When Storms Collide

~19~

"we were fire and water
love laced with sin
and whenever we happened to touch
smoke rose from our skin."

~~

Everything was hazy. The sounds muffled.

I was standing in what seemed to be a spacious backyard of a big house.

The sound of quiet sniffling caught my attention and my eyes landed a little girl no more than seven or eight years old, sitting on the grass with her head bent over her knees, a few feet away from me. She was clearly crying.

The glass doors slid open and a middle-aged man stepped outside, quietly walking towards the girl. He sat down beside her on the grass as the girl continued to weep silently.

The man looked familiar. I knew him from somewhere.

I just couldn't remember.

"What is wrong, mio piccola angelo? (My little angel)" He asked the little girl tenderly.

She hiccupped as she raised her head to look at him.

"Declan was mean to me." She squeaked.

The man smiled gently. "What did he say?"

She sniffled, her eyes filling with tears. "We had a fight and then he said he hated me!"

The man shook his head and tugged at one of the girl's pig-tails playfully. "That's not true sweetheart, I know for a fact that your brother loves you very much."

The girl folded her arms across her chest. "Then why'd he say he hated me?"

He sighed. "Because sometimes when people are hurt or mad at someone they love they say or do stupid things and then they regret them afterwards."

The little girl raised her chin in defiance. "Well, I don't love him anymore."

The man chuckled. "Of course you do, you love him that's why you're crying over what he said." He looked at the little girl affectionately. "I'll let you in on a secret."

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Only the people you love have the power to hurt you the deepest."

The little girl blinked, absorbing the words. "Why do people fall in love then, why would anyone want to get hurt? That's just stupid."

The man chuckled softly. "Maybe it is stupid, but falling in love isn't exactly a choice."

The girl sniffed. "I still think it's stupid because it makes people fight."

The man tapped her nose gently.

"That may be so, but it also gives people something worth fighting for."

The little girl looked up at the man and smiled. "Thank you Papa."

"Anytime mio piccolo angelo." He smiled back. "And remember Angelica, no matter what happens, Papa will always love you."

~~

As soon as my eyes opened I was acutely aware of two things.

One, I was in a hospital.

Two, the lower part of my chest felt like someone was twisting a knife inside it.

I groaned from the pain and a second later I heard someone gasp.

I twisted my head to the side, eyes locking on the woman standing beside my bed with a syringe in her hand, probably a nurse.

"You're awake." She gave me a kind smile.