Explosion; the not-so long story of the orange ninja

Dad.

"Lynn, I know it's hard for you to adapt to this new family, trust me, I know. But just... try to be kind to your new brother, please,"

"He is not my brother," my voice rose, almost yelling at him. I was angry at him. Angry at my step-brother. Angry at me.

My father's voice broke the cold silence.

"Please, don't be mad. He's a nice boy, you just have to give him a chance," he spoke, his voice echoed in my ears, and I could detect a hint of sadness.

Why was he sad? It seemed like he moved on just fine...

"How could you just... abandon mom like that? You would rather forget everything about her and move on without a second thought!" I stood up and glared at my father, which seemed unnatural to me. I had never fought with my father before.

Father gave me a look of pity. He knew how I was feeling, and my tone of voice wasn't helping at all. He stood up as well and put a warm hand on my shoulder.

"We need to move on. Her memory will live on in our hearts, as a part of us. She is a part of me, as well as a part of you. She would want us to move on. You must understand," his voice was calm, and he stared at me with kindness and sympathy in his eyes.

He wanted me to understand. But I couldn't. Wouldn't.

"How can you be so calm about this? It's only been, what, a year? And you're already moving on? I can't move on. She was my mother. You just don't understand, because you didn't know yours!" The words spilled out of my mouth before I could even think, much like the tears that were creeping down my cheeks.

Father's expression looked hurt as my words stabbed him like a needle.

"A year is a long time..." he whispered to me, trying to penetrate my ice-cold heart with his warm gaze, despite feeling hurt.

I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and tried to glare at him again, but my face just couldn't bring itself to look at my father in such a way. All I could do was break down in tears.

"I know it's hard to accept, but she's gone. She loves you, Lynn. I love you as well. It's time to let go of the past, okay?" His voice was in a soft whisper. He wrapped his arms around me and brought me in a tight hug.

I knew he was right. I needed to let go of my mom, but the task seemed impossible. I needed to climb over the mountain of emotions that were sitting inside of me, infecting my thoughts like some sort of plague.

He was right. A year was a long time. And too long to keep thinking about Mom every single day and crying myself to sleep, knowing she wasn't there.

I had to move on.

"It's alright, my little sunshine, it's alright..."

I felt a hand stroking my hair gently as we stood there and hugged. I wish we could have stayed there forever. I felt my sadness and anger melt away as the familiar smell of freshly cut grass flooded my senses as I buried my face in Father's chest.

I felt guilty for yelling at him like that. He didn't deserve it. He lost Mom as well, and I guess I didn't really think about that, because I never thought about how my father felt. How selfish was I? Did I really not care about his feelings?

My guilt weighed on my shoulders like the gravity had increased tenfold, and I almost collapsed right there, if it weren't for Father holding me in his arms.

I let a small smile make its way onto my face. I still had my father, who was always there with me. I always had a stronger connection with him. He was always there for me. He was always my friend, no matter how stupid I was. He was always there to comfort me.