Chapter 38 - Requiem of a dream

Not really a random story, but more of a “what if” if Blain and Nic took their responsibilities as a parent… [br]
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Sometimes, when you’re asleep, you’ll drift off into a world you created. Escape the harsh truths and realities and shape the world like you want it to be. My life wasn’t perfect. Oh no… But that doesn’t mean I had a great life. Blain and I have been through a lot in our lives, and now, all we want is peace and spent time with our loved ones… We had everything we ever wanted right here… And I had everything I wanted right here in my arms… [br]
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When Nicole was pregnant, I didn’t know if I was up for the responsibilities. I saw how Knuckles took his responsibilities with his own daughter Lara-Su, together with Julie-Su. And it kinda scared me a bit. We never imagined that Knuckles was the first of us to actually have a kid, and we were surprised that he was so dedicated to his responsibilities as a father. Knuckles used to be a hothead, but ever since the birth of his daughter, that quickly changed. We saw how Knuckles changed dramatically, and when I look back at my own life, I realize that I would change too… Except that it was a scary thing to see… [br]
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As the months passed by, I felt something growing inside of me. I can’t describe the feeling, but I can tell it was wonderful… I often stood in front of the mirror, looking at my belly to see if I could notice anything. Kangaroos are born very small, and unlike any other species, you didn’t see a belly. But I often held my hand on it, and I could sometimes feel it moving inside of me… I could see that Blain was enjoying it every time he held his head close to my stomach and placed his hand on it… I was moody once in a while, and very hungry whenever I felt my stomach rumbling but at least I had an excuse. I was eating for two now. Literally. Hehe… Over the months, we found out that I was expecting a girl… Blain and I thought up with all sorts of names, but we never agreed with each other choices… Then one name was interesting for us… Kaelyn… I was 27 years old when I gave birth to her… She was the most beautiful being I ever set my eyes upon, and I could still feel her tiny little hands clamping around my fingers… Kaelyn was dark violet, blended with dark cyan and huge dark purple eyes. Her tiny little tail being curled up every time she yawned… Blain was there besides me the whole time… He had a huge grin on his muzzle and held her close… She was his daughter… She was my daughter… Our daughter…[br]
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Shadow never really seemed to be caring about others. But he does, and so does everyone else. All of us have been through a lot which caused us to grow together. It’s like eh… A cast of rejects, loners and orphans growing up together as one family. Even though we’re not related to each other in any way imaginable, I can safely say that they were the family I once had a long time ago… [br]
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Seeing Shadow smile is a rare thing to witness. But the moment he laid his eyes on me holding my little girl, he cracked a smile… And Blain just stood there with wide eyes and a big grin from ear to ear… [br]
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Well, the months did pass by pretty quickly… It wasn’t easy… And I was facing the toughest challenge I ever had… Changing diapers, feed her on time, getting her to bed on time, waking up in the middle of the night because she was hungry and stuff… It really took a lot from the both of us, but whenever I see my baby girl babble and giggle and burping made everything worthwhile… Also, when I made fart noises on her belly, she giggled in an uncontrollable way… Hehehehehe…[br]
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Hehe… I remember her first birthday… Of course I do, who wouldn’t…? Everyone was there that day… She kept on laughing throughout the day, and blew out the candle on the cake with just a “Pfft”. And then everyone started clapping, and she got so startled by that, she spontaneously started to cry. Hehe…[br]
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But then, one month after her birthday, I was outside with my baby girl, playing in the grass while Nicole was doing stuff around the house. I looked away for one second, and when I looked back, I saw she was with Nic. Then a few moments later, I felled her pulling my arm… [br]
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Blain: Heeeeeeeey! There is she! [br]
Kaelyn: Baa! 8D[br]
Blain: … How’d you get here so fast…? [br]
Kaelyn: Pffffrt! 8D [br]
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Blain: *makes fart noises* [br]
