“You are lucky your father trusts you,” Lyra said when Roberta ended the phone call. “I doubt it. He is worried about his car. That’s why he called,” Roberta answered taking a sip of her tea.
“Do you know how long it takes to get my father’s permission to hang out with you?” Lyra asked but didn’t wait for Roberta to answer. “A month.”
“I think he cares about you that is all. So, did you hear about Heather’s crush?” Roberta waved that issue away and started another topic.
Spending time with Roberta had its ups and downs, but Lyra decided it was best to go home after an hour. On that day, Roberta was into gossiping and talking about her vacation rather than listening to Lyra’s problem.
When Lyra reached home, she saw her father reading the newspaper on the recliner chair. He looked up and instantly asked where she went.
“I went out with Roberta to discuss our community project,” Lyra lied, knowing she was already in a big trouble because she sneaked out. “Please don’t be mad.”
“You were supposed to inform me your whereabouts. I told you this so many times,”her father stood up.
“I’m sorry. You weren’t home, so I told Mason that I was going out.”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” her father sighed. “Anyway, have you decided what course to study? You have been at home for months doing nothing.”
When Lyra heard that question, she felt uncomfortable. The last time her father asked her, she didn’t know what to say and although weeks had passed, her answer was still the same. When alone at home, she did the cleaning and cooking while everyone left for work.
“So? Have you decided?”
“I still want to start my own business,” Lyra replied knowing what would happen next. There will be an argument like before. She didn’t want to go through that again. “I know you disapproved of it but I’m going to try.”
“Try? You don’t have time, Lyra. Everyone in your class is already in college or doing something with their life.”
“Why can Mason and Ethan set up their business and I couldn’t? Dad, this is so unfair. I have that passion in my heart too,” Lyra slipped. She had been holding onto those words for months. There were nights when Lyra stayed up thinking of the ways she had been treated unfairly.
“You will fail and waste money. It is better for you to further your education and then, work,” her father insisted, seriousness in his voice. “I don’t ever want to hear another word of this business nonsense. You hear me?
“Is it because I am a girl? You think I won’t be able to be successful because of my gender?” Lyra pushed on, not wanting to give up. Her father was quiet. His face fell at those questions. “Is that also why you are always unfair to me? Why can Ethan and Mason do everything but when it comes to me, you treat me differently?”
Both were quiet.
Both had different thoughts running wildly in their mind. The front door opened, and her two brothers walked in while still laughing. The mood changed suddenly when they realised they’ve interrupted a serious conversation. Their father sat on the recliner chair while Lyra stood in the corner of the living room with a scowl on her face. They walked into the kitchen quickly and decided to stay in there while eavesdropping.
“I wish it was that simple like black and white, Lyra,” her father spoke for the first time in minutes. “I believe women can be successful in business. It is not because of your gender, I assure you that.”
“Then what is it? Why do you hate me so much?” Lyra exploded, showing a little more of her mother’s quick temper.
“I don’t hate you either.”
“You will not tell me the truth, so I will just leave now,” Lyra said and marched to her room.
Lyra sat on the bed and flipped through her photo album. She ran her fingers along her mother’s photo and wished she was still alive. Her mother died in a car crash when Lyra was a baby.
At the bottom of that photo was a group photo. Lyra observed it and thought the man standing next to her mother looked familiar, but he didn’t look like her father. The more she studied the photo, the more she wanted to deny it.
“It’s because I am not yours,” Lyra said when she went downstairs an hour later with the photo album in her hand.
Her father was surprised but nodded as Lyra was old enough to know the truth.
“I’m sorry for not telling you the truth and treating you unfairly,” her father said. “Your mother and your biological father were killed in the crash, so I took you in. Your father was my best friend once. I only wanted the best for you. I thought I was protecting you.”
Hearing this, Lyra didn’t know how to feel, but for the first time she finally understood the way she was treated.
Carina Lim bears different messages through her fiction. These messages could be useful in life. She can be contacted at mermaidgal03@yahoo.com
