Whisper Three Words

I'm Still Daddy

~Michael's POV

We land in Brazil in the evening, right before midnight. I didn't want to overwhelm Camille with the array of fans that usually greet Rayne and I every time we travel. Plus, Rayne was still grieving for her father so I didn't want to put her through too much. I was excited, it was Millie's first time traveling with me, and she'll see me work on a film set instead of a concert. I hang on to her cuddling her close in her blanket as we walk in the hotel.

"It's beautiful here..." Rayne says examining her view from the living room window. "Peaceful."

"I think we all needed this change of scenery. I'm here to work, you're here to relax." I say setting Camille down in the bedroom to sleep.

We all settle in for the night, Rayne clutches my side closely to her and drifts off to sleep. I laid there wide awake, I was too excited, I was finally getting back to work, creating, doing what I loved and finally my family was here to view it.

The next morning Bill, Rayne, Camille and I go to the film set a bit earlier than the crew and explore the quiet neighborhood. I watched as Camille looked at two children playing with a pile of dirt and sticks, her face thoroughly confused. She tugged on my shirt, "daddy, why are they playing in the dirt?"

"Well, maybe they like to play in dirt." I shrug.

"Don't they have toys?" She asked staring at the doll in her hand.

"They may not." Rayne responds.

"Why?"

"Well some people are not born with the same opportunities as you were. Some families may not have money to buy toys." I explain

"I think all kids should have toys." She said, and out of an act of selflessness, I watch my daughter walk up to those two children and hand over her doll. She has so much of me in her I can't even believe it. They didn't understand a word of English but they gave her a big smile. She ran back over and grabbed Rayne's hand shyly looking away from the children.

"That was so nice of you buggy. Are you sure you wanted to do that?" She asked.

Camille gives a nod, "I've got a lot of dolls at home. I can share one."

I pick her up, kissing her cheek. "I'm proud of you." I grin.

We get to the set and Rayne and Camille sit with my director, Spike Lee, as I sat with Karen to get my hair touched up.

"Mike your hair grows fast! It's almost time for a cut!" She says examining my growing locks.

"No, I wanna grow it out again." I grin. "I don't know what I wanna do with it."

As I was filming my short film, the towns people started to cheer louder from across the little buildings that separated us. They knew I was here and brought banners and signs. I wanted to capture their energy and showcase the love they exude to me all the time. I waved happily showing my teeth with a wide smile to the fans. I got so excited I wanted to allow some of my fans a private spot to watch me film.

Bill and the Brazilian police allowed about 50 people into the set and I stood in the middle of the circle shooting my film. One fan was a little to excited, she jumped out of her circle and ran up to hug me, I graciously returned her hug until the police came to separate us. She didn't wanna let go and I stumbled to the floor. I over heard Camille yell "daddy!" Very faintly. I look over at her and give her the thumbs up to let her know I'm ok continuing to work. This song was very important to me, there was so much social injustices happening in the world and I was hoping that my music could help bring awareness and maybe even put a stop to it. Although I was only one man, that's all it really takes.