Kaelyn: *giggles* [br]
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After I was making fart noises for a while, she crawled back to Nic again… The moment I looked back at Nic, I noticed she held Kaelyn and hugged her… But after a few moments, I looked back again, and noticed she was still crawling around in circles… So I looked the other way…[br]
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Nicole: *gasps* Blain!! Look!! She’s walking!! Look!! [br]
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The moment I looked back at Nic, I saw Kaelyn waggling forward while she kept on giggling and making fart noises… The moment I saw that, I couldn’t resist to smile… She started to waggle faster until she almost reached me… Then tragedy struck… She fell… Luckily, I could catch her in time. She looks up to me and babbles a lot while having a very big smile on her face… I gave her a really firm hug, and when she faced Nicole, she had her arms wide open and a huge, huuuuuuuuuge smile on her face. Then Kaelyn waggles back to Nic, going faster and faster and then she fell… Nic quickly picked her up but Kaelyn wasn’t crying… [br]
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Kaelyn: Baa! 8D *giggles* [br]
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Nic closed her eyes and hugged while having a smile on her face… [br]
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Blain: No wonder you’re so fast…… *smiles* [br]
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And ever since the first day she learned how to walk, the three of us walked through the forests on sunny days… I still loved doing that, and even though I knew every inch of the forests, it never ceased to amaze me seeing all those trees, and the warm sun shining through the branches, hearing the birds sing and seeing the mountains in the distance. On the contrary… Everything seemed to get more beautiful every time we walked through those forests…[br]
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Well, eating never really was a problem for her. I mean, she gobbled everything up we put in front of her. And sometimes she didn’t want to eat… This one time, she was actually chewing on the spoon while I tried to get it out of her mouth… Who knew feeding could be so difficult?[br]
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Blain: C’mon, work with me here… [br]
Kaelyn: Pffffffffffrt! 8D[br]
Blain: If you’re mother saw you doing this, she’d be VERY upset… [br]
Kaelyn: Baa! 8D[br]
Blain: Finally. Ok, gunship is inbound for refuel! [br]
Kaelyn: …… >_< [br]
Blain: *sighs* Eat. [br]
Kaelyn: …… >____< [br]
Blain: *sighs* [br]
Kaelyn: ^w^[br]
Nicole: Hey, I’m home! [br]
Blain: Oh crap…!! Eat…!! Eat…!! …!! Eat…!![br]
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In that sudden burst of panic I felt, I stuffed her face with that goo. She sneezes not long after that, and landed with her face in the bowl of goo I was holding on to. When I looked back at Kaelyn, her entire face was covered in that goo… And that moment, Nic peeked around the doorpost and noticed the both of us were covered in that goo… [br]
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Nicole: How’d it- Oh no…… [br]
Blain: Ehehehe…… *smiles nervously* [br]
Kaelyn: Baa! 8D[br]
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Kaelyn sticks out her little tongue and started to lick her lips… Then her tongue reached out for more of that goo… [br]
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Blain: Oh, oh, I see. You’re only eating when mommy’s around… [br]
Kaelyn: ^w^[br]
Nicole: *sighs* Blain…… [br]
Blain: Here it comes…… I’ll get you for this… [br]
Kaelyn: Pffffffffffrt! 8D[br]
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No one is the same… Everyone is unique… But no matter how different we all are, we all have things in common… We all learned how to walk, talk, eat, drink, and use the bathroom properly… Things weren’t always easy, and it really took a lot from us, but seeing my beautiful daughter babble and laughing made it all worthwhile… But if you think raising a baby is hard, wait ‘till she gets older… [br]
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The older she got, the more she started to explore… Curious about how things worked, how people interact, and how the whole world is working. She reminded me a lot of how I used to be when I was a kid… She started to play with Lara-Su when she got older, and climbed trees and all that, which were the same things I did when I was a kid… Kaelyn isn’t scared easily… She climbs a tree, and whenever she fell out, she giggled nervously and climbed back up again. And no matter how many times I didn’t want her to climb trees, she did anyway. There wasn’t really a way I could stop her, because she did anyway… Would be a bit of a silly thing to stop her from climbing trees, but I let her anyway… Besides, I did that when I was young… And this one time… I couldn’t resist to climb a tree with her… Blain looked a bit baffled when he saw two huge tails dangling down a tree, but it’s something Kaelyn and I always did ever since then… [br]
