemblance at all. Not in physical appearance, or in material taste, but….who else could it be?
"Father?" Azul's voice squeaked out.
The man didn't give him a yes or no, but instead nodded his head towards the door and began walking towards it.
Azul scrambled to his feet and wiped his tears as he followed after the strange man.
From that moment forward….his life had become a living hell.