That was when Kada saw an eerily familiar car making its way up the main drive. No way. She did a double take. No way, he wouldn’t. It can’t be. She read the license plate. Zjik! Zjik zjik zjik mawhging zjik.
What should she do? She wanted to run away—activate her Curse and sink into the ground, or maybe start sprinting in the other direction and she could never catch him. Or maybe, maybe, maybe, she should march right up to him the moment he stepped out of the car and tell him off!
But none of that happened. As soon as Kada saw the hint of his face through the windshield, she froze. She was suddenly a kid again, and the biggest authority in her life was quickly approaching her. Why he was here, she couldn’t imagine, but she found it hard to believe it was to smooth things over.
“There you are, Kada.” She was filled with a confusing swirl of emotions. Of course the overwhelming ones were dread and anxiety, but there was also a healthy dose of guilt and empathy. It was certainly her father, but not quite the same man she remembered.
He was shorter than the picture of him in her head, a bit skinnier too like he hadn’t been eating enough. There was also far less hair on his head—the once hideable bald spot now the main feature. To really top it off though, he looked so old. It had only been half a decade since she’d seen him, but he looked like he’d aged twenty years at least.
“You are my Kada, aren’t you?” He suddenly started to look her over closely, uncertain for a moment. She was stunned again that he wouldn’t recognize her, but the last time they’d seen each other in person, she had an entirely different skin color, so she couldn’t blame him. But did that mean he hadn’t even seen a picture of her in all this time, or put together that the ‘Kada’ all over the news was his daughter?
“Come along then,” her father suddenly grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her. The confusion never ceased; what he was doing, or why she was actually following him as he dragged her.
“Where are we going?” she finally spoke up.
“I’m taking you home,” he didn’t even stop pulling her to answer. “I’ve already found a great therapist for you, and we’ll work through your criminal record. I know a guy who can iron that out for us. You’ll have to do a lot of community service, but he said two years in prison at most.”
“I knew you were never all there, Kada, but to think you killed someone. My daughter, a Fiend?! Color me surprised when I got that phone call a few days ago. What will the community think? Hell, they already know, don’t they? All those murmurs and finger pointing make sense now.”
“Wait…” Kada stopped in her tracks. Her father had opened the door to the back seat of his and attempted to guide her inside, but now she wouldn’t budge. His sad human strength paled in comparison to a Fiend who didn’t want to be moved. “You didn’t even know I was a Fiend?”
“Well, how would I know?!” her father argued back. “Not once, not a single time did you ever contact me since you just up and ran away one day. You could have been dead for all I know. You know I don’t watch the news or any of that garbage. So sure I knew about Fiends, but why would I expect my daughter to ever be one, huh?!”
“And here you are, tanned to zjik, your hair all crazy, and dressed like a beach slob. You look nothing like the daughter I remember, and I never would have recognized you if I hadn’t been able to see your face up close. So forgive me if it never crossed my mind that my daughter could be a killer!”
“Yet you never thought once to check in on me, like a good father would?!” Kada broke away from him fully now. “I know I wasn’t the easiest person to find for a while, but my name has been plastered on every article for the past year. You’d think your own family would at least put in that much effort to try to find you or at least check to see if you’re okay!” She was on the verge of tears from pent-up anger and dejection.
“My, my, you’ve gone and upset her, Orman. That’s just what I’d expect from you.” Kada looked for the voice, only finding a woman she didn’t know. “And just where do you think you’re taking her?” From that, Kada got the idea that she’d come to intervene, but why? She had never in her life seen this gaudily dressed woman who looked like she was spat out of a Shindig lounge.
The woman certainly hadn’t come along with her father, so what was she doing here? Kada glanced over to the man to see if she could garner any kind of insight, but he had been spooked as if he’d seen a ghost.”
“Rianne…” he muttered her name. “That is you, isn’t it…? How dare you show your face in front of either of us ever again!”
“Wait, Rianne?!” Kada couldn’t believe her ears. “Like THAT Rianne?! Like my mom, Rianne?! That’s my mom? You’re my mom?!” She hadn’t seen her mother since she was basically still a toddler, and she only remained a vague silhouette in Kada’s memory—a silhouette this woman didn’t exactly match.
“Kada, I need you to understand something, right now!” Orman demanded her attention. “That woman, that fraud, she is not your mother! Your mother left us over twenty years ago and never looked back, never cared about us the moment she walked out that door. She may have the same name, may even look a little like you, but she is nothing to us!”
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“Of course I’m your mother, sweetie,” Rianne trotted over. “And here I am when you need me the most, to save you from your terrible father who’s trying to control your life. It’s his favorite hobby after all.” She suddenly wrapped her arms around her daughter and gave her a big hug. “I’ve missed you, my little bubble bug.”
A wave of nostalgia hit Kada in the face, and memories came screeching into her head. That was the nickname her mother had always called her, that only the three of them would know. There was no doubt, this was her long-lost mother.
