Halo-Born

Chapter 13

Hello! So it's been like a day since I've last posted. Not a very long time is it? Lucky I went ahead because I may not be posting for a while. Theatre stuff...plays. Oh yeah and performing stuff...dance recital. I'm a busy bee. Well...anyways...here it is.
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Hope was behind him, smiling. I was dumbstruck. This was him. He was the one. He was Zachariah....my father. I couldn't take it in, so I pulled myself away from him. I didn't know what to say. Zachariah or dad. What should I call him? He waited for my words, but I couldn't stop stammering like an idiot.

Come on Faith, I thought to myself. This is your dad. This is your chance to tell him how much he means to you.

But the truth was that he didn't mean anything to me. Despite the things Hope told me about destiny and fate, he was the reason why we took the turn. He was the reason why my mom and sister were dead. How could I just throw myself into his arms and be happy? It wasn't just that he might have caused my family to perish, it was also the fact that he left me when I was little. I didn't care how much he wanted to stay. He still left.

I couldn't tell him that I loved him too. I didn't know him. He might be my father, but it doesn't mean I'll open up to him right away. Who knows? I might never open up to him. He may never be forgiven for what he did to me.

I just backed up towards the door. Wings or not, this was too awkward. It was hard to stare straight at his face without having the urge to punch him. Hope gave me a look. Her eyes widened as she shook her head. I had to tell her later that I could accept him now. To me he was just some guy. He wasn't my dad.

He tried to tell me to wait, but I didn't listen. If he didn't want to stay for me, I wouldn't stay for him. My hand was on the doorknob, but Hope appeared in front of me. Her eyes told me to stay, but I couldn't. I twisted the doorknob but stopped. Stupid wings and stupid halo. I couldn't go home with them.

I looked to Zachariah who sighed. "Just think about them going away. You'll feel them slide back into your back. Don't worry. You'll still look like you did before this happened."

I didn't smiled. Instead I said dryly, "Thanks Zachariah."

He looked away and walked away. I did what he said. I thought about them going away. True to his word, I felt them very uncomfortably slide into my back. I jerked around to make space for them, but it felt all too weird. Extremely weird.

As I opened the door to the outside world, I felt really bad. Bad for no reason. I don't know what it was, but leaving him felt wrong. All he wanted to do was let me know that he was sorry. I couldn't take the apology. It didn't mean anything to me.

Hope followed me out. She didn't speak, and neither did I. With nothing to say, she left me alone. I walked by myself, trying to find my way home. There was no point in figuring out whether to say he was my dad. Zachariah didn't feel like a father. Maybe he wasn't a drug addict or maybe he wasn't abusive, but he didn't know me. Steve, my other dad, was sort of like a real dad. Actually he was a better dad.

To me, a guy wasn't just a dad because I had his genes. A dad was also a guy who was there to teach me how to ride a bike, to carry me up on his shoulders, or hated to see me grow up. In reality none of my dads were there. It was always mom. Now that I thought about it, my mom was there for me all the time. She was like two people. She was both parents.

I would feel a lot better if mom was here. She could give me a hug and a kiss and make me feel a whole lot better. Where was she anyway? If Hope was here, wouldn't she be here too? What did Hope mean by leaving mom? Answers always leave new questions.