The Black Flames

Chapter 4 - Dad

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Kiara jolted awake on the third strike. Someone was hitting stones at her window. She lifted her head from the pillow and strained to listen.

Is it a dream?

Bang!

No, it isn't.

She glanced at the digital clock that showed 3:12 am. Grimacing, she forced herself up as the fifth stone met her window and left a tiny crack.

Oh no! Who would do that so late in the night?

She went to the window, and her eyes widened as she spotted her father, still in his lab coat, perking up to throw the sixth stone.

"Dad? What are you doing?"

"Oh, thank God you're up, Kiara! I was banging at the main door for half an hour, but no one was answering. Could you please open up?"

'Yes, Dad, just stop banging at my window and come to the main door."

The twelve-year-old Kiara dragged herself to the main entrance before her mother would wake up. She unlocked the door and found her father drenched in sweat and heaving from the late night activity.

He wiped off his glistening forehead on the arm of his lab coat. A smooth white box rested comfortably in his right arm. It seemed to have just a handle on it and no lock or hinges.

Kiara's gaze fell on his left coat pocket, which had three circles and a triangle imprinted on it, and a big Toblerone peeped out of it. He bent to the left and picked up his old brown suitcase.

"Daddy? How come you are here tonight?" Kiara pulled up her gaze to him and frowned. Dragging herself out of bed in the middle of the night drained her of all the joy of seeing her father after three and a half weeks.

"Why? I can't come home to my family anymore?" He asked in return.

"You can, but you mostly don't," she responded as a matter of fact, arms crossed across her chest.

"Okay, fine. I am sorry," he pulled the Toblerone out of his pocket, knelt down, and tugged at her right hand. Swinging the chocolate bar in his hand, he asked her calmly,

"Can you forgive me for missing dinner with you for three weeks?"

Kiara hesitated but then took the bar from him,

"It's been three weeks and four days, daddy. And you know you cannot make up with a chocolate bar."

"I know. That's why your real gift is in my suitcase," he winked at her and lay his suitcase down. As he opened it, Kiara caught a glimpse of Nancy Drew's latest release. She shrieked and dived in to pull it out.

"Whaaa....Kiaraaa? What happened?" her mother cried out from her bedroom. As expected, no amount of noise could wake her brother up.

"Who's there? Kiara, where are you?" Kiara heard her mother step out of her bedroom.

"Don't worry, mom. It's dad. We are here in the living room," she called out to ease her mother's nerves.

As her mother stepped into the living room, she spotted Kiara grinning into a book and her husband kneeling next to her. She slowly lowered an overturned lamp in her hand.

"Oh, Daddy! Thank you so much!" Kiara exclaimed.

"You're welcome, Kiara. Where's your brother?" he asked, looking around.

"He must be passed out in his bedroom. You know no amount of noise can wake him, Dad. He wouldn't notice if an earthquake hit the house right now," she said without looking up from her new novel.

Her father grinned and said, "Alright, is there something to eat? I am starving."

***

The next morning, Kiara woke up, bathed, and went down for breakfast. Her brother had not woken up yet. As soon as she sat down and grabbed a bowl, her mother asked her,

"Shona, call your father and brother for breakfast too," addressing her affectionately.

"Dad's still here? He didn't leave for office yet?" Kiara was surprised.

"No, he didn't. He's in the study."

That's odd. Dad hasn't eaten breakfast with us in two months. First dinner, and now this? What's happening? Kiara thought.

Kiara headed to her father's home office. The door to his office was slightly ajar, and Kiara stole a glimpse of what he was doing. He had placed the smooth white box on his table and was running his hands over it as if searching for something. As his hands reached the bottom corner on the right hand side, he pushed his two fingers, and it came alive. It opened with a click, and some cold gas had spilled out.

Kiara was hooked. Her father hardly talked about what he did, and this seemed like a mystery made just for a Nancy Drew fan. She delayed announcing her presence so she could see what lay inside the box.

There seemed to be a dial pad inside the box. Her father reached inside to punch in the passcode, and Kiara stretched her neck to see.

Five Three Eight Eight? Did Dad forget my birthday?

She hoped to be able to see what lay inside, but her height failed her. It was time to announce her presence. She knew exactly how that would go.

She opened the door wider and stepped inside, keeping her gaze set on the components of the box. She spotted the heads of some glass test tubes before her father shut the box abruptly.

Kiara wondered if she should ask him why he forgot her birthday. It was the third of May, not the fifth of March. But then, he would know she was snooping where she shouldn't. She had to keep this to herself.

Her Dad's raised voice showed concern, and it brought her back,"Kiara. You know you're supposed to knock when you are here,"

"Yes, daddy. But you're not supposed to be here for breakfast. How come you're here today?"

"Why have you been so annoyed at my presence since yesterday? You don't like seeing me here?"

"I do, Dad, but you are hardly home. I am just preparing myself for when you will leave."

Her father's expression changed on that note; he closed his eyes for a moment and then came down on one knee, holding Kiara by her shoulders.

"Sweetie, that's because I am working day and night on a very important project that could change the course of medical science and help millions of people."

That was enough to shut Kiara. She calmed down a bit but soon found another question to ask,

"What are you trying to do, Dad? What's the project about?"

Her father looked her in the eye and held her by her shoulders,

"I am sorry, Kiara. I cannot share that with you yet, but maybe someday, when you are a grown up woman, we could talk about it."

"So, you'll be working on this project for that many years?" her curiosity peaked.

Her father grinned,

"Yes, I am afraid. Scientific breakthroughs often take decades. I am working towards one such innovation. But you never know, maybe you could get involved in this project one day to take it further."

***