Thank you atroXity for the amazing cover!
present day
Blank. Space. Silence. A sudden rush of sound. Gone. He's gone.5 years earlier
"Harper? Do you want to do some math?"
"Are you kidding me Papa? I've got homework, and anyway, it's Tuesday."
"So?"
"Hello? I have drama practice on Tuesdays, I've told you, like, a million times."With a huff, I turn away. What's his problem? He never cares about anything I do and then all of a sudden, he acts like everything is fine and he just wants to spend time with me. I am so sick of him. Mama keeps telling me, it's because of the encephalitis, but I honestly don't care anymore. My dad is pretty useless, as dads go.
present day
Why was I such a stuck up bitch? It obviously wasn't his fault, I should have cherished every single moment with him. But no, whenever he asked me to do anything, I would give him a million reasons why I didn't have time. Eventually, he stopped trying.I was in college when Mama put him in a nursing home. She still worked full time and couldn't take care of him. He was forgetting everything, didn't know who I was on the rare occasions that I visited. I hardly ever visited.
Mama would ask me to come, tell me that Papa was so looking forward to seeing me. Immediately, I thought of a million reasons why not to go. It was my friends birthday, I had to finish a paper, I was coming down with the flu - on and on and on.
He's gone. For ever. I missed out on years and years of time with him. He may have been a lot of work, but he was my dad, and he loved me. I can see that now.
We didn't always have such a messed up relationship. When I was ten, we would do math together, cook and play catch. He was a great dad. It all went downhill from there.
7 years earlier
I wake up to people talking loudly, strange lights throughout the entire house. I pad down the stairs, each step creaking beneath me. Paramedics are everywhere, there's an ambulance outside, my grandparents are here, too. Then I see my dad. He's lying on the bed, glancing around at all the strangers in the same way I am. Mama is talking to four different people at once, trying to bring order to the chaos. I still don't know what's going on."Harper! Harper, come say goodbye to Papa. He'll be back soon."
I cling to the banister of the stairs, not uttering a word. Back up in my room, I watch the ambulance drive off with Papa in it.
present day
That was the beginning of the end. There are a million reasons why I should have acted differently, spent more time with him. I was a teenager. There was no reasoning with me. I'm not getting a second chance. Not this time.
YOU ARE READING
A Million Reasons Why
Short StoryA very short story inspired by reality. Thank you @atroXity for the absolutely stunning cover!