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It’s always inevitable to see you’re child growing up, even though you don’t want her to. But at some point, you gotta take a few steps back… And even though the steps are very small, it’s a hard thing to do… Every time I blink with my eyes, I can see her changing slightly… With every day that passed by, she grew older… And before I knew it, she was six years old… [br]
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Kaelyn: Awwww, do I have to go to bed so soon……? [br]
Nicole: Hmm-mm… You got school tomorrow… [br]
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That night, I was brushing her hair while she had her pyjama’s on… And after that, I tugged her in… [br]
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Kaelyn: Dad usually lets me stay up longer then this… [br]
Nicole: Hmm-mm… [br]
Kaelyn: It’s not working, is it…? [br]
Nicole: Nnnnnnnope… *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: But it’s still light outside! *pouts*[br]
Nicole: I know…… *smiles*[br]
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I sat on her bed and let my hand go through her hair… That night, I felt something special… I always thought that she’s the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen, but the way she was looking in my eyes only made that feeling stronger… [br]
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Kaelyn: Mom…? [br]
Nicole: Hm…? [br]
Kaelyn: Why’d you get those tattoo’s……? [br]
Nicole: I thought I liked it way back. But I don’t like them anymore… [br]
Kaelyn: Then why’d you get them in the first place? [br]
Nicole: I suddenly wanted a tattoo… And my parents didn’t let me… So I did anyway… [br]
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Kaelyn: Well, I think their cool… It makes you look tough… [br]
Nicole: Really? *smiles*[br]
Kaelyn: Yeah! Dad told me you can fight! [br]
Nicole: .. I don’t fight…… [br]
Kaelyn: You did! Dad told me you punched him a long time ago! [br]
Nicole: … [br]
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Oh. She was referring to that night I went out with Blain for the first time…… [br]
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Nicole: Hehehehe…[br]
Kaelyn: Also! You kicked butts of a bunch of dudes! [br]
Nicole: Yeah… Which is why I stopped fighting… It doesn’t solve anything… [br]
Kaelyn: Dad says it does… When someone doesn’t shut up, you punch ‘em in the face to shut them up! [br]
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Nicole: Dad also tells you only to fight when someone hits you first. [br]
Kaelyn: I know, I know… [br]
Nicole: Good… *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: How did you and dad meet anyway…? [br]
Nicole: Heh… [br]
Kaelyn: What…? [br]
Nicole: A loooooooong time ago… I got shipwrecked… And uncle Cody and I were drifting around at sea for a few days until one night, I woke up on the beach, all alone… They already found uncle Cody, and took care of him, and the next morning, I woke up and noticed I was being carried… [br]
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Kaelyn: By whom? [br]
Nicole: You’re dad. *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: Really? [br]
Nicole: Hmm-mm… He found me and saved my life… But eh… I wasn’t really that nice to him back then… And he wasn’t very nice to me either… [br]
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Kaelyn: Why? [br]
Nicole: Because no one is the same… The war was just over for a couple of weeks, and I came from a total different environment… And my differences clashed with his… If looks could kill… Hehehehe… [br]
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Kaelyn: But you love him? [br]
Nicole: Well, it was a long time ago… And it took a really long time to really get to know him… [br]
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Kaelyn: What made you fell in love with him…? [br]
Nicole: … I don’t really know…… We’ve been through a lot when we were teens… [br]
Kaelyn: Like what…? [br]
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Right… How do you avoid a question like that…? I should’ve known that question was coming… [br]
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Nicole: … It doesn’t matter… It’s all over now… *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: Oooh…… [br]
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It stayed silent for a moment while she was feeling my right ear… It’s a habit she never got rid off, feeling the soft skin on my ear ever she was just a little girl… I didn’t mind… I loved it when she did that… [br]
