Roman was ushered into the living room by his older sister. He couldn't understand why. Normally when his father came home, he would see Roman sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework and his father would walk over and ask about before changing out of his work clothes.
Maybe it was a celebration! Or maybe a surprise! But...why was Amá crying?
Roman's mother looked up and locked eyes with her confused, innocent son. It made her burst into more tears and Roman ran to comfort her.
"¿Amá?¿Por qué lloras mami?" Roman asked while tilting his head to the side.
Lupita couldn't help but smile at Roman, almost forgetting what had just happened. She frowned, and more tears fell as she realized what she had to do now.
"Roman ...mi Valiente chico...tengo algo que decirte...se trata de tu padre..."
~
Roman woke up with a start like he did every year on this day. It's always the same memory that would wake him up like clockwork, ending right before his mom said the words that shattered his world forever. Roman's brain liked to torture him but pretend to forget the worst part.
He decided not to think about it and just dressed.
Roman never noticed how quiet the house actually was on this day. Any other day of the year, even if he was the first to wake up, there was some kind of noise. It could be anything from the humming of the ceiling fan or people rushing to get breakfast ready. But today, nothing. All the sounds of the apartment were swept out as if the family occupying the house needed a reminder of what was happening
Maybe Roman just lost his touch with reality on this day. He was never sure, not that it really mattered. He knew the world did not stop just because he is in a shitty mood. Did that ever make him feel any better? No, but it gave him a false motivation to get up and get ready for school.
He walked to the twins' room, like every day, to get them ready for school. Any other of the 365 days of the year, the twins would already be awake, fully ready to run around and make Roman's morning even more hectic. Today, both had a blanket over their heads and he could hear his little sister sniffling.
He wished it was because of a cold. It never was.
"Vamos, es hora de levantarse," Roman said, just loud enough for the twins to hear, worried if his voice went any height they could hear how broke it was.
"NO!" both Jenni and Marco shouted, pulling the blanket simultaneously over their heads. Roman wanted to laugh at the sight, badly.
Instead, he sighed "No no, you guys gotta get up and go to school."
"NO!" Marco shouted
"It's a bad day today!" Jenni cries
"I know guys but we can't miss school," Roman said softly.
"We'll go to school tomorrow!"
"Yeah, when it's not Papi's death day!"
Roman inhaled sharply, it was the first time of the day someone acknowledged what the 17th of February meant. The house somehow got even muter, if that was possible. His sister and brother burst into tears and Roman felt his face heat up. But he couldn't cry, he was-
A soft, reassuring hand landed on his shoulder as he took a step forward.
"Amá..." Roman said, his voice strained
Lupita's eyes were full of storms of sadness, threatening a downpour. "Roman ... ve y desayuna."
Roman shook his head. He could do it, he had to. His mother had enough on her plate. "Pero Amá--" Lupita cut him off.
