Daddy?

Yes?

Daddy, can you tell me a story?

A story?  It’s too late for a story.

Please, Daddy!

A resigned sigh…

Alright.

Life is, as many have said in the past, a series of moments.  More than that it is moments that are remembered and perceived as something they are not.  Since perception itself is a flaw, the past is nothing more than some biased view that can be completely inaccurate.

We can only rely on the moment…and once it’s past there is nothing but perception.

            In the end life is just a story and nothing more.

            So a story is all you ask for, sweetheart?  Alright, there once was this man…what kind of man?

            He was a kind man, with a laugh that would make anyone happy…

Daddy, why are you crying?

Daddy is sad, sweetheart.

Why are you sad?

Something bad happened.

Bad?  Did someone do something bad to Daddy?

It’s nothing for you to worry about, how about a story?

            What’s wrong, sweetheart?  You didn’t like the story?  Of course they lived happily ever after…what?  Who told you that?  Of course there are happy endings.

            When children grow up it’s natural that they question what is told to them…I just never thought I would be questioned…not by her.  She was supposed to be Daddy’s little girl, always taking my word over anything else.

            She seemed to know when I was lying, something I thought I would never have to worry about.

            It took me a while to stop denying that she was getting older…

Dad?

What is it, sweetheart?

Dad!  I’m a little old for that!

A smile.

Really?  It must have been something I missed.

I’m going out with some friends.

Friends?

I’ll be back by eleven.

Another smile.

Be careful.

            “Shouldn’t you tell her?”  A woman sitting in a dark room, “You have to stop keeping things from her.”

            You don’t exist.

            “What would she do if she knew—”

            “Shut up!  Shut up!”

            “She’ll start asking questions…”

            She doesn’t have to know and if she asks I can lie.

            “And she will know you are lying, she isn’t a child anymore.  She knows when things are kept from her.  You can’t keep her ignorant forever…someday she will know.”

Dad, is there something wrong?

What gave you that idea?

Don’t do that, Dad!  I hate when you do that.

Do what?

Answer my questions with questions.

What’s wrong with that?

You do that when you’re hiding something.

I do?

Dad, what aren’t you telling me?

            There once was a man with a kind smile that warmed the hearts of others.  He enjoyed his life and because he enjoyed it so much he wanted to make sure others enjoyed theirs.

            One day when he saw something very horrible happen, something horrible enough to break his soul.  He tried to smile and act the way he used to, but he realized that everything was a lie.  That the world had succeeded in breaking him as it does to all people.

            He vowed that he would never let that happen to anyone he cared dearly for.

            The man’s wife died not too long after and he was left with a child to look after…a child he wanted to protect from the world.

            He wouldn’t let the world break her.

Close your eyes, just close your eyes and you won’t see.

 Daddy?

Just close your eyes and the world won’t hurt you.

Daddy?

Close your eyes.

Daddy, can you tell me a story?