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Kaelyn: … Can I ever have a tattoo, just like you? [br]
Nicole: No. Absolutely not. [br]
Kaelyn: … Why not?! I think it looks cool! [br]
Nicole: That’s what I thought way back. [br]
Kaelyn: You were really young when you got a tattoo! [br]
Nicole: I was sixteen. I was young, rebellious and stupid…[br]
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Kaelyn: Yeah but, if it’s something I really want, don’t I get a say in that?! [br]
Nicole: Hmmmm… [br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Nicole: No. *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: Why not?! [br]
Nicole: Because I’m you’re mother… I can say stuff like that… And besides… You’d regret it eventually… [br]
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Kaelyn: Well I still think it looks cool… [br]
Nicole: You know what I think…? [br]
Kaelyn: What…? [br]
Nicole: I think you need to go to sleep… *smiles*[br]
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Then there were, of course, all those little things… Like eh… Well… [br]
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One night, I woke up for some reason. I opened my eyes and heard some stumbling… Nicole woke up from the sound as well… We looked at each other and we went to the living room where we heard the sounds… Nicole turns the lights on and there was Kaelyn, pillaging the pantry closet… She looked baffled at us, while her mouth is covered with chocolate and cookie crumbs… [br]
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Kaelyn: Eehm… I’m veeeeeeeeeeeery tiiiiiiiiiiiired now… I go back to beeeeeeeeeeed…. [br]
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She walks with her arms sticking out, like a sleepwalker… She was walking past us until Nicole holds her back… [br]
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Nicole: Wait a minute little missy… [br]
Kaelyn: Whoa!! This isn’t my bed!! [br]
Nicole/Blain: … [br]
Kaelyn: I eeh… was sleepwalking! [br]
Blain: No you didn’t… [br]
Kaelyn: You know it’s a bad thing to wake a sleepwalker while she’s walking…? [br]
Nicole: … We need to brush your teeth again… [br]
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And eh… Then of course there was this… Thing… [br]
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I… Got a confession to make… This one time, I came home late, after being busy all day. Kaelyn and Nic were already sleeping, so I got undressed and got in bed with Nic… And slowly drifted off… But after a while… I heard these tiny footsteps in the hallway… And noticed our bedroom door opened up slowly… [br]
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Kaelyn: D-Dad…? Dad……?! D-Dad……!! [br]
Blain: Mwwwhuh……? What……? What is it……? [br]
Kaelyn: Th-There’s a guy in my closet…… I-I-I heard him……! [br]
Blain: I just came home…… It’s probably me you heard…… [br]
Kaelyn: O-Oh okay…… [br]
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So she walked off again, back to her own room… But after a while… She came back again… [br]
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Kaelyn: D-Dad…?! There really is someone in my closet……!! C-Could you come with me, p-please?! [br]
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Blain:”*sighs* It’s just the wind…… [br]
Kaelyn: N-No, b-but-…![br]
Blain: Just go to bed…… There’s no one in your closet…… [br]
Kaelyn: A-Alright…… [br]
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So she left again… But a few moments later, she was standing there again… She looked really scared and almost broke down in tears… And I… Well… I was really tired…… I guess I didn’t know of what I was gonna do… [br]
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Basically, what I did was… I was gonna get rid of that scary guy for her… I got up and went to my closet, took out the metal case I had and opened it. Took out my pistol, an ammo clip and a silencer. As I was walking towards her room, I put the silencer on my pistol and cocked the weapon as she followed me… [br]
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Blain: … This one? [br]
Kaelyn: *nods* [br]
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Then I fired 7 shots on the closet… “clak”. The whole closet got perforated with copper cased rounds… [br]
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Blain: … That guy wont bother you anymore……[br]
Kaelyn: Thanks dad… [br]
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It wasn’t exactly a parental thing to do, but hey… I was tired and getting desperate to sleep… [br]
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Nicole wasn’t the only one who tugged her in at night… Actually, most of the time I was doing the tugging in bed thing… It always felt a bit of a special moment whenever I was doing that…[br]
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Kaelyn: Dad…? [br]
