One Day Soon
Tayla Vannelli
Her brown, wavy hair flies behind her as she runs. Her hands are held to the side so that she might touch every flower she passes. She looks over her shoulder with a smile on her little face and an adorable laugh escaping her lips. She giggles as a man races to her and sweeps her into his arms. Her small and silky white dress blows in the wind as he spins her in his arms. She laughs uncontrollably, and he smiles down at her as if she were the reason the sun was shining that day. Her tiny hands reach up and stroke his beard. He makes a silly face at her and she sticks out her tongue at him.
The man throws the little girl in the air and she spins on her way down. The grace in her movements is dream-like, almost unnatural. Her golden-brown skin and dark eyes glow in the sunlight. He lets her down and she runs into the field of sunflowers. She spins and spins until the dizziness overtakes her, and she falls into a bed of daisies.
The tall man bends down and searches through the field of flowers. He looks and looks until he finds the most beautiful flower. When he hands it to her, her eyes light up like stars were shooting past inside them. She holds it to her chest and takes a deep breath through her nose. He watches her with a smile on his face, a smile filled with sadness and joy, as if he has waited a very long time to see her like this.
She looks up at him and holds up her hands. He scoops her up onto her feet, and then walks with her little hand reaching up to his.
“I missed you,” she says sweetly.
He looks over at her. “I was always with you.”
She looks at the ground with a small frown on her face. “I know, but I didn’t get to hold your hand.”
His eyes grow sad. “It has been a long time since I’ve been here with you, hasn’t it?” She nods. “Sweetie, I could hardly wait for you to come home. I was always there to talk to you, but I wanted you here. I hated seeing you in pain, but I knew one day you would come home. I knew that you had great things to do while you were away, and I loved watching you bring love to everyone you knew.”
“Is that why you didn’t take me home sooner?”
He nods and puts her on his shoulders. “I had incredible plans for you. What you did for me still warms my heart. If I had taken you home early, then some people never would have known me. You told everyone you knew about me, and many of those people will be coming home soon because of you.”
She frowns. “I feel like I didn’t do much.”
“You did a lot more than you realized. Even when you didn’t talk about me, people still felt my love through you. I wanted you to come home, but I wanted you to bring as many people home with you as possible.”
She shivers. “But it hurt so much when I was there…” He holds her hands over his chest. “I know, sweetie, I know. But it doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?” She shakes her head slowly against his. “And it never will again.”
“Dad?”
“Yes, princess?”
“Where are we going?”
He shrugs. “My house.”
My eyes open and stare at the ceiling. I groan as my body aches and pain courses through my veins. My withered hand reaches toward my nightstand and grabs the glass of water waiting there. The glass shakes as I bring it to my lips, and my throat struggles to swallow. I close my eyes as I prepare myself for another day of this suffering. I think of the man’s face, and my skin floods with warmth. One day soon I will go home. I will run through flowers and feel the sun on my face. But today, I’m going to bring another person to my Father’s house.