- Aidan's POV -
- HOME, Sunday, 6:30 AM -
I wake up by the sound of the alarm.
It's Sunday today.
I haven't seen or yet heard of my stepfather coming back, which is good.
I got out of the bed and stretched.
Feeling slightly more awake now, I come down, only to be met by my mother.
She's currently cooking breakfast at the kitchen.
She smiles as she stirs the soup in the pot.
My nose is immediately delighted.
"Good morning. Why don't you go and prepare the table?" She greets, gesturing her hand towards the table.
"Morning, to you too." I smiled back, coming down of the stairs step by step.
I approached the table and arranged it.
After a few minutes, she finishes cooking and places two bowls of soup onto the table.
The soup she serves is a delicious tomato soup with toast and eggs.
It's one of my favorite breakfast combinations.
The smell pleases me.
I took a bite of toast and eggs with a spoonful of soup.
It tastes really like love.
The buttered toast really goes well with the soup and the eggs.
The soup has a delicious flavor that has a combination of sweet and savory.
It's flavor plays with my tongue.
I keep on eating the food until I was fully stuffed.
I made sure I savored every bite I take.
After we were done eating, we go and clean the table, then we got to do chores again.
- 9:00 AM -
We were done doing chores once again.
Now I can write my letter to Liana.
But I don't feel that much motivation.
Maybe if I go to the park, then I can be motivated.
I go to the living room and approached my mother.
"Mom?" I call softly, carefully poking her shoulder.
"Yes? What is it?" She turns around, smiling patiently.
"Can I go outside to the park?" I cleared my throat.
It took her a while to think of her response.
She answers after on.
"Sure. Be safe alright?" She smirks, turning back to the television.
I got upstairs excitingly, skipping my way to the room.
I can't wait to write my letter.
Now inside the room, I opened my closet to choose my clothes.
I see that there's a lot of outfit choices to make.
I wanted to make a good impression in public.
Man, this is gonna take a while.
- 9:30 AM -
It took me thirty minutes but I found a perfect outfit choice.
I put on a denim short sleeve shirt with some ripped jeans and brown boots.
I pick up my paper and a pen.
I come down the stairs, taking a glimpse of mother by the television.
"I'll be going now, mother." I remind her, slightly twisting the door knob.
She turns around and waves at me.
I go outside, only to be greeted by fresh air surrounding me.
I breathe in, feeling refreshed by the gentle breeze.
Walking, I start to ponder.
Should it be a good idea to write a letter to her?
What if she throws away the letters?
What if I get caught?
Lost in my mind, I bumped onto a person.
"Oh, sorry about that." I apologize, chuckling nervously.
"Th-that's okay." He replies, slightly stammering.
"You kinda look like you're in my school." I state, raising my eyebrows.
"Wait, are you the person who got bullied by Jordan and his friends?" He asks, looking very concerned.
I nodded.
He widens his eyes and covers his mouth.
"Oh my goodness! I'm sorry about what happened to you. I-I was there a-and I sh-should've helped you. I'm s-so sorry!" He pleads to me with his hands clasped together.
"It's alright, I know you were scared of the bullies. But atleast you're not hurt."I smiled, holding his shoulders to calm him down.
He seems to chill out now.
"What's your name?" I ask, quirking a brow on my face.
"I'm Parker, Parker Johnson." Parker says, pulling out his hand for a handshake.
I shake his hand.
"Where are you going by the way?" I question, placing my hand onto my hip.
"I'm going to the park. Why'd you ask?" Parker chuckles and gives a toothy grin.
"Would you like to come with me? Maybe we get to know each other more." I invite him, forgetting about the letter for a while.
Maybe I'll write a letter when he leaves.
"Sure. I'd love to make a new friend." He agrees enthusiastically.
We strolled around the streets for a while before arriving at the park.
Entering the park, I see a lively atmosphere in front of my face.
We came to sit down at the bench and talk for hours.
- PARK, 11:30 AM -
We instantly like became like close friends now.
Parker is a fun person to be with.
I've made a friend now.
It feels good to be close to one.
He tells plenty of jokes and is very clever.
We laugh and laugh at our stupid jokes all the time.
I'm enjoying this a lot.
He looks at his wrist watch and turns to me.
"Hey, Aidan, thanks for the great day. I have to go now. See you tomorrow at school, 'kay?" He smiles and walks away.
I smile and wave to him.
Now, time to write the letter.
I bring out my pen and paper out.
Time to be inspired.
I look at the surroundings and it seems like I've found some ideas to write.
I carefully press the pen onto the soft piece of paper on the bench.
'I want to be the friend you fall hopelessly in love with.
The one you take into your arms and into your bed and into the private world you keep trapped in your head.
I want to be that kind of friend.
The one who will memorize the things you say as well as the shape of your lips when you tell them.I want to know every curve, every freckle, every shiver of your body.
I want to know where to touch you, I want to know how to touch you.
I want to know convince you to design a smile just for me.
Yes, I do want to be your friend. I want to be your best friend in the entire world.
