Hopefully it still gives you an insight on Melody's past.
I have plans to talk a little bit more on it in the later part of the story.
And we're actually still in the intro part of the story. The fun hasn't really begun ._.
If in this chapter, you haven't deduced that Melody has a rather low self-esteem,
Then I have failed as a writer.
Anyway, enjoy(hopefully) and thanks for you comments, it will help me improve!
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“The fool actually did that?” My dad asked, his eyebrows raised in amazement, but I could also hear a hint of displeasure in his tone. Bits of mash potato were sent flying out of his mouth.
“Steven! I just washed that tablecloth!” My mother chided him gently, tapping his head lightly with her wooden spoon in disapproval.
“Haha, sorry Mel. Grandpa Edmund always said I’d often spray it, not say it.”
“Something I have to live with, sadly.” She sighed dramatically.
“Hey, you married me, woman.” My dad laughed, planting an affectionate kiss on his wife’s cheek, causing her to giggle and blush a bright shade of crimson.
“I think my dinner is coming back up.” I remarked, pretending to gag. Sometimes my parents can be so immature.
My father rolled his eyes and lightly punched my shoulder, “You’ll survive.” Loading a couple of cheese crackers into his mouth, he continued, “After all, Melina and I will soon have to put up with you doing the same thing with whichever boy you bring home.”
“Gross. I don’t need that picture. No boy in their right mind would want me anyway.”
“Which reminds me, no boys are allowed in your room. In fact, they have to keep within the kitchen, living room, dining room and bathroom. Somewhere where I can keep tabs on you teenagers.”
“Dad, you’re already going all stereotypical ‘overly protective father’ on me.” I groan. “Didn’t you hear me at all?”
“Anyway!” my mother cut in, “Straying from original topic. That Nathaniel kid actually tried to kidnap you and bring you to some dinner treat by the boss?”
“I’m going to have to talk to that boy someday.”
“Dad, it’s fine, I can handle him myself.”
“Ahem.” My mother cleared her throat pointedly.
“Humph. Well as I was saying, that boy has got some nerve taking you on. You sure can pack a punch when you’re mad.”
“I didn’t manage to punch his lights out, unfortunately. There were too many eyewitnesses. What a shame, it would have made my day.”
“You would have if there weren’t anyone around. Have we ever told you about the time we revealed to you the truth?”
“Huh? Why are we suddenly on this topic?”
“We experienced the worst case of your temper’s destructive nature then.”
“You make me sound like a hurricane. It couldn’t be that bad.”
“It was.”
“Is it true, mom?” I glanced at my mother for confirmation. “What exactly did I do that was so terrible?”
She avoided my gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. “It was our fault. It was my fault.”
***
“Look at the pretty blue birdies, Momma!” The little girl squealed, pointing excitedly at the flock of birds crowding around the bird bath.
“They sure are pretty, Melody. Come on, let’s go get you an ice cream. What flavour do you want?”
The girl paused to think. “I wanna chocolate and strawberry and vanilla and…”
“Woah, woah, woah. Slow down there, Melody. You can’t eat all of them, you’ll have to pick one.” The father chuckles, affectionately patting his daughter on the head.
“Awwwww. What does Momma and Daddy wanna eat?”
“Anything you want, dear.”
“Oh, I know! Momma likes chocolate! So I’ll have chocolate!” The girl flashes her parents an angelic smile. She is a picture of perfect contentment and happiness, her mood, positively infectious.
Licking her ice cream cone and offering some to her parents, the girl ponders her happiness. She feels blessed to have such parents. Impulsively, she asks them,
“Momma, Daddy… do you love me?”
“Of course we do, Melody. You mean everything to us. We love you very, very much, don’t ever think otherwise.”
Extremely pleased with her father’s response, she fires another question. “Momma and Daddy won’t ever hurt Melody. Momma and Daddy never lies to Melody. You always said that we should be honest people. You aaaaalways tell me everything right?”
This time, her parents show signs of hesitation in answering. They look at each other, their eyes sending each other silent messages. “We won’t intentionally hurt you, ever. Yes, we should always be honest and not tell lies.”
“Come and sit down on this bench, Melody.” The man gestures to a wooden park bench, long enough to accommodate the three of them.
The little girl grins, flashing a missing canine tooth. “Okey dokey, Daddy!”
Her dainty feet swing back and forth, too short to reach the ground. She beams at her quiet parents every few seconds, who are seated on either side of her.
“Melody… when you asked if we told you everything, there’s one thing you don’t know. Your mother and I think you deserve to know, to be honest with you.”
The girl, only eight, is still oblivious to the anxiety in her father’s voice. She is curious, but not angry. “What Daddy?”
