The Act of Interim #Wattys2018

Chapter 3: The Stranger

"Coincidences mean you're on the right path."

- Simon Van Booy,
Love Begins in Winter: Five stories

***

"Hey, get off me!" Kleinard shouted at Emily as he tried to push her away from him. But Emily was very persistent, still trying to hug her dad so tightly, wanting him to feel the longing she had for him.

"I miss you, dad! I really do!" she said as the happy tears flowed from her eyes.

"I'm not your dad, you psycho!" he raged with his gritted teeth, still trying to push her. "For goodness sake, get off your filthy hands of me! Stay away from me! You disgusted me!"

"But you're my dad! Believe me, you're my dad," she pressed as she loosened her arms from embracing him that made him do what he really wanted to do.

He pushed her.

"Geez, you're strong!" he commented while he was wiping his arms with his hands, feeling disgusted from her touch. "I thought, I'll never get free from those strong arms of yours."

She looked up at him while she was sitting on the floor, slightly hurt because of the strong force that her dad had given to her. He, on the other hand, noticed it by seeing the expression on her face. That's why he couldn't stop himself from helping her to get up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I'm just surprised," he said soothingly, trying to avoid her gaze. He couldn't help but to feel embarassed on what he did. People were watching them and he didn't want to have an unpleasant impression by them just because of this non-sense argument. At the least that he could do, he needed to protect his good image to everyone, or else he's dead.

Emily, on the other hand, was feeling so overwhelm on what he did, despite of the fact that she was seeing a disgusted expression on his face, which was totally obvious.

'That face. He's really handsome. He's really my dad,' she thought happily.

She remembered the picture that she slipped to her pocket. She was ready to get it from her pocket as a proof when someone behind her spoke.

"So you really have a daughter, mister? Well, I'm not surprised though," her mom commented in her most sarcastic way. She withdrew her eyes from Kleinard and averted them to Emily. "I'm Precia Yuxbowen and I don't mean to intrude with your sweet talks."

Kleinard glared at her. "She's not my daughter. I'm only 25 years old so it's really impossible for me to have a child who's age is 23 or 22. Very rubbish." He averted his eyes to Emily with the same look that he had given to her a while ago. "So tell me, are you on drugs?"

Emily was taken a back on what her father said to her. She looked at her surroundings until a nerve from her head knocked her whole goddamn brain. Realization hit her again, big time.

"I'm sorry. I think, I made a mistake here so I'm sorry, really," she pleaded, still thinking on what to do after she did this thing without thinking for the outcome.

She was led by her emotions again to the point that she forgot to control her actions.

"You're really on drugs, miss," Kleinard said bluntly that made her head low. She was finding some words that could defend herself but she couldn't find something. She couldn't say that she came from the future and she was his future daughter for it would only increase their suspicion about her, taking drugs even though she didn't.

She clasped her hands over her face, looking so frustrated on what to do.

"You're being too harsh to her," Precia reprimanded that made Emily looked at her. Her mother looked back at her with a worried expression on her face. "Don't listen to him. He's a jerk."