My beloved little girl, my little bundle of joy...
He sat in his study corner, slowly writing every painful word.
Do not change no matter what happens...
He sniffed, placing his free palm under his chin as he gazed warily at the new white pages.
A tiny tune escaped his lips, the words he had written seeming unstable for some reason, as if they had suddenly come to life and started dancing with eerie twists.
"Want me to sing your favorite lullaby?"
He laughed to himself, looking up from his rather messy desk.
"Sure dad."
Allowing his laughter to rise to a slightly higher volume, he then placed his pen down, holding his hand to his forehead.
He knew his singing was actually quite horrid, but his daughter never told him that so not to hurt his feelings. But it was clear that his singing was not the least enjoyable as he saw her screw up her face as she clenched her eyes shut; trying to fall asleep with his non-melodious lullaby.
"Love you sweetheart."
"Love you too dad."
He always loved poking her gently on the nose after his lullaby; it was a little thing that made little Heather giggle cutely.
"H-Hey! Cut that out dad!"
Grabbing his pen, he continued writing, a small smile crossing his face.
Time passes by us so quickly; it is almost as if we didn't even notice it.
He left the TV on in the background as he wrote; making sure there was no silence no matter what.
"CHERYL!"
I don't want my little girl to ever forget me...
"WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?!"
He broke into a frown just then, the sound of cowboys shooting from the television managing to help him a little.
Surrounding him were cards belonging to various occasions...
One birthday card had a bloody thumbprint on it, and it made him sigh to remember why it was there in the first place.
"You what?!"
She wanted to cut his card into such a peculiar shape that she ended up cutting herself.
"I told your teacher not to hand you any scissors..."
He remembered staring at her bandaged thumb for a long period, feeling incredibly upset.
"I-It's not her fault dad... I begged her to let me use the scissors..."
He looked up, staring at the girl's teary expression.
"I just really wanted to make you something more special this year..."
As long as I have you, I don't need anyone else, I don't need anymore love as I already have yours...
A tear escaped the corner of his left eye; it rolled down his cheek and landed onto one of the notebook's pages.
It was then the phone rang.
Immediately getting up, he did not realize it took him only a second to reach the phone that was way across the room from him.
"Hello?"
"Dad? It's me."
He broke into a smile just then, wiping his face before speaking.
"Oh hey honey!"
"Yeah, sorry I didn't call sooner..."
There was a small pout; he could hear it in her voice.
"I'm guessing you dozed off again?" he said with a tiny mock in his tone, "That will teach you to stay up so late talking to your friends online..."
"Yeah, I guess I was-"
"H-Hold on a second, I can't hear you with those stupid aliens making so much noise in the background."
He could hear her chuckle.
"Sure dad."
Quickly grabbing the remote, he lowered the volume before continuing his chat with his daughter.
"Okay, I'm back."
"Anyway, I'm coming home now."
He nodded, leaning against the wall casually.
"Alright, did you get that thing I asked you to?"
"Oh, I didn't get it..."
Folding his arms, Harry smirked.
"Well, it's still pretty early; you might as well get it since it's on the way back home."
"Okay, okay, I will." she laughed.
"Come home soon okay honey? Not that I have to worry since you always do... love you sweetheart."
"I love you too dad..."
He waited for her to hang up the phone first before he did so himself.
Nothing seems to change...
She may have come to an age where she should start hanging out with friends, but she still took a majority of her time to hang out with her father instead.
Going back to his desk, he continued writing, noticing that he was almost finishing up.
With the control still in his hand, he turned up the volume once more.
"DAD! LOWER THE VOLUME! I'M ON THE PHONE! JEEZ!"
You are everything a father wants in a daughter...
Everything, everything in that house; it always involved the both of them.
From moving in together, to buying the very first toaster together.
They did everything together, and the man did all he could to remember everything they had done.
Even something simple as buying the groceries..
"Remind me again why we are buying three times as much as last time?"
"We are going to have a dinner party tonight honey, and I want to impress our guests with some of my specialties."
"Oh... like your famous 'Le Macerone & Chez'?"
"Hey!
I resent that!"
"Haha sorry dad... couldn't resist."
He placed his free arm around his daughter's shoulder.
"Love you honey..."
"How many times have I heard that?"
"Oh... about 479 times I think."
"That little?!"
"Anyway, quit kidding around, do you need help carrying some of your bags? Looks like you need it."
"No thanks..."
'I am not your little girl anymore you know?'
Snapping the book shut, he got up.
"Done."
He stared at it warily before turning to the TV.
Picking it up, he carried it along to his leather recliner seat.
Staring blankly at the TV, his grip around the book tightened.
The only thing is... are you happy?
Hearing the door open, Harry shifted his eyes to the side.
"That was quick honey," he said happily, "So did you get my-"
He stopped abruptly, noticing that he could hear two pairs of feet behind him and not one...
"H-Heather?"
Time passed by us quickly... but I enjoyed every single second of it...
You made me happy...
My beloved little girl...
My little bundle of joy...
Cheryl...
END
