Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Thanks to Jammeh (for adding somethings on this fic) and to Amber (for proof-reading and editing this fic). Thank you so much~ :D
Today is her sixth birthday.
She wakes up excitedly, searches for her mom, only to find her dad sitting in the corner. He has no expression on his face, the usual wide grin on his lips is gone. He's staring ahead expression blank and she moves towards him to ask what's wrong.
He gently smiles at his daughter and tells her it's nothing. He hugs her and cries silently.
She never gets to ask where her mom is. And he never tells her. At least not today.
She asks why people she hasn't seen for a long time are suddenly visiting them. She sees Aunt Levy hugging her dad, her face all red and blotchy like she'd been crying for hours. It looks like her when she cries because her mom won't let her eat candies and cookies for breakfast, that's how she knows.
She sees Uncle Gray, with the two buttons of his shirt unbuttoned and his fingers itching to unbutton the rest, touching her dad's shoulders with that same look on his face and unshed tears in his eyes.
She sees Aunt Erza, who is silently sitting on the sofa. She quietly walks up to her and asks her what's wrong with everyone. Aunt Erza looks at her, her eyes shining with tears and she frowns. From the stories her mom had told her, Aunt Erza seldom cried.
And that's how she knew something was wrong.
She sits beside Aunt Levy, whose stomach is large and swollen (her mom told her Aunt Levy is pregnant, whatever that means).
"What's wrong, Aunt Levy?" she asks.
Aunt Levy looks at her weirdly, like she has eaten something nasty, and wants to heave it all out, but can't. It's the very same look everyone has given her since the time she woke up. Then and there, she decided she hated that look, and gently shakes her head.
Why is everyone crying?
Today is her birthday and everyone is supposed to be happy. They're supposed to be celebrating, right? But she remembers that her mom told her once, people shed tears when they are happy, too. So she figures, maybe, that's it.
She smiles at Aunt Levy and for some odd reasons, the older woman cries even harder, as she pats her blonde hair, and pulls her into a tight hug.
"Dad, where is mom?"
The moment the question rolls out from her small mouth, the room's temperature drops colder, and everyone stiffens. She looks around curiously, and blinks when no answers come. The blonde girl walks toward her dad; and asks him once again, more determined this time. "Dad, where's mom?"
Dad smiles at her, before getting on his knees, and looks into her brown eyes. The same brown eyes as her mothers. Slowly, she notices tears forming around his onyx eyes, and she frowns. She never likes it when her dad cries. Or her mom.
"Are you okay, daddy?"
He nods. She knows he's lying, but chooses to say nothing.
She smiles; and asks for the third time, fear gathering in her heart. "Where's mommy?"
Dad sobs quietly, but she hears it. Finally, he tells her the truth. "Mom―Lucy―Luce... she's gone."
She frowns. "Gone?"
Dad nods.
"To where? When will she come back?"
He hugs her tightly, and she returns it with all the strength her small arms can muster. She cannot believe that her mother would abandon them.
A moment passes, and she realizes, he never really answered her question.
She takes a short nap after eating lunch ―prepared by Aunt Levy― and playing with Aunt Juvia's and Uncle Gray's son, Kitsu. Silently, she walks to a slightly ajar door, and accidentally, hears the conversation between the adults on the other room.
She listens closely to her father's broken voice.
"I don't know what happened. Lucy was just there, smiling at me... T-telling me she had to buy presents for Layla and then this bus suddenly came and..."
She doesn't hear anymore because her dad has broken into tears.
"How do I tell my daughter? She's so young. She wouldn't understand. She needs her mom... I need her, too..."
And her dad breaks into tears once again. The next thing she knows, tears are also falling from her eyes, too. Because she knows her dad is wrong. For the first time ever, he is wrong, because she understands, and that's what makes her so sad.
Her dad dresses her up in a pretty black dress that reaches just below her knees, and clumsily ties her blonde hair into low pigtails on each side of her head.
He stares at her before gently smiling. Tears start forming in his eyes as he bites his lower lip. Mom told her once that, dad does that when he's thinking.
He whispers her name and looks straight into her eyes. "Today―," he starts, choking on his tears, "―your mom..."
She looks at his face, when he suddenly stops talking, and gently touches his cheeks with her little fingers. She smiles sadly before saying, "We'll say goodbye."
Dad looks at her in shock.
"I know that, daddy. And I understand."
Her dad cries once again, and, with her small arms, she envelops him in an embrace to try to comfort him and herself. To feel the warmth of his huge body, to feel secure, because she knows he's still there.
"We'll be okay, Daddy. Mommy would want us to."
She feels her dad nod against her neck as he hugs her small body even tighter.
They will be okay... eventually. That, she is sure of.
.
.
.
Today is not her sixth birthday. But she's still happy because she knows her mother always wants her to be.
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