Blain: Hm…? [br]
Kaelyn: We’re always friends, right……? [br]
Blain: *nods* Of course…… [br]
Kaelyn: Tell me a story of when I was still a baby…… [br]
Blain: … [br]
Kaelyn: *smiles innocently* [br]
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Well, she loved those stories… And I loved to tell them… [br]
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Blain: Well…… When you were still in mommy’s belly… I always listened if I could hear you… [br]
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Kaelyn: Did you hear me…? [br]
Blain: Hmm-mm… I always listened carefully… And I always heard you yelling… “Lemme out! Lemme out!”[br]
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Kaelyn: *giggles* [br]
Blain: And then one day, you got out… [br]
Kaelyn: How…? [br]
Blain: … [br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Blain: Mommy farted… [br]
Kaelyn: …… [br]
Blain: … [br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Blain/Kaelyn: Bwahahahaha!!! [br]
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Moments like these were the ones I cherished the most. Just being able to hug her, and doing things together, you know… At moments like those, I realized our efforts weren’t in vain… We got rewarded by her love… And that made everything worthwhile… [br]
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Nicole did wondered how the closet got perforated though… She never found out…[br]
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With every day that passed by, she grew older… Wiser… More curious… Her curiosity got sparked by the things happening around her… She tried to discover the things she wanted to know… A-And I knew this certain question was gonna come eventually but… I never expected her to ask when she was ten years old… And especially not at that moment… [br]
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And that moment was at breakfast time before she went to school… [br]
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Kaelyn: … Mom…? [br]
Nicole: Hm…? [br]
Kaelyn: … Did dad hurt you last night…?[br]
Nicole: … No… Why would he…? *sips coffee*[br]
Kaelyn: Well I heard a couple of thuds… And… You going like “ow, ow, ow”…[br]
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Nicole: Pffffffrt!! O_o *spits out coffee* [br]
Kaelyn: … O_o [br]
Nicole: Ehehehe… More cereal, dear? *smiles nervously* [br]
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Oh the embarrassment… [br]
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Well… Nicole didn’t want me to smoke… So I did it whenever she wasn’t around… And I know it’s bad for you’re health and all, and even though I could feel my stamina was getting weaker, I kept on doing it. This one time, I got busted by Kaelyn… She wouldn’t tell Nic I was still smoking but… Nicole told me kids have the tendency to copy their parents behaviour… Which is exactly what happened. I never liked the idea of Kaelyn with a cigarette, but I knew she was gonna do it anyway. It’s because she knows it’s wrong and bad for you’re health, but she wanted to try it out anyway, just to see what would happen… It’s just her curiosity that got the better of her… I believe she was 15 years old at the time… [br]
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Nicole wasn’t home that evening. I was walking by Kaelyn’s room as her door was half open. She was on her mobile phone talking to her friend and I noticed something on her desk… So I got in her room. She looks baffled at me for a short moment, then pushed the door to close, but I held it… The moment I looked on her desk, I saw a pack of cigarettes… And I just stood there… [br]
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Kaelyn: Crap…… Serina, I gotta call you back later. [br]
Blain: Since when do you smoke? [br]
Kaelyn: … Their Lara-Su’s, I swear. She forgot to take them with her! [br]
Blain: … [br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Blain: I wont tell mom if you wont. [br]
Kaelyn: *sighs in relief* [br]
Blain: But that doesn’t mean I like it. [br]
Kaelyn: I know, I know…… [br]
Blain: Mind if I take one? [br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
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So… I grabbed a cigarette from her and lighted it up. Then she looked at me for a moment as I nodded… Then she lighted one up as well… And after she finished… I told her to light up another… And after that one was finished… Another one… And basically, I made her smoke her entire pack of cigarettes in a row… At some point, she got so sick of it, and she didn’t really feel that good… She never touched a cigarette again after that… Hehehehehe… Which means more for me… Unless she snitches me, that is… [br]