“And look at you, all grown up and so successful!” she took a step back and gave Kada a once over glance with a proud smile. “I bet your father doesn’t even understand all that you’ve become. One of the leaders of this organization, an extremely successful children’s author, building your own resort. My daughter, I’m so impressed and I couldn’t be prouder of you.”
“You… you know all that?” Kada was bewildered, never imagining that her mother ever thought about her again after she left.
“Of course, you’re my one and only daughter, silly!” Rianne chuckled. “I’ve always kept an eye out for you, even when we were far apart. That’s why I knew this horrible man was going to try and take it all away from you.”
“Keeping an eye on us?!” Orman objected. “More like you’ve been spying on us in case you needed to manipulate us in the future!”
“What do you say we get out of here, Kada,” Rianne suggested, completely ignoring her rambling ex-husband. “Away from this grumpy old man where we can just have some mother-daughter time and catch up.” Before Kada could even answer, she found herself being led by the hand for the second time that day.
“Wait wait wait!” Orman rushed in front of them, spreading his arms to try and stop them in their tracks. “Kada, listen to me! I know I haven’t been the best father, but I need you to trust me on this. I’m only trying to look out for you. And she—this succubus pretending to act like your mother—only wants to exploit you. She will bait you with love, and then suck you dry, taking everything you have. Once she’s used you up, she’ll toss you aside just like she did to us all those years ago!”
“Our daughter is a grown woman, Orman! Lest you forget!” Rianne continued to tug Kada’s arm, trying to pull her around the stubborn man. “She can make her own choices.”
“Yes, she is our daughter!” Orman went and grabbed Kada’s other arm, pulling her in the opposite direction. “And unlike you, I’m actually trying to be a proper parent and look out for her!”
“By limiting her?!” the mother spat back, pulling harder now. “She doesn’t need your help, she’s doing fantastic. Kada, sweetie, let’s go on a shopping spree and forget this simpleton.”
“No, she needs to get as far away from your bad influence as she can!” Orman really was trying to pull with all of his might. “Let’s go sit down and talk, Kada. Whatever it takes to help you, whatever you need. I just can’t let you make the same mistakes that I did!”
Kada’s mind was swirling to the point that she didn’t really notice her arms being tugged. Her innate strength was enough to keep her from moving with her feet firmly planted. Before she could sort out all of her feelings and figure out what to do, the ground around her erupted and hundreds of black vines shot out.
Both of her parents were wrapped up and pulled away from her, now restrained in the air. Drim suddenly popped into view in front of her which had to be Phon’s doing. “Now can I let you down, or are you going to continue and behave like children?” He called up to the alleged adults. Both of them nodded their heads—their only recourse since their mouths were covered too.
“And who the hell is this guy?” was the first thing Orman asked once he was set free.
“My, my, Drim Drazah in the flesh,” Rianne answered for him. “I’d heard the rumors, but you’re even more impressive in person.”
“Are you her boyfriend?” Kada’s father asked directly.
“No, dad! He’s—”
“Would it be a problem if I was?” Drim cut Kada off and sent Orman a look that shut him up immediately. “I’m here because you two were harassing and assaulting one of my employees, and more importantly, you’ve upset one of my friends.”
“I understand that you’re her parents, and all families have drama—believe me I know—but your behavior has been wholly unacceptable, and I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Both parents looked as if they were about to raise objections, so he shot them both another burning glare. “Immediately.”
Both of them complied. Orman started heading to his car and Rianne began walking towards the front gate. “Wait!” Kada called out from behind them and they both turned around. “I just have something to say first.”
“When I left home, I honestly thought I’d never see either of you ever again. It was hard to come to terms with, and it was scary, but I made it through. I built up my own life that I’m proud of.”
“But… that doesn’t mean I’m not grateful. Both of you gave me a life that I love, and I can never thank you enough for that. And even though it may have been difficult at times, I did receive support until I was ready to make it on my own.”
“To that end, I am interested in reestablishing a connection with both of you, but it will be on my terms. And don’t think that I’m so foolish to not realize that you’re both hoping I’ll support you with my success. If all you want is a handout, then I’ll give it to you, and we’ll be done for good—but it would be me giving money to a person in need out of kindness, not any feeling of obligation.”
“So if you really care about me, then go ahead and leave for now. I’ll reach out to you when I’m ready. Otherwise, pull out your Common Cards, and I’ll make sure you’re set for life.”
Orman and Rianne both stood in silence for a few moments. Finally, Kada’s father slid into his car, turned around, and drove away without another word. Her mother stuck around for a bit longer, thinking on things, and finally opened her mouth.
“Hmph, I’m not so curt that I would ruin my second chance with my daughter for a quick payout, but don’t think that I’m selfless either. I’ll just have to make you love me so much that you’ll want to spoil me rotten in my old age. So I’ll be waiting for your call, bubble bug.”