CAPTURED BEAUTY (Peter Steele x Reader)

SEVEN: Haunted

Minnesota was something beyond beautiful in the summer months. It had been extremely hot and every year, your family would travel out to the lake to cool off.

"Hey dad! Come into the lake with us!" You yell from the cool waters and see your dad on the shore, ankle deep. Your aunts, uncles and cousins swim and splash around you.

"I'm trying! It's cold!" He yells and makes you laugh. You really love your dad. On the outside, many would consider him to be a bit of an eccentric individual. He had his interesting set hobbies like fixing small model cars or taking pictures of birds. Sometimes he'd even collect soda pop tabs and keep them in a jar. You never knew why.

On the inside, he'd struggle with showing some amount of emotion. Maybe it was how he was raised but you would never think about it like that. Not right now.

You swim yourself to shore and he towers over you in height. You're just a young ball of energy, as most kids are.

"You want to see some bird pictures I took?" He asks and hands you a towel to dry yourself off. The sands of Thief Lake clump up between your toes as you drag yourself up the sandy hills to the picnic bench.

Your dad sits with a small camera in hand and on the side, a stack of polaroids'. He shifts himself in his place and pats the empty spot beside him. You take him up on his offer and he immediately shows you the collection on the table.

"I've been taking bird pictures for years, you know? Even before I met your mom." He begins and you nod, already knowing such a fact. You hold a picture in your hand and stare at it for a long time.

"What's this bird?" You ask him and he hums as he looks.

"Blue jay," he replies with confidence, "Jeez kid, thought you would remember that one. You like the color blue, don't you?"

"I do," you say with a little chuckle, "But I like other colors too." You return such sass he'd given you moments earlier and he chuckles.

"I had that coming."

He pauses and you end up looking at the trees. The water cools your skin and your legs sway.

"Why do you like birds so much?" You finally ask as he's organizing all the pictures. He's got a binder to keep them all safe in their separate sleeves.

"Birds are very wonderful creatures. They even say that they send you messages when you need them most, you know?"

"Really?"

"Absolutely," he smiles, "I like them because they are peaceful creatures, though. They tell you when there is danger. They always let you know; you just have to listen."

He pauses and aside from the distant chatter and laughter of your own family splashing in the water, there are birds. It's an odd peaceful experience as for the first time you feel you gain some sort of consciousness. You sink your attention to the chirping of the birds, really paying attention.

"You know a lot about birds and taking pictures."

"It's just something that makes me happy. Like how you, your mom and the rest of our family do." He ruffles your wet hair and you smile widely.

The memory of your father twists in a teary filled awakening. You don't hear as many birds as you do cars and traffic. The longing for peace like the woods in Minnesota bubble up some intense emotions. All you could do was lift yourself out of bed and wipe your sleepy tears away from your eyes.

It was best to call your mom today and see how she was.

You'd reach over to the phone on your bedside, not really allowing yourself to fully wake up. You try to shut your eyes while the phone rings as you wait for the pick up. You want to keep the memory fresh and vivid in your mind, however, it goes when your mom picks up to answer.