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Ah… Love… Who hasn’t experienced that…? Blain and I did when we were young… We still do, by the way… Kaelyn was young, and in love… I remember my first crush… It felt as if nothing in the world could stop you, and the whole experience felt wonderful… But as a parent… You hold you’re daughter’s hand throughout the years, and at some point, it’s inevitable to pass her hand on to someone else… But letting go is a hard thing to do… [br]
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She introduced Fabian to us as a friend. It didn’t took long before she confessed that she was in love with him. We had a lot of talks about love, and about my first boyfriend… And the only thing she could ever mention nowadays is Fabian… We saw him a lot, and at some point, he got so familiar and comfortable with us that he started calling us by our names. No more formalities and manners anymore, and quite honestly, Blain and I didn’t really have a problem with that… But it all changed when they had a relationship… [br]
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But it wasn’t as if we didn’t tried to stop it though… Because after all, she’s still our little girl… She had crushes before, but things started to get serious when she was seventeen years old… [br]
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One evening, Blain and I came home late. Kaelyn was supposed to go out with friends that night… The moment we got in the living-room, we noticed Fabian and Kaelyn on the couch with the lights out, while their heads were being awfully close together… Blain and I looked at each other for a short moment and I immediately knew we were thinking the same thing. So I turned the lights on right that second, and Kaelyn and Fabian scared the crap out of themselves…[br]
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Blain: We’re home! [br]
Kaelyn: Yeah, we can see that… *pouts* [br]
Nicole: How you doing, Fabian?! *fake grin* [br]
Fabian: Uh, eeehm… I-I’m good, how about you? [br]
Nicole: Goooooood! Especially now the whole family got together to spend the evening! [br]
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Then we flopped down on the couch, sitting in between Kaelyn and Fabian… [br]
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Nicole: … What were you two doing with the lights out anyway…? Huh…? Huh…? *smiles* [br]
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Blain: Oh come on, remember what we used to do when we were young? [br]
Nicole: Watching TV and drinking coffee? *smiles* [br]
Blain: Yeah, that too… But we also… You know… [br]
Nicole: Made out? [br]
Kaelyn: Mom!! [br]
Blain: Yeah! [br]
Nicole: Maybe we still got it after all these years… [br]
Blain: Maybe… [br]
Kaelyn: Dad!! [br]
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And then Blain and I kissed… Kaelyn looked really baffled, angry and embarrassed at the same time while Fabian just sat there with wide eyes… Hehehe… [br]
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Kaelyn: Gross!! Seriously!! What’s gotten into you guys?!! Come on, Fabian, let’s go! [br]
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Fabian: Finally- I mean, sure! Nicole, Blain… Uh… Eeh, goodnight…… [br]
Blain: Please, call me dad. *winks* [br]
Kaelyn: Gaaaaah![br]
Nicole: Bye honey! Be careful! [br]
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And then Kaelyn left and slammed the front door… [br]
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Nicole: That’s a good one by the way… “Call me dad”… Whaha![br]
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Blain: Whadda ya think? Would they make out again any time soon? [br]
Nicole: Hehehehe… Naah… When you just witnessed your own parents making out, you’re really not in the mood for that anymore… [br]
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Blain: Hehehe… [br]
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Yeah well, the reason why we teased her like that is… Well… We didn’t really wanna let go of her… It was difficult to see her starting to live her own life with someone she loved… But over the months, we could see she really loved him… Which is why we stopped teasing her… I know how difficult it can be… But if it’s something you believe in, then there’s always a way. [br]
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But, as Nicole once said, love can make you feel as if you’re on top of the world… But it can also devastate you… And I think that’s what happened to her one night… Kaelyn just turned twenty-one when that happened… [br]
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I knew Fabian broke up with her one day after having a relationship with him for more then four years… And I could tell she was devastated by that… I wanted to check up on her in her room, but she wasn’t there… She was nowhere to be found in the house. So I went outside. There’s only one place where she would go to think… And that’s the great oak tree across the hills near the lake, not too far from our house. The moment I reached the tree, I could hear her sobbing and when I looked up, I saw her sitting on a branch… I tried to climb up, but I never was much of a tree climber… Once she noticed I was trying to climb up, she looked down… [br]
