Locks of pink hair flew across the room like petals. A man whose job was to protect her solely had laid his hands on his own daughter. A man who was obligated to take care of her had struck her face.
The reason was that she had forgotten to put his clothes in the right place. Because of her careless mistake, he was late for work, which earned him a scolding from his superiors.
Aylin shivered in the corner of the liver room as her father approached her with a metal rod in his hand.
"You know what type of second-hand embarrassment you caused me?" He said whilst clutching the metal rod.
Aylin shook her head frantically trying to apologise.
"Please Dad, I will be a good girl from now on… please don't hit me," She said with her eyes filled with fear.
That's when he saw his own reflection in the mirror. He froze up seeing himself holding a weapon to hit his daughter. His eyes widened as he realised what kind of father he had become.
Hearing the crying, Aylin's mom rushed in and saw her husband about to punish Aylin and instinctively rushed towards him and threw herself onto him.
He shook her off and slammed her onto the ground after a struggle. Both of them breathed heavily as they stared at each other. He was about to raise the weapon to strike his own wife but stopped just in time when Aylin grabbed him from behind.
With one thrust from his elbow, Aylin flew onto the ground. He stood there solemnly looking over both of them. A feeling of guilt washed over him as he saw them. The sound of metal hitting the floor and the front door opening and then closing made Aylin open up her eyes again.
Aylin's mother had always embraced her into her arms when she opened her eyes. She held her head with her arms telling her that it would be alright.
She wiped off some of Aylin's nose blood and continued to comfort her. Without understanding why her dad had acted the way he did, Aylin just cried in her mom's arms.
As time went by there were still no signs of her dad returning. It was just mother and daughter for a few peaceful years until that faithful day.
Aylin's father was sitting on the staircase outside of his apartment complex smoking a cigarette when a cloaked stranger appeared right next to him. Aylin's father looked up at the person who was standing beside him but he couldn't get a good look at their face. Rain was pouring down as he sat there under the protection of the staircase.
He simply thought the stranger had just taken cover from the rain and had just ignored them. He took another long inhale and coughed.
Aylin's dad blew out the smoke which rose into the air to block the way of the stranger. He quickly apologised before standing up to leave.
But that's when he felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him.
He turned around and saw that the stranger was a beautiful young lady with blonde hair. Her eyes were like the blue summer sky. She pulled down the hood and looked at him with a gentle smile.
"Do you need help with anything young lady?"
"Demino Aylivich, 46 years, divorced, works at multiple construction sites and lives without a purpose."
Aylin's dad turned his head back towards the blonde lady in shock as she mentioned his background.
"I have a proposition for you."
"No thanks." Aylin's father stepped into the rain and started to walk away from this crazy lady.
"I can make your family forgive you. I can give your purpose again. You can become the father you always wanted to be."
The rain started to soak into his coat making his dirty grey coat blacker every second he stood there still in the rain.
"I can help you, Demino."
He clutched his fists and continued to walk away.
The mysterious blonde lady stood there under the staircase watching as Demino hastily walked across the street and slowly vanished out of sight.
A yellow flower bloomed on her cheek and yellow flowers started to sprout in the footsteps Demino took.
In a small local diner, Demino sat there with his soaked clothes hanging on the booth. A waitress in an apron cheerily walked up to him when she saw him.
"Hello!! Mr Aylivich!"
He greeted the joyous waitress and told her that he would order the usual meal.
The girl had blue eyes and long pink hair, just like his daughter. He had frequently visited this restaurant and had made acquaintances with one waitress who would always take his order. She was the daughter of the diner.
He would occasionally talk to her about issues he was having whenever the restaurant had no customers. She always listened to the way he had to say no matter what it was.
Demino would watch how the waitress and her dad would hug each other in the kitchen. A sense of emptiness always filled him when he saw them together.
"That was what I was meant to have," he mumbled
"That was what I was meant to have," a familiar voice mumbled right next to him.
Infront of the table sat the same blonde lady from earlier. She bent forward, resting her face on her hands before asking him one more time if he wanted to see his family again.
"It isn't that I don't want to see them."
"20,000 livis debt and a severe alcohol abuse to the point you would hurt your own family."
He slammed his hand onto the table, proclaiming that he wasn't that type of man anymore. He was clean, no debt, no abuse but the only thing he didn't have was a family. Before he could fix all of his own issues, it was already too late.
Demino slumped onto the table with a gigantic sigh. A hot plate of food slid in front of him and he looked up to see a bright smile from the waitress.
He pushed his plate towards the blonde lady and told her that she could have it.
She accepted his kind gesture and started to eat whilst talking to him.
"You can prove yourself to your family, that you are a newly changed man," she said whilst chewing her food.
"It has been years since I last saw them, they probably hate me after everything I did towards them."
"Did you apologise?"
"No…"
"Then you can start there, just apologise to them."
"I don't think I can do that."
He was imagining the disgusted faces of his wife and daughter. Expressions full of disdain for him. He couldn't bear such a sight.
The blonde lady stood up from the table as she finished her plate and started to walk towards the exit.
"If you ever change your mind, just think of me and I will come to help you," she smiled before leaving.
The waitress came over and took up his plate that had been eaten.
"Do you know that person Mr. Aylivich?"
"I have never met her before in my life."
"If that is the case!" The waitress grabbed his hands and told him to wait before rushing back into the kitchen where she grabbed some leftover desserts and put them on his table.
"On the house!" She smiled.
He looked up and for a split moment, he swore he could have seen a future version of his own daughter. But then realised that it was just tears that made his vision blurry. He quickly wiped them off before anyone noticed and silently enjoyed the cake.
The words from that enigmatic lady continued to haunt him day after that. He couldn't stop thinking about his family. His daughter, his ex-wife were the only things he could think of.
And one day those thoughts broke through and he found himself in front of the gates of his former home. He would prove to that lady that he could do this without needing her help.
He knocked once, twice, thrice, but there was no answer. He started to grow impatient and gently pushed down the door handle to see if it was locked.
Surprisingly it was not and he called out if anyone was home. But there was still no answer. There were clear signs that they still lived here, their shoes were still in the entrance and their clothes were still hung up.
He knew it was wrong but still he entered, he called out again but still no response.
He entered the living room and saw his wife. She was lying on the floor with a drink spilt over her.
"Luna?"
Quickly he went up to her and checked if she was alright. He shook her a few times but she wouldn't wake up.
"Luna… wake up!"
He then looked at the drinks and realised that someone had probably poisoned her. Gently he pressed his fingers against her neck trying to find a heartbeat.
But her body was cold as stone and there were no signs of a heartbeat.
Demino grieved and held his beloved's corpse but then he realised that his daughter was nowhere to be found.
He rushed out of the house and searched around frantically for her.
Demino searched and searched, scouring across the city for her, just to find nothing. Not only had he lost his wife, but his daughter as well. If only he had listened to that blonde lady and done it sooner. If he had done it any day sooner, both of them… would still be here.
Outside of the gates of the house traces of yellow petals were blown away by the wind.