Their Rays of Sunshine

05 | pure joy

Oliver spoke after a long period of silence. "May I go sit with them right now?"

Ed, the cop, raised his head and nodded. Oliver rose from his seat and began walking over to the now-awakened twins.

He frowns once he sees how much they've grown and how much he's missed out on.

"Hi, there," he said softly. Delilah immediately tightens her grip on Luca's arm. Luca tried his hardest to glare at Oliver, but he couldn't. He was adorable, as was Delilah, who just had a curious expression on her face.

"Mister, who are you?" Delilah asked, her voice barely audible above a whisper. Normally, she would be frightened around new people other than Luca. But, surprisingly, Oliver made her feel safe in a quick amount of time.

Luca, on the other hand, was skeptical of him. After having placed so much trust in people and then being deceived or hurt. The poor boy found it difficult to trust others.

Oliver's face contorted into a small frown. They wouldn't remember him, of course. But a part of him hoped they would. "I'm your father, sweetheart."

Delilah's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. "How do we know you're not lying?" Luca asked.

It would be a lie to say Oliver was surprised, but he wasn't. He knew it would be difficult for them to open up and be vulnerable around others again.

Oliver was at a loss for what to say or do but then an idea struck him. "Do you want to see some pictures of you guys when you were tiny little babies?"

Delilah and Luca both nodded. Oliver drew his phone from his back pocket and began scrolling through his camera roll. He hadn't taken pictures in a few years, so there wasn't much to look through.

Pulling up photos of the twins as newborns and some from their first birthday. Oliver took a cautious look down at the space beside two, not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable. "Can I sit here?" he asked.

Luca appeared hesitant at first, but he nodded anyway. Oliver took a seat and smiled at them. Delilah returned the smile with two dimples.

Oliver thought it was adorable.

"Can we now see the pictures?" Luca queried impatiently.

Oliver nodded, then turned to face the twins and began swiping through photos. Delilah leaned closer to Luca and whispered in his ear after there were no more pictures left. "I don't believe he's lying, Luca."

Luca drew back from Delilah and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. While Oliver sat, intrigued, wondering what the two were talking about. He said nothing and simply watched.

Luca faced Oliver again then sent him a small smile without saying anything.

"Is it okay if I hug you guys?"

They both sluggishly smiled, and Oliver drew them into a warm and affectionate hug. Oliver let his tears fall once more. For the first time in a long time, he felt pure joy, and things couldn't get any better.