Knock knock knock
The first thing I saw in the morning was my mom peeking behind the door. My vision was blurry. My eyes fluttered open. My vision gradually cleared. I sat up as my mom headed towards me. Her face displayed concern. I was silent for a while.
"How was you sleep?" Mom asked placing her hand my shoulder.
I turned my head at the pace of a snail to glance at the window. It was still dark outside. I could barely make out the shape of the clouds in the sky. There was no sign of the sun. The atmosphere was completely reticent. The only sound was the frequent hooting of the owls.
" Mom, what time is it?" I asked her. My voice was cracking at parts. It was barely audible at some points, but my mother heard everything.
I turned to face her in complete leisure. My eyes were half latched. My body ached. My eyelids were numb. I used all of my remaining energy to keep myself on the bed. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. I punched the surface of the pillow with my head and closed my eyes, not being able to hold them for any long.
Mom made a face at me.
" It is 4:30 it isn't too early." Mom protested.
I responded with a sharp grunt. I pulled back my covers from below my mother and prisoned myself inside my blankets.
There was silence for a few seconds. I heaved a sigh of relief, assuming that my mom has granted me the right to sleep. I was deeply mistaken though.
I was forcefully pulled out of my hiding spot. I was face to face with a grumpy lady whom I just had made grumpier.
"Rush! You should get up now. We have preparations to do." Mom ordered.
I let out an annoyed groan. The room turned cold for a millisecond. I gulped down some of my saliva to fuel my throat. I started to make out rationality possible about the situation once my brain started functioning. It was then when I started to wonder why mom would want to wake me up so early. And why she looks so anxious.
"Mom."
"Yes honey?"
"Where's dad? Does he know about this?"
She froze in an instant. I arrayed a puzzled look.
"No. He doesn't know about this yet. I just came to check on you" mom replied. Her voice was mellow.
"I see." I mumbled inside my throat. I kept my eyes glued to the ground, trying to avoid eye contact.
I felt uneasy for some reason. I didn't really wake up with the 'best' mood this morning. I felt anxious and scared. It was then I realised I was just guilty about ruining my room. Fixing it would cost my parents a fortune.
Not just that, but also that troubled my parents as much as it troubled me. I was worrying them.
"So, everything's okay right? You slept well." Mom asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
I could see a glint in her eye as she put her hand around my cheek. She looked like she would cry at any moment.
"Yes. I did." I replied, smiling at her. I placed my hand on hers, trying to express my gratitude.
It did feel good to know how much she cared about me. I felt bad for disobeying her earlier in the morning. She was just trying to ease her concern. I manifested to never disobey her, after all that she's willing to do for my safety.
Mom gently lifted my hand to check on my glove. She twisted it a bit, to confirm the fact that it's tight. A little too tight, if I must add.
"I'm glad that the little glove trick worked." Mom chimed.
I nodded reluctantly in response. After that, mom handed me another pair of gloves to exchange. It indeed felt like heaven after I got to remove my older ones. But of course, I had to keep my hand still-as a precautionary measure. All I could do was stare at my hand while mom wrapped a few straps of cloth around my hand. Even after all that, I had to wear my gloves.
I tried my best to stay still the whole time but It was hard not to move. I was a bit worried if something would happen, but I trusted the glove completely. Nothing went wrong the rest of the night. Maybe it ended?
"Quick! Go have a bath. I'll make food." Mom instructed.
I obliged, springing up from my bed and bolting towards the bathroom.
"The food is delicious!" I cried as I gulped down a mouth-full. I stuffed another bite into my mouth, no matter the size.
"Hey there, slow down." Mom instructed, gesturing a stop-sign with the palm of both of her hands- alternating them back and forth.
I marched back towards my room after a few minutes, only to find mom there folding my covers. She was being so nice. I felt warmer in my chest. I finally felt safe: finally felt that I might survive this.
Thud Thud Thud...
Footsteps...
