“We had a full carton as of lunch yesterday, so… “, he attempted to finish his question before halting.
Nora slowly turned around, got up from the couch and replied, “Well, maybe someone finished it before this morning… you could ask your new wife”.
Muzin stepped backwards while his daughter slowly walked away from him. He looked less bemused with each passing second as he stared at the milk container in his hand. Mornings without coffee would usually become a nightmare for him, and ultimately ruin the remaining day before it even began.
“Mom would have stocked up and made sure we had extras!” Nora reminded him while she walked up the stairs and headed for her room.
Muzin tossed the empty mil container aside and marched up after his daughter before yanking at her shoulder. “Don’t you walk away from me while I’m speaking with you!”
Nora turned around, gently nudged his hand off and to his absolute shock, before marching back up and heading for her room.
“What has gotten into you!?” he yelled while he followed her.
She waved him off, continued on her path, before stopping by her room door. Muzin stopped some feet behind his daughter as well but made no move to speak or follow her any further.
“Why?’ Nora asked.
Muzin flailed his arms in the air and shrugged as though he had no idea about what his daughter spoke of.
“Why did you choose to forget about her? Why did you abandon her and act like she never even existed?” Nora asked.
Muzin fell silent and watched his daughter turn around.
‘I saw her yesterday, I felt her and I heard her voice”, Nora spoke passionately.
Muzin motioned to speak but she halted him rudely. It is an act even Nora knew would cost her dearly once she was done venting her anger.
“Yet, when I mentioned her to you, it didn’t even strike a nerve”, she sighed. ‘How poorly has mom’s memories fizzled out of your mind?”
Muzin finally decided to speak. He shook his head and held out his hands but words didn’t accompany any of his actions. Nora could see his eyes bore enough stress indicators and his lips motioned to speak on every turn, but for some reason, he continued to hold back. He lowered his head and bowed it into his hand before gentle sobs began to emanate.
“You knew her as the woman I married years ago and the one that made me lovely dinners, pressed my clothes and made our home a home, but… “, he stopped and sniffed hard.
Nora had never seen him that devastated since her passing. It felt like watching the man with a heart of stone, suddenly grow one and it threatened to break hers too.
“Your mother changed”, he added, finally, after catching his breath. “You had no idea what I had to put up with, and all for what? All for what!?”
“Changed?” Nora stepped closer with a slight frown.
He looked towards the stairs, almost as if he was trying to make sure they weren’t being heard, before stepping closer to his daughter.
“There are things you have no idea about because we were trying to protect you”, he replied. “The hell we had to go through, while I tried to protect you from it all”.
Nora wished there could be better explanation from the man. He walked closer and held her by her hand before unlocking her door and taking her into her room. Nora remained silent, obviously noting the array of emotions her father was desperately trying to hide but to no avail. He sat her down next to him on her bed, just as he used to when she was little.
Nora had not felt that closeness in a while. He would read her stores and invite her mother to come join them later on. The sweet memories had only continued to feel like a distant past for years since her passing, and Nora was certain things could never be the same.
“I want to tell you something even you mother never wanted me to share with you”, he muttered in somewhat worrying tone.
A cold breeze surged into the room and caused Nora’s hairs to stand right on the back of her neck.
“You didn’t know this at the time, but your mother wasn’t herself for years before she died”, he explained.
Nora frowned and felt her nerves stiffen at hearing her father say such a thing about her mother.
“She was really sick and we tried everything from therapy to psychiatric evaluation and even weeks of hospitalization”, he continued. “It almost ruined our marriage and I wasn’t sure on how to proceed, considering she had bursts of suicidal acts”.
Nora’s world suddenly began to crumble and it felt like the woman she had assumed she knew to be strong and caring was nothing more than a shard.
“The woman you knew for years before her death wasn’t your mother, and it began right after… “, he paused and felt as though he had said enough.
“After what?” Nora pushed for an answer.
Muzin got to his feet and shook his head. He hurried to the door and held a thin but bitter smile on his lips.
“Your mother was a good woman, but there are far more than you can understand”, he noted, before holding the door and attempting to leave.
Nora reached out her hand and called out to him, “Papa!”
Muzin halted, looked back at his daughter with her outstretched hand. Something else caught his eyes, other than her willingness to have him around and engage him in some more conversation.
“What?” Nora asked upon noticing the look of worry in her father’s eyes.
Muzin rushed over and began to mumble incoherently as he took her hand in his and shoved up the sleeve of her pajamas. His eyes widened hard and fast, as did hers as they shared a blank expression with each other almost immediately.
“How did that get there?’ he asked in a rather befuddled and terrified tone.
Nora had not seen it on her skin before and she