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Blain: Need some company…? [br]
Kaelyn: … Yeah… Sure… [br]
Blain: … [br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Blain: Could you give me a hand, please? *smiles nervously* [br]
Kaelyn: *weak smile* Oh yeah, of course…… [br]
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I held on to a branch and lifted myself up with a lot of effort. She reached out for me and after a while, I finally sat next to her on the branch… [br]
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Blain: Hehe… I’m turning into an old fart… I’m not that young anymore… [br]
Kaelyn: *smiles weakly* [br]
Blain: Look… My fur turned all mat and pale over the years… *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: Heh… [br]
Blain: So what are you doing here all by yourself…? [br]
Kaelyn: Thinking… And… Watching the stars… [br]
Blain: *smiles* [br]
Kaelyn: … *deep sigh* [br]
Blain: You know… [br]
Kaelyn: What…? [br]
Blain: I used to do this a lot… [br]
Kaelyn: Do what? [br]
Blain: During the war, I always stared at the nightsky… Wondering if I would ever be able to see it again the following night… Even after the war was over for many years, I kept coming back to see them… But for the past few years… I haven’t been outside at night… It’s because I know the stars will always be there, even when I’m not looking… And even after I pass away, I know they’ll always be there in the sky… And maybe another star might join them that night… But right now… Now that I sit next to you… In a tree… Watching the stars… It feels as if I’m seeing them for the very first time again… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: … I know you can get philosophic at times, but…[br]
[br]
Blain: Hehe… What I’m trying to say, dear, is that you shouldn’t worry about the things you know that will always be there… A star can be seen when the clouds move away… And then it’ll find you… And no matter what happens, mom and I will always be there for you… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: *smiles weakly* [br]
Blain: Hehe… The thing is though… Everything is unpredictable… Before I met you’re mom, I never realized I’d be living a normal life, let alone sitting in a tree with my daughter talking about this particular subject… And everything I ever went trough and experienced during the war made me realize it was meant to be, otherwise if any of this didn’t happened, who knows what would’ve happened…? [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Yeah… [br]
Blain: So… Don’t worry about the things to come… About the people around you… Enjoy the good days, and accept the bad… Because why would you only accept the good days…? The sooner you accept the bad days, the easier it is to live with… That’s all you need to know to be happy… I would know… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Heh… Thanks dad… [br]
Blain: *smiles* [br]
[br]
It stayed silent for a moment while we kept on looking at the sky… I felt tired… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: It’s still bothering you a lot is it…? [br]
Blain: What is…? [br]
Kaelyn: About the war…? [br]
Blain: *shrugs* I’ve seen so many things most people couldn’t even imagine it… Seeing a woman dying while holding on to her baby, knowing you cant do anything…? Seeing a lifelong friend being shot in the head while you cant do anything…? I don’t know… It’s just the way things are… And then one day, everything was over, just like that… All my life I fought someone else’s war, and all of a sudden, I had to get used to a normal life… It was the most difficult thing I ever did… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Yeah…… [br]
Blain: And then one day, I met you’re mom… [br]
Kaelyn: *smiles weakly* [br]
Blain: Hehehehe… We couldn’t get along at all in the first place… She was so different from anyone else, which made her stand out… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: How different? [br]
Blain: Well, everyone who lives here in the village experienced the war. Everyone here lost at least someone while the war lasted… And then she showed up and acted as if nothing ever happened… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Then what? [br]
Blain: Sonic and everyone else good get along just fine with her after a while… But me… Hehe… We just hated each other’s gut for no apparent reason… I still don’t know why though… Maybe it was the fact that she was so ignorant of what happened here... [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: But what made you grow closer…? [br]
