Weight of The Untold

Chapter 31

“Hey, princess… wake up.”

His voice was soft, warm, familiar. I smiled before I even opened my eyes. When I did, my father’s handsome face hovered above me, lit by morning light.

“Good morning,” he said.

I giggled and wrapped my arms around him. “Morning, Daddy. I missed you so much. How was your trip?”

He kissed my forehead gently, the way he always did, and I sat up on the bed. “Let’s not talk about work,” he said with a smile. “I got you something. Come.”

He took my hand and led me toward the window. I followed, still half-asleep, heart already fluttering with excitement as he pulled the curtains open.

“I don’t see anything, Dad,” I said softly.

No answer.

“Dad?” I turned to look at him—but he was gone.

My chest tightened. “Dad!” I ran to the bathroom, panic rising. “Dad!”

I gasped sharply, jolting awake. My head snapped up from the pillow as I sucked in air, my chest heaving. Sweat clung to my skin, my heart racing as if I’d been running.

The room was dark. Silent.

No father. No morning light.

Just reality.

“Damn it,” I whispered. “I was dreaming.”

I sank back into the pillow slowly, staring at the ceiling, replaying every second of it in my head until the ache settled deep in my chest.

---

“Good morning.”

I pulled out my chair and dropped into it with a sigh.

“Rough night?” Caleb asked.

“You could say that.” I reached for a croissant.

“Want to talk about it?”

I hesitated, then nodded. “I dreamt about Dad. He came back from a work trip like you usually do. He said he bought me something, took me to the window… but I couldn’t see anything. Then he disappeared.”

Caleb frowned. “That doesn’t make much sense, Kid.”

“So do most dreams,” I muttered.

“Good morning, people.”

Zach joined us, and my heart did that stupid little thing it always did. “What are we talking about?”

“Kyla’s weird dream,” Caleb said.

Zach turned to me, curious. “Weird how?”

“I saw our driveway,” I explained. “Everything was normal. Empty. And then he was just… gone.”

“Was it black? Like when you’re about to wake up?” Zach asked.

Caleb chuckled. “What does black have to do with it?”

I looked at Zach. “What do you mean?”

“You know—right before you wake up. Everything fades. That kind of black.”

“Oh.” I nodded. “No. I saw the driveway. Then he disappeared. Then I woke up.”

“Yeah,” Zach said slowly. “That is weird.”

I shrugged and focused on my breakfast.

“Kind of reminds me of that dream you had back in college,” Caleb said to Zach, laughing.