If my love were an ocean,there would be no more land.
If my love were a desert,you would see only sand.
If my love were a star-late at night, only light.
And if my love could grow wings,I'd be soaring in flight.'
I read it again after writing.
I'm completely satisfied.
I kept the paper and pondered for a while.
- 12:00 PM -
It's already noon.
Mother's probably waiting for me by now.
Maybe I'll go home now.
I stand up and took one last glance at the park before leaving.
The peaceful atmosphere is what I'll miss.
I walk out of the park and strolled around the streets.
For once in my life, I've met a good friend of mine.
I really appreciate Parker a lot.
He really cares about me.
I walk around and recall what happened at the park.
- HOME, 12:15 PM -
I arrive at home and I gently knock on the door.
Mom opens the door and gives me a tight hug.
"Aidan, you're finally home! Come now and we have to go eat." She gestures her hand towards the table.
I come inside and see a well prepared table.
The scent of the food floods my nose.
I approach the table and sit down.
Mom follows and sits down.
"Hey, mother..." I start.
"Sorry if I was late. I should've helped you prepare the table." I sigh, looking down.
I look back up and she gives a faint smile and sighs.
"It's alright, dear. At least you got to relax for a while, right? We should eat up now." She states, picking up her utensils.
The meal she prepared is a Carbonara pasta with some garlic bread.
I took a small bite.
The pasta is delicious!
The creamy sauce of the carbonara really goes well with the filling pasta.
The buttery garlic bread compliments the flavor of the pasta.
The delicious flavors dance around my mouth.
It is a very pleasing sensation to my taste.
"Hey, mom." I broke the silence.
"How'd you cook food this good?" I ask, curious of what her response would be.
"Well, it was your father who actually taught me." She responds, blushing at the thought.
"Really? Wow, dad is an amazing person." I state, smiling.
"He sure is. Hee hee." She chuckles, blushing intensely.
It's so good to hear that dad has always been a good person.
He really helps a lot of people when he was still here.
I remember one time where he helps a lot of people by volunteering at the charity fundraiser.
He did 20 laps, which was a lot.
He managed to earn $2,000 from his 20 laps.
He really helped a lot of people that time.
That happened when I was 10.
Well, now that I'm 16, things apparently changed in me.
When he passed away, I would always blame myself because I didn't give him enough.
I was devastated to hear him gone.
After a while, we finished eating and we clean up the table.
As I pick up the plates, I reminisce of the times where my family would always be happier once.
We used to have light in our lives, shining bright in our life as a family.
That lasted until he was gone, and "he" came over.
The man we used to call "father".
But he was fake after all.
We never did anything to deserve this.
We finally finished cleaning up.
I go upstairs and plop myself onto my bed.
I couldn't stop thinking of my father.
I really can't let him go like this.
I remember one day, we went to the park.
I was 12 years old.
My family enjoyed the sweet and fresh breeze, listening to the sounds of children's laughter.
He told me to go play with the children while he watches over me.
I was scared, but my mother insists because it would get me some new friends to play with.
I gathered up courage to play with them.
We ride on the swing and the children would push me.
I was having a lot of fun.
I was smiling until the unexpected happened.
That memory floods my mind.
I sat up and start to ponder.
- 4 YEARS AGO -
- Aidan's POV -
- PARK, Sunday, 2:30 PM -
My family and I are sitting at the park.
We enjoyed the cold breeze running through my face.
The children's laughter is music to my ears.
I watch as the other kids play and run around the park.
Father leans in closer to me and whispers.
"Son, why don't you go and play with those kids?" I bit my lip.
I always get nervous when he convinces me to play with other kids.
I get intimidated by their lively personalities.
Scared, I answer.
"But father, what if they don't like me?"
He faintly smiles.
He pats my back and rubs it.
"Don't think of that. They'll let you join them for sure." He chuckles before turning back to my mother.
I hesitantly stand up.
I slowly walk towards the children.
Taking a glance of my parents, mother mumbles.
"Go ahead, Aidan. You can do it." She encourages.
I gather up courage and got to the children.
They smile at me and they let me ride the swing.
Wow, that was pretty easy.
They go back and they teamed up to push me.
Pushing me upwards, I scream for joy.
I see my parents smiling and waving at me.
This is one of my happiest moments of my life.
I came down from the swing and started to play with my new friends.
- 3:00 PM -
We played for an hour and I'm legitimately tired.
I slowly walk over to my parents.
Suddenly, there was a loud sound.
The terrifying sound of a gunshot.
The flash of the bullet hurts my eyes.
I fell down and got scared.
The rest of the people ran for their lives, screaming for help.
I look at my father, he.... he...
He got shot!
He's dying!
I ran to him to try and wake him up.
I start to cry hard.
"Father! Father! Please wake up! Please!" I cry out, tugging his blood soaked shirt.
Mother starts to bawl.
I couldn't believe it.
Why him?
Who would do this?
Why?
We ran to the nearest hospital and sent him there.
I'm praying that he would be okay.
