Losing my virginity to my teacher | ✔

38. Family is everything.

AMELIA’S POV

        I already felt like my wings have sprouted and I am free to fly anywhere.  I can breathe and see easily after what felt like years.  It was like I had been trapped in an air tight container with no oxygen left for me to breathe, but now it was more than that.  I can see familiar places everywhere I turn around.

         I could have never asked for a this much of a friendly neighborhood and neighbors who treats me as their own child.  My dad over did my return to India as a family reunion and invited all my aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.  But I am more than thankful for this rare reverie I felt.

        I hug everyone in my house and all of them ask me different stuffs and laughs at my half-assed jokes.  I momentarily feel the content happiness I missed.  I kiss all the kids, who are playing around the house with the stuffs they find on the ground and I cannot stop the smile that overcomes my face as I imagine Mia’s baby playing around with these group of kids.

        I am taken aback for a moment that I feel this type of emotion to someone who hadn’t even been born but I get the sense of irrational feeling that she is also a family like everyone of them here who are greeting me.

         I looked around me and realize that on the months that I went away I found myself a new family even though I felt like I can barely breathe there.  I was stunned. 

         Is that what I am thinking?  That my friends and extended relatives I made their as my own family, and I kind of miss them already.  This mixed feeling doesn’t help when I see my dad emerging from the front door after his work.  He told me he would come home cutting his shift in half but even though seeing him after these many days I felt very emotional.

          I run into his welcoming arms and sob on his shoulder.  I block all the awws and oohss of relative’s chorus around us and tighten my arms around his neck.  I feel his own wetness from his eyes on my shoulder and I sob louder.  This was the longest I was away from him.

        “I missed you, papa.”  I said near his ear and clutched him tightly before backing away to see his face.

        “I missed you too, my little girl.”  He gives me a kiss on my forehead before taking my face in his hands and examining me.

        “Are you eating?”  He scolds me first.  I can’t help but sputter a half-laugh and a broken sob.  No one asked me that when I was away and I am instantly wishing that he would feed me some food like the last time he did when he sent me away.

       “I am papa.  And I am not you little girl anymore I have grown up.”  I said teasingly and gestured my head to his head, which he is taller than I am though.

        “Uh-huh, daddy’s little girl has certainly grown up.  I love you, kiddo.”  He whispers like he doesn’t want me to grow up any more and I want the same.  I want to be his little girl as always.  I hug him once more and run to my bag to retrieve the chocolates, I bought last minute at the airport for him.

         He all but grabbed it from me and hurriedly opened it to eat before any one of the people here try to teach him about being healthy.  But he was left alone until he stuffed three globes of chocolates into his mouth before his older sister snatched the box from him and gave a slap to his shoulder telling him to behave himself.  I grinned and tried not to laugh like a maniac when my father started chewing on the chocolate like a cow waiting to chew on its hay.  If my sister had been here, she wouldn’t have even left even one ounce of sweet in his mouth, but she is not.

         She informed one of the few cousins we are closed to that she would visit me tomorrow morning.  I miss her so goddamn much.

         My dad mouthed ‘thank you’, after swallowing his chocolates.  I shook my head, grinning and went into the kitchen to fetch him some water.