I remember late at night when my mother would come into my room and pick me up. She would caress my head gently. When she saw my eyes open, she would shush me. I would crack a smile with the only teeth I had. She would tickle my tiny feet and sing me wordless songs.
I also remember when I was older, about in third grade, I was reading and my mother came up to me and asked, "Hey, whatcha doing?" I wanted to respond but I was deeply involved in the world of Harry Potter. I was on page 157 when she snatched the book away from me. "I have something to tell you," she said. She bounced and her voice was filled with bubbling joy. I sat up in my bed and asked her what it was. She responded in two words before she left. "Daddy's home!"
I honestly didn't know what a "daddy" was. But I knew that everyone had one but me. One kid at lunch said,"My daddy took me out to the movies!" Another said,"Well, mine's taking me to Disney world!" The girl crossed her arms and as the other kid was about to speak she put her hands to her ears and said,"LALALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU LALALALALALALA" she walked away leaving me and the other kid at the table alone.
A truck pulled up in our driveway with a soft, vvvrrrrr. A man in a green jumpsuit walked up the stairs. He wore a cap and had pale colored skin. His hair was cut very short but you could see it was black. I threw my quilt over my head. My mother huffed. She pulled the quilt off my head. I squeaked when i saw the man in my room. He came over and hugged me, lifting me off my bed. I screamed in terror. Mom laughed. He put me on his lap. "Hi there Mira," he said to me. His tone was flat, as if he didn't want to be here.
This man was my dad. He fought in the army. I had never met him before because he had been fighting since I was born. I never got along with him. I never understood why he was never here for me before then. I honestly thought he hated me. My thoughts were confirmed when I was 13.
