OCs+

Where is Dad?

    A five-year-old girl stood as tall as she could on the tips of her toes to look over the shoulder of her mother, who was sitting slouched over a desk with her face in her hands. "Mommy? Are you okay?"

    The woman looked over at her precious child with too much emotion in her eyes. The girl couldn't understand which emotions they were, but the mother decided it was better that she didn't. "Don't worry, Meli-chan, I am fine. I just need to finish filling out these forms."

    Her daughter frowned. The woman seemed to be ceaselessly filling out those endless stacks of papers for an entire month. However, as the girl learned from experience, she could not ask her mother any questions about them. That was all well, since the woman did not know how to respond to any of them anyway. Melissa was always a curious child, and she asked the most perplexing questions. Even her kindergarten teacher would complain to the mother about her inquisitive nature after each class when she would come to pick Melissa up.

    Unfortunately for her mother, Melissa was in an extremely curious mood today. "Mommy?" she started tentatively, "What are the forms for?"

    "Nothing too important, dear. Just something I have to finish before next week. Do you want to ask your grandfather to tell you some stories to help you go to bed?" The woman's father had been a great help in helping her take care of the child for these past few months.

    "I'm not sleepy right now, Mommy." The little girl was silent for a while, and the woman went back to scratching words sloppily on the form. Her head was drooping when Melissa continued, "Where's Daddy?"

    The scratching stopped. The woman looked back at Melissa, tears starting to form in her eyes. Melissa took the opportunity to peek at the form her mother was working on filling out. She could make out a barely legible Haruki Saito before she met her mother's eyes again. "Daddy is not coming home today." And when the woman thought her daughter wouldn't hear, she muttered, "And I don't think he is coming home tomorrow either." Unfortunately, Melissa heard.

    "What do you mean by that, Mommy? Where did Daddy go?" The mother stared at her child at this, not sure how to respond. How could she tell her daughter that her father left her for another woman? How could she tell her that the reason her grandparents moved to the country and the reason she moved away from her husband to live with her parents is due to his cursed drinking habits?

    "Kazuo- your father was manipulated by evil spirits. They took him away and changed him so that he is not the same person. Because of those spirits, your father might not be able to come back..." Haruki's voice broke as she recalled memories of abuse and the many arguments that ultimately led to her decision to cut off all ties with the man. Her eyes darkened as she scribbled some more on the sheet, almost done with them. She hadn't been able to fill them out because every time she looked at them, she was reminded of her husband. Stuck in her head for days with only her memories for company broke her heart, as did the reason she had to do so. Finally, after weeks of sitting around crying over the divorce papers, she had finally gotten to the end of the stacks. What the woman didn't see was her daughter's beautiful face marred by wrinkles as she started to realize what her mother was trying to tell her.

    "So... does that make Daddy a bad man?" This seemed to be the wrong question to ask, as Haruki broke down into tears in front of her daughter. Even with all her pretty features, Haruki looked quite pitiful in her state. Finally, her daughter was able to see the toll the past few months had taken on her. Four months of depression, fasting, dehydration and stress had made her face gaunt and quite unrecognizable. Her rib cage was starting to poke out, and she almost looked undead.

    "No, your father is not a bad man," croaked Haruki, but even she was having trouble convincing herself of that. Melissa was so dismayed to see her mother in such a state that she threw her tiny arms around the woman in a much needed embrace. It took a few seconds, but her mother returned the hug and kissed her forehead. "Now please go to bed. Ask your grandfather to tell you a story if you want. I will see you in the morning." Seeing no other option and having no more questions, Melissa ran to her grandparents' guest bedroom and tucked herself under the covers.