The Life of Livana Garmadon

July 13th, 2023

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse.

My father was sitting in the kitchen and Jay stepped back with a yelp when Dad turned his brooding gaze towards the lightning ninja. Nya stepped into the kitchen and grabbed her fiance's arm, dragging him out of the kitchen. I seethed, feeling mixed feelings churn inside me. How come people treated my father with fear but treated me like I'm just the same average person? At the same time, I wanted to approach my father, but I wanted to stay away from him as much as possible. He never tried to talk to me, so why should I bother?

Because you're a better person. A voice whispered inside my head and I sighed. Screw it. I went over to my dad and sat down next to him, grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl, "Hey, Dad."

My father looked over at me, "Livana." He muttered, looking down at his four hands.

After a moment of silence, I asked, "Where have you been, Dad?"

"Places." Dad replied simply, "Some good, some bad. Either way, you don't need to worry about me."

"Who said I was worried about you?" I sniped and Dad looked at me. I swallowed a bite of apple and then added, "You look just fine."

"Hm." Dad sipped on a cup of hot tea and I saw Lloyd peek through. He mouthed "come here" to me and I picked up the apple, looking over at my dad.

"I'll talk to you later." I then walked over to Lloyd and asked, "What? Can't you see I was trying to make an effort to talk to Dad? Did you really need to pull me out of there now?"

"Sorry." Lloyd shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, "But Mom wants to talk to you."

My vision turned into a blurry red at the mention of my mother and I shoved down the unnecessary anger. I glanced into the mirror and saw myself, with the same bright green eyes, just like Lloyd's. I looked back at my brother, and I said, "Why does she wanna talk to me?"

"Come on, Liv." Lloyd sighed, "You've been avoiding her all morning and all of last night. Couldn't you at least say a word to her? You know that Mom feels bad that she didn't warn you ahead of time that Dad was gonna be coming."

"And why didn't she warn me?" I asked, throwing my hands up, "Why didn't she tell me that Dad was coming over for support, or mentoring, or whatever the hell he came over here for?" I sighed, brushing a long strand of hair that had fallen out of my braid, "I am in an extremely annoyed state right now, and Mom just added the cherry on top. I'm surprised that I haven't exploded yet, brother."

"Look, maybe you should talk to Mom about what you're going through, you know?" Lloyd says, "The only one that can tell us what's going on is you. You are the only one that truly understands yourself, Liv."

"No." I shook my head, "Not anymore, I don't."

"What...?" Lloyd murmured.

"I don't get myself anymore, Lloyd." I said in a firm voice, "I don't know who I am. My personality is always shifting in and out, in and out, like a shadow. I'm someone one day and someone else the next." I sucked in a breath, trying not to cry again. "I don't know who I am, Lloyd. I really don't know..."

"Liv." Lloyd wrapped his arms around my shoulders, "I'm sorry." He hugged me and I started shaking. "Maybe... you don't have to talk to Mom for now. Maybe talk to Dad. Maybe he experienced this beforehand and he knows how to solve this problem. Maybe... Dad can help you, despite the fact that might not be why he came here."

"You know how I feel about Dad." I rubbed my arm with one hand, "Complicated."

"Just talk to him." Lloyd urged, "Please, Livvy. I don't wanna see you like this."