Irene

April A-Z Challenge - I is for Irene - Peace (Origin : Greek)


Theme: Short stories highlighting the lives of 26 fictional characters 

Dear Diary,

I am writing after 3 days as we were away for the weekend. We were out on a beach trip, just Mom, Dad and me, it was like the best vacation ever, in a lot of ways!

We spent time at this really cool beach house, and I almost lived on the beach and got this really gorgeous tan! Mom and I went snorkeling on the first day, the sights were awesome! We had an amazing time at a bonfire with the neighbors that night, met some really cool peeps, more about that another day.

Dad was as usual in his own world on the first day, reading his book, smoking his cigars. We hardly saw him that day. But on the second day, something changed! He finally agreed to the one thing we have all been waiting for! Okay let me start from the beginning!

Mom had gone out for dinner with a friend, and I was stuck in the beach house with Dad. We were both in our rooms when I heard Dad scream from his room. When I went in, I saw that he was all sweaty and scared, it looked like he had been awakened from a really bad dream. I was not sure what to say, I am barely used to having a conversation with him. I just sat next to him and held his hand, and he looked at me and started sobbing. I held him and hugged him, and he just sat there crying uncontrollably. And then he began to tell me the stories, not sure how he decided I was finally ready to hear them!

He began with the day I was born, when Mom was alone in Indiana and neighbors had to rush her to the hospital. He was away, posted in Iraq. It was a long labor, he had called and spoken to Mom and cried that he could not be there. I was their first child, after eight years of marriage. He had wished that the war had ended, and that there was peace, and he was home by my Mom's side. He had told her that day to name me "Irene". 

I was then sobbing with him, through the other stories, the memories of which I want to erase from my mind and not pen down here. That day finally, my Dad was reborn, rid of  some of the burden he carried on his shoulders for thirteen years!

Can't write any more today..more tomorrow. Goodnight!

P.S - I almost forgot to write about what Dad finally agreed to after all these years! We are going to see a doctor tomorrow for Dad. He has finally agreed to get prosthetic legs! I just got my Dad back, and Dad is soon going to get his life back!