Daddy Once Told Me...

Mommy never loved me

She left me and Daddy

She never even said goodbye

Daddy once told me she was a lovey lady

I nodded in agreement only so Daddy would be happy

I think he still likes Mommy

I don't have any memories of her

But I don't like Mommy

How could she leave us?

Doesn't she like Daddy anymore?

Well, I like Daddy and that's all that matters

I can tell Daddy is still upset about Mommy

His face is sad every time he talks about her

And sometimes he cries

Daddy doesn't know this but at night when he thinks I'm asleep

I stand outside his door as he slouches over his bed with his hands clasped

I listen to him as he sniffles

Every so often he rubs his hands together

The sound of metal clinks and grinds together within his hands

I often wonder if he is secretly a cyborg

One with metal arms that can shoot lasers out of his palms

And has tools secretly hidden within his fingers...

But I always hope he's not getting a cold

I want to hug him but I can't

He gets angry when I stay up past my bedtime

He doesn't show it, but I can tell

Before I retreat to my room, I write Daddy a message on a sticky note saying,

"i luv yoo" with a smiley face at the bottom beside my name

I stick it on the fridge

I see Daddy's candy sitting on the counter, and I decide to steal a handful

I feel guilty that I took Daddy's candy wihout permission

But I remind myself what the old people on TV taught me

'You can't sleep on an empty stomach'

One night, I decided to ask Daddy

"Where is Mommy?"

I was snuggled into my bed

My teddy bear, Mr. Snuffles, was snuggled in beside me under my sheets

I named him in the hopes that he would take away Daddy's tears

And instead, replace them with happiness

His fur tickled my skin

Daddy pecked my forehead

He leaned back and sat rigidly straight

His shoulders relaxed but slouched like a defeated warrior

Poor Daddy...

"She's moved on to a happier place..." he croaked.

His tired eyes stared directly into mine

Daddy looked like he might cry but he held his face firm

I leaned in and hugged him around his neck

I still didn't believe him

How could she be happy without me and Daddy?