Blain: She was being harassed by a bunch of guys once… And I stood up for her, even though I hated her guts… Hehehehe… It all escalated into a big fight while I sticked with your mom… And then we realized we could get along just fine if we weren’t calling each other names… It still took a really long time to get to know her though… Slowly but steady, we became friends.[br]
[br]
Kaelyn: *smiles* Just friends? [br]
Blain: Just friends… But… We did have a lot of other fights with those guys though… And well… This one time, they caught us by surprise, and we started fighting again, until two of them got hold of a knife…[br]
[br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Blain: They both stabbed us… I got stabbed in my leg, but you’re mom… She got stabbed in her stomach… And well…… She almost didn’t make it… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: … What…? Mom never told me that… [br]
Blain: She doesn’t like to talk about it…… But all of a sudden, it felt as if we understood each other, you know…? It’s strange how one thing can turn you’re life upside down… And I saw you’re mother changing dramatically because of that… She never fought again… Instead, she avoided conflicts… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: She did…? [br]
Blain: Yeah… [br]
Kaelyn: Then what? [br]
Blain: Well, you’re mom and I were started to get close friends after that while I fell in love with someone else… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: … [br]
Blain: I wish I made different decisions back then, but then again, if I did, things wouldn’t have turned out the way it is today… You’re mom was the one who opened my eyes… And I realized I cared more for her then I could’ve ever imagined… I could always talk to her about the things bothering her while she’s always there for everyone else and it’s also because we both went through a lot… It felt as if we could relate to each other even though we both experienced different things… But it took her toll one day… She had a lot problems and difficulties back then, but she shoved her own things away to help someone else… She was tearing herself apart from the inside… And I wasn’t there for her when she needed me because I had someone else… [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Oh…… [br]
Blain: I’ll never know what really happened to her a long time ago… Maybe it’s for the best that some things stay in the dark… And if it might come back one day, I’ll be there for her, like she was for me when I needed her… We still stayed friends after we went through our own difficult periods… Me breaking up with my very first girlfriend and she… I didn’t really know what was wrong with her… But once we made up, those things never got mentioned anymore… And after being close friends following the weeks after, she kissed me one day… And we stayed together ever since… Now, you’re mom and I are old farts… *smiles* [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Hehehe… [br]
Blain: Life has many difficulties and challenges, but we all made through… You’re mom and I did… And you will too… But sometimes, all it takes is someone to give you a nudge in the right direction… And I’ll always be there to give you that nudge… We love you, Kaelyn…… And we’re really proud of you… Just go with the things that feel right… And of course, not everything is going to plan or decision you thought felt right went wrong, but then you just need to shrug and move on… Because that’s the only thing you can do… Looking back and trying to change the past isn’t gonna work… It’s like catching wind… All you can do is to rectify the things in the present, so that you wouldn’t have to worry about the future… You’ll be fine, hun… I know you will… *smiles* [br]
[br]
Kaelyn: Thanks dad… [br]
Blain: Anytime… [br]
[br]
It stayed silent for a very long time while we were watching the stars again… She puts an arm around my shoulder and I held her close… But after a while I started to feel tired… Like I said, I’m not that young anymore… I know I wouldn’t live much longer… I’m dying… I felt it with every day that passed by… It might be over for me tomorrow, or in a few months… Which is why I stayed with Kaelyn that night, watching the stars while we were hugging each other, knowing it might be my last night I ever get to see the stars again… Kaelyn didn’t have to know that I was dying… Not that night… [br]
[br]
I felt the warm sun shining on my face the moment I opened my eyes… And I noticed that Blain was sitting upright in bed, staring outside the window… When I looked at Blain, I felt he had the same dream I had… The moment I looked outside the window, I saw the great oak tree where we buried our daughter many years ago… The things I carved in that tree for her was still visible after all these years… As long as she knows that… [br]

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