“Your Daddy and I…we’re not who you think we are.”
The girl’s eyes widen and she lowers her voice, “Are you aliens?” she whispers conspiratorially.
Her parents cannot help but give her a small smile.
“No, Melody. We’re humans, just like you. But…”
“Yes, Momma?”
“You were adopted, Melody dear.”
The little girl cocks her head to one side and stops licking her ice cream. “What’s aaa-dopp-tud?”
“It means that your mother and I are not your real parents.”
“… not… real?”
“No, Melody. We don’t know who your real parents are. We’re called your foster parents.”
The couple waits, watching their child’s expression carefully, holding their breaths.
Drip drop. At first a few fall, then the tears start to pour down at an alarming rate. The child’s petite body trembles from the sobbing and the unfinished ice cream cone lands on the pebbled floor.
“I don’t understand.” The girl cries, wiping away the water droplets only to have them be replaced by fresh ones. “Who are my Momma and Daddy? Why don’t they want Melody?”
Her reaction was expected. “Shh… it’s okay, Melody. It’s okay.” The lady coos to the weeping child, enveloping the child in a tight embrace, stroking her hair and face. “It’s not that they don’t want Melody, they probably just don’t have the money to raise you up.”
“What did I do? Did I make them angry?”
Her parents’ hearts break at the pitiful sight of their daughter. “It’s not your fault. It was never your fault, Melody. Don’t ever think that.” The man wipes away the salty tears with his handkerchief and rubs the girl’s back to ease the hiccoughs.
“Let’s go home, Melody. We can talk about it then.”
The child stops sobbing, something sparked in her light green eyes.
Anger.
“I don’t want to go home! That’s not my home!” The child screams, clutching her head and shaking it. She backs away from them.
“Melody, calm down. We’ll explain everything when we get ba-”
“Why? Why don’t they want me? Why doesn’t anyone want Melody? Why???”
“We want you, Melody. We love you so very much, believe us. We don’t want to hurt you.” The lady approaches the child, her hands outstretched, moisture forming in her eyes.
“Go away! I hate you! You’re not my real parents! You lied to me!” The girl runs off and her parents pursue her, repeatedly calling her name, begging her to return to them. The people in park look on in shock at the frightening reaction.
The tears of anger fall at a rapid pace and the child continues to run, run anywhere, as long as it was away from her ‘parents’. She sees a family with four children, all four of them were so happy.
She watched the children get loving kisses and hugs from their father and mother, watched how perfect their family was. She became envious.
The girl runs up to them, her face still streaked with tears. She pushes the boy nearest to her into the fountain next to him, and his head collides with the cement statue of a mermaid.
The boy’s mother screams and rushes to attend to her son. He is unconscious, his body limp. The clear blue water of the fountain is stained by a few small splashes of red. Everyone is horrified and passers-by stop to help.
The girl’s father picks her off the ground and the child struggles. A crunch is heard as the girl’s fist lands on her father’s left eye, bruising it. He yelps, but still holds on tightly to his daughter.
The girl’s mother apologises profusely to the boy’s parents, dialing for an ambulance and giving them her phone number.
“I am so sorry, Ma’am. My daughter is extremely upset about something and we really need to sort it out for her. Please, take my number and call me. I promise we’ll pay for everything, but we really have to go. I’m so, so sorry about this. I don’t know what came over her.”
The boy’s parents accept the number. “Just, go. Sort out the matter with your daughter. I will call you later.” The boy’s father sighs, covering his face with his hand.
The girl and her parents make a hasty exit out of the park, just as the ambulance arrives.
The girl, cradled safely in her father’s arms, cries herself to sleep.
***
“Oh God. I really did that?” I sucked in my breath in horror. “I’m so sorry! I don’t hate you guys and I’m so sorry I gave you a black eye, Dad!”
“That’s okay. It was our fault anyway. We picked the worst timing to break the news to you.”
“Did the boy ever recover?”
“We don’t know. His parents never called us.”
“Didn’t call you?”
“We were willing to pay for the medical bills and everything, but there was no call, no lawsuit… nothing.”
“Oh.” Was all I could muster.
The rest of the meal I spent eating in silence as my parents conversed about their work, pondering the event and knowing exactly why I had reacted so.
Imagine a lonely child, the kind who didn’t have any friends in school. When most children would know how to play a simple game of hopscotch by then, she wouldn’t. She develops hatred towards herself, blaming herself for being unwanted and cast aside.
How do you think the child would react when she is told that her own parents do not even want her?
I thought this was really good. Truly.
I understand now.
I’m sure you are hinting at something from the past but I’m not sure why or what… I think you need to reword this so that the reader understands what is going on here. Also, slip in some facial expressions and feelings and such. That might help as well =)