Mom glanced at me, looking worried. Suddenly, the door of my room swung open. revealing dad- in his regular morning face- glaring at me. I couldn't help but dole out a nervous smile.
My mom fixed up her glasses and smiled at him, looking a bit phased. There was complete silence for a while. It was the first time I felt scared to speak to him. Mom tried her best to avoid eye contact. Dad raised a brow, realising that something's up.
"So...You're up early today Ralph." Dad stated, staring at me straight in the eye.
My brain froze for a second.
"Y-y-yes dad." I replied, locking my hands behind my back. I realised I had been subconsciously shifting my weight from heel to toe the whole time.
My dad nodded. He fixed his hair and straightened his shirt, still not letting go of his glare. His eyes glinted with suspicion.
"So, did you have a good night?" Mom asked, trying to ease things up. That didn't work to well though. Dad completely ignored he question.
Dad walked right towards me, emotionless. I started backing up a bit, not knowing what to do. I was terrified at this moment. My heart started to beat faster. Mom stared at us wide eyed. Dad kept his pace. It was then when I hit the wall behind me. Dad held me by the shoulder and pulled me. He grabbed my hands from behind me and captivated my hands.
My vision blurred for a second. I discerned dad staring at me dead in the eye, demanding explanation. I averted my gaze to look at mom. She looked horrified. She nodded her head at me, begging me to tell him, giving up. But I started to come up with the most bizarre explanations.
My dad did a little 'mhm', imposing me to speak. I opened my mouth but no voice came out. I was completely panicking. My mind shuffled around hundreds of excuses- trying to find the best one out.
My mom was bemused, trying to figure out why wasn't I answering. She knew I was thinking way to hard for this.
My dad looked fierce. But why? Did he knew? Was he mad that we didn't really tell him about the virus?
"Dad. It's a bit cold out there. So mom made me wear these gloves." I said, with a little too much confidence.
Dad uttered no reply. He just glared at me. I bit my lower lip. I tried my best to maintain eye contact, so I don't look like I'm lying- which I clearly was.
Mom store at me in disbelief. She slapped her forehead and shook her head: not proud of my excuse.
"Oh really, okay. And how would you explain the mess in your room?" Dad boomed.
Time froze. Mom covered her mouth with her hand. She mumbled a light 'I completely forgot about that' and bolted out of the room, probably to clean my room and gather supplies that are needed from there
"Oh, you saw that." I whispered, bowing my head low.
"Yes I did...and?" Dad snarled, wanting me to continue.
"Um... the chandelier fell down. It also smashed the mirror and toppled the lamp." I explained.
Dad thought for a while.
"And why wasn't I informed?" Dad asked, still unconvinced by my excuse.
"It's because- because- cause I-" "Because you what?" Dad barked, cutting me off.
"Because I didn't want to ruin your sleep and because mom already helped me with that." I cried. Dad gave a reassuring nod, finally believing me.
I wasn't lying this time. We hid all of this from dad for a reason. He has the tendency of overreacting, like he did now. I was worried he would be overwhelmed. It was a bit too much for handle, even for mom and I. But there was one thing we know for sure, he will support us and be with us forever.
He is a little grumpy about things, but that doesn't stop him from helping us in his own unique way. Mo and a I did what was necessary.
I sighed as I saw dad heading to the door. He suddenly stopped as he was about to touch the door knob.
"You weren't hurt, were you?" He asked, sounding concerned.
He had a worried expression on his face. I noticed him fiddling with his fingers in distress. It was a force of habit. I smiled and shook my head, for which he nodded and exited the room.
I smiled, maybe I'll be okay as long as my parents are by me.
"Honey! Time for school!" Mom exclaimed from the room next door.
My eyes suddenly widened. 'Oh right, school.' I mumbled under my breath. It was a test for the glove, to see how effective it exactly is. I had another major obstacle to cross. I held my right wrist into my left palm. I saw it emit a weird glow, it subsided quick though.
Remember when I said that I'll be okay, I take that back...