Elastic Heart - Aimi

"Good day, Miss Furr" the floweriest tipped his hat as I walked into his store "a single lily again?"

I smiled as he wraps the single white flower before exchanging the good man with money and tips. This had been a weekly routine after the struggles I've been through.

I opened the gate of The Springfield Graveyard where lies the innocent souls who was taken by death. I counted my walks exactly 20 phases before stopping in front of a tombstone, which written:

Thomas Albert Furr

1951-2014

Here lies a Loving Husband,

a Loving Father and a True Friend.

"Hey... It's me again" I sat on the ground where I caressed the indent letters on the tombstone before placing the lonely lily as I discard the wilted one. "I missed you..."

You see, my father and I aren't usually in the same page in everything. We used too, until my mother passed away when I was 17. It took us by surprised. She always happy and showed no sign of illness but devil took her away from us. That is when everything changed.

Thomas changed because he couldn't took the news. Each day, he would disappear through the night, washing away his loneliness pain and arrived home smelling like a hobo in the street in the early morning.

I remembered that we would exchange lashes of courses words each night before he left the house to drunk himself to sleep. While in the morning before I went to school, he would apologised and promised he won’t repeat the night again. It's funny how some promises meant to be broken.

Once he came home on a Friday night with the smell of alcohol lingers from his old body, he barged into my room where, Amber, one of my friend was doing our homework.

"OUT! YOU!" He pointed at Amber and screamed her out the house. I looked at him unbelievably with my mouth opened. "DAD! How could you?!"

"YOU! I tried my hardest to raise you and this is how you repay me?!" He shook my shoulder, pushing me on to the sofa in the living room. "You are disgusting!!"

"Well look who's talking!" I stand my ground, looking at his soulless eyes. "YOU'RE DRUNK DAD! You smelled alcohol!! You're the one who should be disgusted!"

My cheeks became numb before blood starts flowing to it, making myself realised what he had done. Tears starts forming in my eyes, shocked took the room. He never slapped me or even hurt me.

"Honey, I'm-" my father expression changed after a moment which he also realised the situation. He tried to speak but I flees the living room to my room. "ROSE! ROSE!!"

I locked my door as knocked forcefully demanding to enter. I leaned my back on the door before tears starting to escape from my eyes.

After every shout and argue, I had always dreamed to run away. Just to escape but I can. I couldn't. How bad it is, he is still my father and I love him with all my heart.

"Dad, I will always forgive you." I whispered, one hand on the tombstone, while the other wipes the single tear that escaped. "I love you dad."

"I'm moving to LA next week," I sighed, telling the stone the news. "M-maybe it’s not the worst that could happen and clearly this would not be my last visit. I will try to visit you as often as I could."

I sobbed, tears starts flowing down my cheeks. Though through all the fights, I always will cherish the sweet memories that we hat together. When we went vacation in Hawaii, a turtle visited us as we swam in the blue ocean. Or the time when I fell sick where he would stayed by my side and bought me ice cream. And also the time, during winter where we had a snowball fights. It was magical.

"Dad, I hope you and mom are happily together up there." I stand up, patting the tombstone. "Because you two will always be in my heart."