Always, Tulip

🔹 Bonus | 4

GREY

"Sweetie?"

I went from room to room, calling after my daughter, who had somehow disappeared from my view.

She was in her crawling phase and this meant that I had to be more attentive in watching her so as to avoid any accidents.

I called again while looking around the living room but there was no sign of her here.

The house was so quiet, almost as if there was no one in there until I heard a small crash in the master bedroom.

I rushed over at once, my heart almost beating out of my chest at the thought of Gina getting hurt.

"Sweetie?" I called in panic as I rushed in, my eyes catching sight of her playing on the floor with her mother's books.

I sighed out in relief, briefly ignoring the torn pieces of paper around her.

Gina looked up at me and smiled, dropping the large book she was barely holding as she crawled to me.

Her small hands firmly held onto my legs as she attempted to stand up.

"Dada,"

She blinked up at me, an action so identical to my wife's that had my heart soaring in immense pleasure.

Her eyes, brown as honey, made mine light up because I thought of both of them at the same time.

How was I supposed to scold her when she looked just like my wife?

I lifted up my daughter into my arms and began to tickle her all over, her laughter being one of my favorite sounds.

"D-a-d-a," she called in between chuckles, her fingers clutching onto me as she wiggled over my chest.

"Will you be a good girl for me?" I stopped tickling her and waited for a response and when none came, I reached for her feet.

She laughed, her entire body shaking until she slumped into me and gave in.

She knew what she had done since she lifted up her head and glanced at the mess she'd made .

"Mama," she pointed at the torn book, her face falling as she stared at Ginelle's photo beside our bed.

How we missed her.

It had been hardly three hours since she left and both of us were pouting over her picture, wondering when she'd come back.

She had gone in to work to help with the store. Lora, the store owner, was expecting her second baby and my wife was so considerate to handle everything for her.

She was an angel.

My angel.

Our angel.

Being the clingy man I was, I had called her over three times now, just to hear how she was doing.

She knew me too well, promising that she'd be home in two hours so I didn't have to call her anymore.

In that time, I changed Gina out of her messy clothes, gave a warmth bath and cleaned her room.

The remaining task, the toughest of them all was feeding her. She was the type to eat while moving around but today she wasn't even opening her mouth.

I had tried to coax her with all means I could find but she'd only had ten spoons. I was going to get an hearing from Ginelle if she found out that Gina hadn't had her afternoon meal.

When all my schemes never worked out, I slumped into the couch and sighed as I turned on the TV.

I put on a show that Gina liked to watch. It was about some princesses and I had tried to catch up with the songs there severally from my phone.