Out of the Blue (a collection of short stories)

t w o

⁂    (1) Write about an arrival that caught you or your character completely unaware   ⁂
25/11/19

⁂    (2) Be your character's fortune teller. Tell his or her fortune   ⁂
25/11/19

⁂    (3) Put your character(or yourself) in the dark. See what happens    ⁂
26/11/19

⁂   (4) A character discovers an object hidden many years ago in a family home    ⁂
26/11/19

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🔵 172. Write about an arrival that caught you or your character completely unaware 🔵
Word count - 1645 

"Mummy, why doesn't daddy come home for Christmas?" 

It was a Monday evening - the night before Christmas eve - and after a day of shopping and Christmas crafts, I was lying in bed reading reindeer stories with my daughter. Although as usual, the conversation had turned towards her beloved father and whether he would be there to watch her open her presents in less than two days.

I sighed and twirled a lock of my daughter's ebony hair around my hand, pirouetting it around my finger then dropping the curl back over her shoulder. I squeezed her tiny body a little tighter against my own. If people had the power to transport their loved ones with a hug, my husband would have been back by my side weeks ago.

Taking a deep breath, I began to formulate my words carefully and appropriately for the wide-eyed 4-year-old staring up at me from her snow-white bed sheets.

"Daddy is helping other people right now, sweetheart." I began. "He's a long, long way away, helping the poorly men that have gotten hurt when they fight."

Sophia frowned, her eyebrows narrowing and face scrunching up as though in deep thought.

"Miss Summer said that fighting is bad though mummy, we need to hug it out. If nobody had a fight then daddy could spend Christmas with us!"

She smiled at this like all of the problems in the world had been solved by a simple deliberation. I couldn't help but match her features when I looked at the innocence and love sketched on her face.

"Its not that simple, baby" I replied; again, trying to choose my words meticulously.

"People in different places all have different ways they want to do things, but sometimes it is a bad way. Your daddy is in a place where little girls like you can't go to school, only their brothers can."

"But that doesn't sound very fair."

"No, it's not fair at all. A lot of these little girls don't even have a bed to sleep in, some don't have mummy's or daddy's, some are treated very badly."

"And daddy is helping them find their mummies and daddies again?" asked my inquisitive daughter, her eyes never leaving mine as she searched for some level of understanding.

I could feel myself starting to well up, the tears forming in my eyes that I made no effort to wipe away,  Sophia was taught from a young age that showing her emotions was fine and that being sad was not something you had to conceal.