- HOSPITAL, 3:45 PM -
I couldn't stop crying.
He got shot right in front of me.
I keep on hugging my mother tightly, never letting go of my grip.
The doctor came out and I immediately went to him.
"Doctor, how is he? Please let him live!" I plead, clenching my teeth as I hold back tears.
The doctor sighs, looking down.
"I'm sorry, but your father, Mr. Allen Williams, he.... he's gone." He sadly reports.
I couldn't believe it.
I was shocked.
I cried harder and harder.
Denying this, I yelled.
"No! He can't! He just can't! Father! Please!" I run to the room where he is.
And there he was, lying down, lifeless.
I screamed out.
"Father!" I held his hand as I lean in towards his chest.
It's cold, and lifeless.
I sob for goodness sake!
Mother came in and hugs me, crying.
This was the day where all the happiness were turned backwards.
- 4 DAYS LATER -
- FUNERAL PARK, Friday, 2:00 PM -
Today was the interment.
The priest called me and my mother to say our final goodbyes.
My mother went up first and started to speak, with tears as she goes on deeper and deeper onto her speech...
Now it's my turn to say goodbye.
I hesitantly grabbed the microphone and I'm shaking.
It's too hard for me to say goodbye to him.
I love him so much.
I can't let him go.
Not yet.
But it's too late.
He's gone forever.
I start to speak.
"Hey, father, remember when we used to go to the mall and we'd play at the arcade together?
You'd always beat me in Air Hockey.
Remember when we'd go and buy ice cream and you'd always buy me my favorite flavor?
Remember every birthday we celebrated with you?
Remember when you told me where you'd always write letters to mom and you blush while saying it?
Now, no one will ever do these things as memorable as you did to me and mother.
Why now father?
Why?"
I sniffled, wiping the drop of tears across my face.
After the priest finishes the mass, my uncles pick up the coffin and starts to walk out of the chapel.
We slowly position ourselves before we start walking to his burial.
My uncles put his coffin inside the long car before standing beside our families.
I see my grandmother crying, tightening her grip on a framed portrait of my father.
As we start to walk slowly, the melody of 'Dance with My Father' starts to play.
"Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me
And then
Spin me around 'till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure
I was loved."
As the chorus of the song enters, I sing along softly to the melody, reminiscing the past memories.
"If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with him
I'd play a song that would never, ever end
How I'd love, love, love
To dance with my father again."
My mother slightly smiles and sings along with me when the next part comes along.
"When I and my mother would disagree
To get my way I would run from her to him
He'd make me laugh just to comfort me
Then finally make me do just what my mama said.
Later that night when I was asleep
He left a dollar under my sheet
Never dreamed that he
Would be gone from me."
The rest of my family members join in the singing as the chorus comes.
"If I could steal one final glance
One final step, one final dance with him
I'd play a song that would never, ever end
'Cause I'd love, love, love
To dance with my father again."
From that point on, tears start to fall once again.
My father loved this song.
We used to sing it a lot back then.
Before he passed on.
I cried harder, remembering the moments.
I keep on singing along with my family, my whole family.
"Sometimes I'd listen outside her door
And I'd hear how my mama cried for him
I pray for her even more than me
I pray for her even more than me
I know I'm praying for much too much
But could You send back the only man she loved?
I know You don't do it usually
But, dear Lord, she's dying To dance with my father again
Every night I fall asleep
And this is all I ever dream."
By the time the song ends, we arrived at his burial.
They took his coffin out.
They place it on the thing where they use to lower down the casket.
They opened the casket and told us to take one last glance at him before his burial.
I inch closer to him.
He looks peaceful.
He'll never experience pain again.
He's with Him up above.
I softly touch the glass separating father and me.
I back away as other people come close.
The staff of the memorial park opens up the casket to make us go closer to him.
I come closer again.
He's wearing a white suit.
I touch his cheek.
It felt cold.
Tears drop from my face, blurring my vision.
I lean in to whisper to his lifeless body.
"Don't worry father, I'll make mother as happy as she'll ever be. And you will be to now that you're with Him."
They come and close the coffin.
Lifting it up, and gently placing it down.
They slowly lower the casket into the ground.
As the coffin goes deeper and deeper, my family members start to throw in flowers.
As the last one to throw, I threw in his favorite flower, Buttercups.
The sweet scent of it makes me shiver, knowing that he loves this flower.
I drop it gently onto his casket, landing the flower onto the center as he gets lower and lower.
The last drop of tear falls down.
He's gone, forever.
He's finally in a better place where he doesn't have to feel pain.
No worries, no stress.
I sniffle and left the memorial park.
This is a memory I'll never forget.
*Back to Present*
The thought made me tear up.
I couldn't stop blaming myself for all of this.
But, it was the shooter's fault.
I don't even know if the killer was arrested or not.
But, whatever it is, I hope he never kills anyone special like my father.
A tear drop falls down from my face.
My vision is blurred.
I don't know why I couldn't get over this.
I just can't.
I fell back down onto my bed and fell asleep.