Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds ✔️

25. Australia

Daniel Reynolds

"Dad?" I questioned in utter shock.

"Hello, my son." I starred into the eyes which bare my own shade. Same set of eyes, same straight nose and same hairline. It felt as if was looking at my older self.

My childhood flashed in front of me life a film reel.

~ FLASHBACK ~

I was 14 at the time.

"Oh, My God! What happened, Daniel?" Mom asked as she ran towards me. I was playing in the garden nearby with my friends. We were playing volleyball and I was on the losing team. The boy who was standing opposition of me, hit the ball a little hard which landed on my head. I lost my balance and fell to the ground. I scrapped my knee pretty bad and started bleeding almost immediately.

We had to stop the game and a friend helped me get home since I was limping. It pained a lot but I managed to walk anyways.

"I fell while playing and got a bit hurt." I replied shortly as my mom and my friend helped me sit on a nearby chair. I thanked my friend and he left, after saying bye.

"Were you playing with your eyes closed? You didn't see the ball coming towards you? What were you thinking? Were you daydreaming?" My mom continued shouting and scolding me while she went to fetch the medical box.

"What happened, Geeta?" Dad asked, walking into the living room.

"I got hurt." I replied putting my hurt foot forward.

"Oh," Dad said as he kneeled in front of me and examined the wound. Mom was still shouting in the background.

When she walked in, my dad took the box from her hands and started treating my wounds himself. Mom was still angrily shouting at me and while I understand how she was worried about me and cares about me, I was getting a bit of an headache with her shouts.

"Enough Geeta. Stop scolding my son. Please bring something for him to drink while I bandage his wounds." He sent mom back.

"You okay now?" Dad questioned as he finished bandaging my leg.

"Yes, thank you for saving me from mom's scolding, Dad." I said as I offered him a smile.

"No need to thank me. Remember, I'm always here with you. I'm not going anywhere. Whenever you're in need, I'll always be here for you." He said as he grab hold of both my hands.

"Promise?" I asked softly.

"I promise."

~ END OF FLASHBACK ~

"You're alive. H-how..." I left the question hanging. I felt Kiara's hand wrap around my bicep. I looked down at her and she wrapped her other arm around me. I kept my arm around her shoulder.

"Please have a seat." She said and I nodded. I took a seat and she sat next to me. She kept a hand on my knee. I met her eyes and hers silently said, "I'm here for you." My heart found some peace as I saw her smile. She was making me comfortable by just being here.

"My plane crashed when I was flying to Australia, 6 years ago. Everyone thought that there were no survivors but the head air-hostess saved a couple of us from dying. We couldn't contact anyone and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. With the help of some swimming tubes, we managed to swim to the nearby island. I was in the hospital for about a year. My lungs were filled with water, my arm and leg were fractured and water in my lungs had badly affected my brain. I couldn't speak or walk for the last 4 years. I was completely bedridden. I was lucky enough to get an Indian doctor, Aarav there. He treated me throughout the last 5 years and took great care of me. I didn't have a phone and the island was so scheduled that there was no network. One day, a cargo ship arrived on the island and the people on the ship were good enough to take all of us to the main port of Australia with them. When we reached Australia, Aarav and I worked there for a little while and collected enough money to fly here." Dad narrated whatever happened with him.

"We had no idea you've been through so much." Savannah said. She got up from her place and hugged dad. Dad cried in his daughter's arm and soon mom joined them.

"Why didn't you call any one of us when you first reached Australia? We would've fly down there to receive you." Xavier asked.

"I didn't have anyone's number on me since my phone was destroyed in the plane crash. Even though Daniel's famous, his number is not on the internet." Dad explained.

"Where is Aarav? I would like to thank him in person." Mom said.

"He's actually gone for an interview. He's applied for the doctor's position in a hospital nearby. He should be here soon." As soon as Dad said that, the elevator doors opened.

"This is Aarav." Dad said and I felt Kia become stiff beside me.

"Hello everyone." He said with a polite smile and I notice Kia's face turn pale.

QOTD: What's your biggest regret?