Love, War, and Flight

Chapter 21 - Cell One

“Father…” I trailed softly, now hugging him back. My father? My real, actual father? Could it really be? He couldn’t make up his name. And it would be pretty hard to disappear for fifteen years. And he looked a lot like me. Could it really be him, my long-lost father?

“Calia, please forgive me.” Dulvok- I mean, Dad, whispered. “It was your uncle’s doing.”

“I know. I don’t blame you.” I replied reassuringly. “It’s funny. All this time, I thought my parents were selfish humans who didn’t want anything to do with me.” Then another thought came to mind. “Why was I stuck on Earth?” My tone was more annoyed then anything.

"You were on Earth?" He asked, breaking from me, but still had the confusion in his eyes. “I don’t know why you would've been stuck there. Earth is a dangerous place for us. Rarely any of us even go to Earth. It just… wasn’t us.”

“Oh, my friends have all been to Earth. They usually came to get me from my very over-protective parents. My mother and my boyfriend completely flipped out.” I laughed at the last sentence.

“You needed help to get back?” Dad asked me, a concerned tone flooding his voice.

“Yes, Dad! It was horrible.” I couldn’t believe she was saying ‘Dad’ in Tanyela.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know they made you miserable.” Then he continued completely off the topic. “You said you had a long-lost brother. He’s gone, too?”

“Well, I don’t actually know him. Aunt Holly and uncle Talamaki wouldn’t tell me who he was.” I admitted, but my eyes lit up. “Who is he? You have to know, right?”

“Oh…” My father trailed, not knowing what to say off of this. “I know his name’s Aaron. Do you know him?”

I gasped, covering my mouth with my hand, my eyes going wide. Aaron? Like, my friend Aaron? Could I have been friends with my brother the entire time? It couldn’t be true.

“I know an Aaron, but I don’t know if it’s the same Aaron. He’s one of my friends.”

“Oh…” Dad trailed sadly. “I knew I’d never see him again. He’s probably living life well, taking classes at the Academy.”

“Well, Tanyela just entered a civil war, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“Tanyela entered a civil war?” Dad was shocked, to say the least. “How’d they choose sides?”

“It was Winged versus Wingless.”

Dad stood there for a second, silently. “But we never really hated each other. We both had our advantages.”

“Until the Winged were being complete idiots and decided to steal food that was high in the trees from Wingless Territory.” I answered stupidly, thinking of the idiots.

“They still do that? Tal made it really clear for Holly to stop with that crap.” Then he jerked his head up. “How is Holly?”

“She’s been better. The war doesn’t help, and now they’re probably searching for me. But she’s ruling the people well.”

“That’s good, I guess. Things haven’t really changed much since I’ve been gone, huh?”

I stared at him in complete shock. Did he not just listen to everything I've been saying? “Things have changed. There’s been wars. There’s been famine. There’s been diseases. There’s been… death.” The word ‘death’ made a tear roll down my face.

“He must’ve been dear to you.” Dad said softly.

“He was. He was like…” I trailed, trying to change the subject and had another question in mind. “Can you tell me who Mom was?” Dad stood silently, as if not knowing how to respond. I was sure he thought about her every day, but guessed it was too much to bear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”