Tales from Jurassic World

6- Haunting Pasts

I take Emily into the caves section of the underwater park. We walk through the tunnels and she just observes where all the funds went. She touches the glass walls around the tunnel occasionally. I watch the Dunkleosteus swim after a small school of fish.
"Do you really believe in that 'You choose your own destiny' statement?"
"Yes, 100%."
"Well don't you sound confident for once. What spurred that hmm?"
I don't say anything, I just think.
She looks at me expecting an answer and I sigh.
"Look, I... don't want to talk about it."
"What?"
"Why I believe in that statement whole heartedly."
"I'm the only one here. There aren't even visitors down here yet, you can tell me."
"It's nothing, it's just the past. The past doesn't matter, it has already happened and we can't change it. What does matter is the present and the future, those we CAN change."
She looks at the floor as we continue to walk along. An awkward silence fills the hall. I sigh again.
"It's my father."
"What?"
"I came from a pretty bad place. We lived in a run down house, my dad was a drug addict and my mom... I never knew her. My dad would always have new girlfriends every week. We didn't have much money and maybe we could've had some money if he didn't keep blowing it on getting drunk or high. We only ate when absolutely necessary. Life was horrible and as the days dragged on it was clear that he couldn't take care of me. He needed more money than he was getting and..."
I stopped and tried to hold back the anger, I couldn't and let it out by punching the glass walls of the tunnel. I cried a little and went on, "The bastard tried to kill me. Instead of taking me to somewhere I could be taken care of he wanted to kill me and sell whatever he could to get his fix. Came at me with a knife when I was 9, by some dumb luck... I killed him instead. Stabbed him right in the throat."
I paused and took a deep breath, I stared at the floor as I said, "I remember every detail vividly, he grappled with me. He was weak due to drug abuse, I was only 9 so no much muscle on me either. I bite his hand while trying to push the knife away, but his hand slips. The knife slashes across his throat. He gasps as the blood flows out and he collapses backwards on the floor. I jump on top of him with the knife in hand and stab him 20 times in the chest where I thought the heart was. Then I just stayed kneeled over him, covered in blood, and cried my eyes out."
"Oh my god," was all she said while covering her mouth. Her face was sympathetic yet terrified.
"I called the police and one thing lead to another I was adopted by a nice family, that monster was buried. No one came to his funeral but me, I did it just to kick his damn coffin. I didn't want to end up like him, I wanted a better life for myself. I studied hard, got good grades, got scholarships, went to college, and got a degree. Worked some minor jobs to keep myself afloat until I wound up here."
"You? You went to college?"
"Crazy to you isn't it."
"You never take anything seriously."
"You ever heard the saying that 'The people who smile brightest are the saddest'? I've just been trying to live everyday I can with a smile, I look for something to make me happy. Those memories never left me, they haunt every moment of my life. I just want to forget, distract myself with something happy and fun. Everything I do I take seriously, I'm just in a place where I can smile everyday. The people here, my job, it's the best I could ask for. I can laugh everyday and I go out of my way to, this is the most fun I've had in my life. Something just had to ruin right?"
"You mean Hoskins?"
"Yeah, that bastard just... did terrible things. He'll pay for his actions, in time."
"I thought I had a bad life, but you... you make my life look ideal."
I put my hand on her shoulder, "There will always be someone in a worse situation than you. Just because someone else has it worse, doesn't mean your problems are insignificant."
She smiles at the comment.
"Good talk, but this has been a bit depressing. How about we do something fun? Put a smile on these grimacing faces?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise."
We walk out of the cave area towards the surface.