Papa hasn’t been home in three years. If he did a year’s worth of work and only wanted a break, what’s taking him so long?What if he got so tired of pausing his life for one person that he just wanted out?
What if he is never coming back?
“Dad will be back,” Grace says confidently, as if she read my mind. “He didn’t want to leave, but needed that break. Your disappearance was hard on him, Nevaeh…he was fading away. I suggested the break when it got so bad, eating or sleeping became an occasional thing.”
The image of him standing outside my old room, drowning in guilt and shame for everything that happened, starts playing in my head. His sadness, his anger, his remorse. The thought of him neglecting his health and losing hope makes my throat close.
Turning to Grace, I wonder if she can help me find where Papa is. I don’t realize I’m making her uncomfortable until she nervously sputters, “I won’t call himdadif it bothers you. I’m so sorry. He said I could, but I didn’t even consider how that would make you feel—”
“What? No! Where did that even come from? That’s not what I was thinking at all. I was wondering about your gifts.”
Grace slumps back, “Oh, thank God I almost got a mini heart attack over that.” She continues to test me as if I would come out and reveal some deep hatred for having a sister, but when I don’t encourage her nonsensical thoughts, she finally focuses on the part about her gifts.
“I don’t really have anything to show since it’s all in my head, but you can ask me anything about the supernatural history, and I’ll answer.”
I’m impressed how a tiny thing like her fits all that knowledge inside the head.
“She’s like a dictionary and Google combined.” When I stared at him blankly, Seiji paused to explainGoogleto me.
Even when the kingdom of Death was in the human realm, I wasn’t surrounded by human technology growing up because Papa said we had better ways. He used to say ignoring people and riding our horses was better than using cars or continuously answering a small plastic brick.
I’m starting to think it was because he didn’t understand it, and now, thanks to him, I’m a million years behind on the latest technology. With Papa, it’s not ‘what doesn’t kill you that makes you stronger’, but ‘if you fail to killme, I’m going to killyou’.
“So, can you find our father dearest?”
I freeze when Grace’s eyes fill with unshed tears before they drop on her almond cheeks. I turn to Angel, panicked that I said something wrong, only to find him chuckling at us. Seeing my distress, he whispers it’s because I saidour father.
“I still don’t understand why you’re crying, Honeybunch. Papaadoptedyou andmademe, so that makes us sisters. I’m sorry, but now you’re stuck with me; I desperately need a mentally stable sibling in my life.”
And now she is full-on sobbing with a broad smile showcasing all her teeth that makes my head spin. I don’t have to ask Angel again for him to assure me they are happy tears, and Grace is not sad about our dynamic.
Seiji rubs her back until she’s smiling, and the tears slow down. I stare at her, dumbfounded by how fast she can turn bright and sunny when she was weeping a literal second ago.Maybe it’s a human thing.
Finally sobering up, Grace shakes her head with a small smile at my earlier question.
“But is he okay? You know,alive?”
Hazel exasperatedly throws her hands in the air, “Why do you keep assuming everyone is dead?”
“Because everyone I knew in the last decade ended up dead, and also, I was told you were all dead.”
“They lied,golden glittery soul eater.”
“No shit,shark in human form.”
“I don’t like you,” Hazel mutters with a straight face.
“Oh, But Iloveyou.” Even when I say it sarcastically, I do feel protective of her on some level.
Papa always preached how important family is; since Hazel is family, she falls into the small list of people I consider family.
Papa
My Little Monkey
Harvey, the eternal dumbass
Anxo/Angel
