The phone is ringing in the empty room. Marianna hangs up. She squats against the wall, weakly hugging her knees with both arms. "What did I do wrong? Do I still not understand mom enough?" Marianna looks at a room no different to the one in the previous loop, her gaze settling on her mother's phone. "Sorry, I'll just take a quick look. Uh, there's a password? What could it be? Is it my birthday? Let's give it a try." She taps in her birthday and the screen unlocks. There aren't many contacts in Nori's phone, not much in the way of recordings either. A few treasured moments and photos. Marianna can see herself present in almost every one of them.
Marianna taps on a photo of her, her mom and her dad. Marianna looked so happy, and so did Nori, and even her dad looked pretty happy too. The caption read, "Mari just turned eight! I just want her to grow up healthy and happy!"
Marianna swipes through her mother's feed again. She taps on another photo, of another birthday, but this time, Marianna's father was on his phone. The caption read, "Mari's nine today! I just want her to be happy every day!"
Marianna continues swiping down, inevitably coming across photos from her own birthday. This time, the photo was different. Marianna's face was no longer happy, and her father wasn't in the picture. There was also a shark plushie next to Marianna. The caption read, "Mari's another year older! Mom's always going to be here to watch over you."
Marianna looks at the birthday pictures on the phone, memories floating across her mind like colorful bubbles.
"Mari, you dad's busy today, he can't be with you for your birthday.
"Wah..."
"Don't cry... look, your dad brought you a birthday present. A big shark, your favorite."
Marianna hugs the shark plushie, and slowly stops crying.
"Alright, let's blow out the candles, my little birthday star."
"Mom... dad... why can't you two just be together...?" Tears filled her eyes. Marianna's thoughts turn to the day she least wants to remember.
"We never know what you're doing all day, you don't come home, you won't answer the phone, do you even care about us? Step out of this house and we're getting a divorce!" A sharp female voice threatened.
"Divorce me then! Who would want to stay with you!" An indifferent male voice responded back.
A loud bang, then silence. Nori enters the room, forcing a smile.
"Mari, your dad is going away for work. It might be a long time before he can come home."
"... I knew it, I always knew dad wouldn't come back."
"Mari, come with me. You'll never have a good life with your mom. She's crazy!"
"Mari's done with you." Nori leans against the door with all her strength, keeping him outside.
"Mari, I'll come back for you. Don't believe your mom, she's lying to you!"
"Get out of my house, take your nonsense with you!"
"Mari, do you want to live by the sea with mom? You like sharks, right? We'll be neighbors with the sharks soon."
"I remember mom being happy when we moved, but I wasn't happy at all. I didn't want to leave Hazlitt. I didn't understand why you had to separate. It took me a long time to adapt to the new school, the other students made fun of me because my parents weren't together." Marianna sighs. "Is keeping me close to you the only thing that brings you happiness...?" As Marianna scrolls through the phone, a few text messages catch her attention.
"I won't be home for dinner tonight."
"It's your daughter's birthday. Are you not going to come home?"
2-23, 17:08
"I've got an important meeting, you keep her company."
"Where's the gift you bought for her? I'll make sure she gets it."
Marianna continues scrolling through the chat history.
2-23 17:23
"I've been too busy, sorry, forgot to buy one."
"Can't even remember your daughter's birthday!... call yourself a father"
2:23 17:57
"It's just a present... she'll be fine with the one you got her."
"Client is calling. Gotta go."
Marianna looks at the timestamps, lost in thought. "So, that shark plushie... Mom bought it? Did mom do all that just so I wouldn't hate my dad?" She keeps scrolling, and discovers a few memos, flagged in red. She clicks on the one labeled 'Moving House'.
"Moving to another town is a good idea. Mari and I won't have to deal with her father anymore. She really doesn't want to move, but she's a kid. I guess she'll get used to it with time."
6-22 23:32
Then Marianna clicks another one labeled "Mari's Situation'.
"Mari's still not happy. Her teacher said she's been bullied because of the situation with her dad. What should I do?"
9-22 21:09
"I talked to the parents of the kids who were bullying Mari, and I've made sure to pick her up and drop her off whenever she goes to school. It's not ideal, but at least it's harder for them to bully her now."
10-5 22:26
"Mari's been doing much better lately, even made some new friends. We've been in Accro for a while now. Bringing up a kid on your own is tough, but it's good to see we can be happy, just living peacefully together. I'm going to have to work hard to make sure she always feels like this is a safe place for her."
12-25 10:25
"That's how it was? Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Marianna smiles bitterly.
YOU ARE READING
Endless Summer
Fantasy[ Bonds : Retribution Prophecy ] [ Part 1 of the Estero Harbor Saga ] Prologue: Nightmare - Finished Act I: Early Summer - The Beginning - Finished - Dreaming? - Finished - Secrets - Finished - By The Clif...
