“Aww, Sofia… I‘m sorry for your loss… I know that he’s going to be missed a lot… He was such a great man!” Over and over again friends and family members kept coming up to me giving me their condolences. Everyone thinks they really knew my father, “the perfect man!” To the world, he played a role people adored. The single father raising his daughter after his wife abandoned them, working two jobs, and always helping out everybody in the neighbor. But only I knew who Victor Morales really was.
As I walked down the aisle getting closer to the casket; the tension grew stronger and stronger as I got closer his body. “Sofiaaaaa (sing song voice) come here baby” Victor had said. “Yes daddy?” Sofia had said. “Daddy doesn’t feel well honey” Victor said as he began to undress her. “Daddy why are you taking my clothes off? It’s not bath time….” Sofia said. “I know honey, but daddy needs to feel better.”
Every time daddy would say this I would close my eyes to get through it and win the lollipop he would always promise me. But this time it really hurt and daddy made me position myself like a dog on his bed. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” “Oh dear I am so sorry that you’re taking his death so hard; he was such a great man” said my neighbor as she hugged me and rubbed my back. Little did she know that I was screaming at the memory of the pain that I had felt, not his death.
I got home and my answering machine flashed a bright red light reminding me that I had two missed calls and messages. I figured that it would be more pathetic condolences from family members I've never even met. However, I listened anyway and a man by the name of Rodriguez wanted to meet with me to discuss Victor's will. He mentions that considering I am his only beneficiary, I had to come and sign some papers. Already dressed and his office not being too far I went over right away to get it over with. When I arrived, his secretary apologized for Victor's death; I nodded and walked into Mr. Rodriguez's office. "My condolences, your father was a good man" he said. I told him I was in a rush and he told me that Victor left the house for me and everything that was in his bank account. I signed the papers and left.
After talking to the lawyer, I started to walk around the neighborhood and without noticing it there was the house that has haunted me all of my life. In that house I would pray for someone to rescue me, I would pray for my mother to be like a hero I’d wish that he’d stop touching me however my wish never came true. The day I left my house I said to myself that I’d never come back to this house. In an attempt to calm my nerves I decided to smoke a cigarette. I wanted to enter the house but the traumatic memories rushed back into my mind and stopped me from entering. All I wanted was to make the house disappear. I threw the cigarette on the “Welcome” mat outside of the front door. Smoke then came from the mat and then ignited a fire. I lighted another match and threw it on the mat. Little by little the house was burning. As it disappeared, so did my memories.
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