Author's note: It's been pouring here with crazy thunderstorms; one day, the entire country might go on fire.
***
The
thunder shook the room. Screams from down the hallway outside became louder and
a shadow loomed on the walls just outside my bedroom door. I propped myself up
on my knobby elbows.
Just
outside my windows, lightning flashed in the sky. Another round of screams
came.
“Shh,”
I hushed loudly to the girly scream.
A
teeny tiny chubby figure came dashing through my door and jumped onto the foot
of my bed without hesitation.
“Madeline-”
I started.
She
clawed her way up to my shoulders and clung onto them. The house was dark,
empty (excluding us and our family dog, Chubby) and cold. I placed my hand on
her soft back. Sighing, I saw Chubby standing by the door, witnessing the
strange scene with its eyes wide open and gleaming in the night.
“Come
here, Chubby,” I motioned it to come by my bedside.
“Chubby’s
here?” she turned around to see the stubby dog approach us.
Madeline
immediately leaves my bed for Chubby.
“Oh,
Chubby! Did you hear the terrible thunder?” she grabs his cheeks. Chubby’s ears
twitched as she whimpers some more.
“Madeline-”
I said.
Another
round of thunder shook the sky furiously.
“Daddy,
I’m scared!” she cried and hopped back onto my lap. “I want Mommy, where is
she!”
My
wife you say? She’s off to one of her field work again; leaving Madeline to me
to take good care of 24/7.
“She’ll
be back soon but right now, how about you climb into my bed and sleep with me?”
I push the side of the blanket away and patted the canvas of the bed. As she crawled to the side of the bed right
next to me, Chubby trotted to the other side of the giant bed and lay down
beside her.
I
tucked her in. Madeline bit her thumb nervously with strands of her hair
falling on her face. I swept them away and whispered, “It’s all going to be
gone by the morning, you’ll see.”
“What
if it doesn’t?” she mumbled under her breath. I slipped under the blanket and
moved closer to her.
“Well,
then I guess that’s that,” I shrugged.
“Daddy
you’re not helping!” she cried out loud—so loud that Chubby had peeked its head
on the bed to check if everything was okay.
I
laughed softly at her, “You shouldn’t be afraid of thunder, Madeline. You’re a
big strong girl like your mother; I thought you were anyway…”
She
gasped at me, “I am so!”
Reverse
psychology; gets her all the time.
“Then
why did you come screaming,” I smirked at her playfully.
“Well—big
strong girls can get scared sometimes, you know, Daddy. I’m pretty sure you get
scared too sometimes, right?” her eyes lit up like candles. I think my daughter
just referred me to as ‘a big strong girl’.
Madeline
was born with all the traits my wife possessed. It’s unfathomable. I bet
Confucius can’t even comprehend how this works. That’s why I don’t really miss
my wife like crazy. I have a mini-her running amuck around the house.
“Yeah,
I guess so. I’ve gotten scared tons of times when I was younger,” I let out a
faint chuckle.
“Yay!
Daddy’s gonna tell a story!” she thrashed her hands onto the pillow.
“Uh-uh,”
I wiggled my finger at her, “sleep.”
“But,”
she pouted.
“Sleep,”
I demanded with my fingertip pressing down on her pillow.
“Ugh,
fine…”
Wiggling
like my wife always does in her sleep; she managed to have the blankets wrapped
tightly around her tiny body. I watch in amusement and amazement as she gets
comfortable with the bed. Eventually the thunderstorm had reduced to a heavy
rain—which made everything very cozy for her. Chubby was curled up into a fat
furry ball and snored the night away.
The
next morning the backyard garden smelled like fresh soil and droplets of water
trickled down the grape leaves. Madeline was once again up and literally
running around the house, dropping some of her stuffed sea animals and messing
up my music sheets.