THE STEP-FATHER

1

On the street the light sparkled like a disturbed soul for a minute and ended with a fuse off. I drew the curtain, not being able to feel comfortable with the pitch black darkness. Uncle Glenn was about to arrive from his house at Collin's Street to accompany us at dinner. Mom had her eyes stuck on her face so pale for nearly a year since my dad had passed away in an accident in Hovelwaan's industry, where he worked as a mechanical engineer, while fixing a machine due to short circuit. I could see the excitement in her eyes today like a gleaming star on a dark sky. Uncle Glenn, my dad and Uncle Ian are brothers; Uncle Glenn and my dad were the closest as two brothers can be, while Uncle Ian had been a bit differed from the family since his teenage for chasing his dreams of adventure. Uncle Ian and my dad married almost together in the same year as I've heard from Grandma Anny. Uncle Ian's Aunt Marry doesn't feel the same about us as we do about them. She feels like visiting us is a waste of time from her job which she could've invested in making some money instead. I can't remember when she had kissed my forhead for the last time.

I got distracted by the several knocks on my door.

"ya, mum?", I uttered.

The door creaked and mom entered with an enthusiastic smile on her lips.

"You are not studying! Exams are over ya head darling", mom wasn't speaking her heart as I could see in her eyes. She was not interested at any of her words.

"yep, I was just gonna....", I paused for a moment. "Are you ready for Uncle Glenn?"

Her eyes sparkled with the name of Uncle Glenn, like someone dragged her to something she was waiting for eagerly.

"Ya. Dinner is almost ready. Just this dress.....", she paused. "Am I looking pretty? I mean is it okay with this dress? I mean, you know he's gonna visit after a......."

I interrupted her with a pale face. "I know mum what you do mean. You're looking good. Beautiful to be honest"

She smiled like a kid. I smiled back with no sense of enthusiasm.

"Okay get dressed with something blue. You know, he just loves blue", she said while clearing my doubts that she is right now much concerned about showing off to Uncle Glenn than my exams.

"I know my dress sense mum. You needn't to teach me right now!", my forhead crumbled in anger.

"Aren't you happy about it darling?", she came closer and started to play with my hair.

"Those are already curled up. Just leave now. I'm gonna dress myself", mum gave a pale smile as it was clearly visible that she was struggling this time to make her lips do it.

A smooth sound of car brakes distracted us from our conversation.

"I think he's here!", mom said as her former smile returned. "come on. Hurry up! Get dressed."

She left my room like a bird from a cage. I looked around the room for no reason and saw that my dad was smiling alongside my mom with myself in her lap. How selfish someone can possibly get to forget the love of my dad! Mom is really strong to get selfish enough! My eyes couldn't resist the tears and it blew down my cheeks, chilling my skin with terrible sorrow. A man who loved his family while he was alive like nothing else in this world would've been so great or important to make him apart from our thoughts even for a moment was now just smiling from a frame and his love doesn't mean the same as it did ere. No one cares about your love, passion, anything unless and untill it gets anything to be selfish about. How tragic! Maybe its the law of nature; I don't know. I wiped my tears and kissed on the photo; though I tried hard to control my tears it kept on running down.