The Inceptive Flame⎪✓

Prologue

A hand grabs mine desperately and I give my dad a reassuring smile, squeezing his hand slightly and trying to loosen him up a bit. He hates being here, both of us do. Hospitals are the equivalent to sickness and that is the one thing all of us try to steer clear of. Unfortunately, sickness and diseases are difficulties most families are suffering through, right now we will get the news whether we are one of those families or not. 

"I'm right here, dad," I smile at him in comfort. 

He nods his head stiffly, trying to reciprocate my smile, "You're my biggest supporter, as you say. I know, my baby. And I'm sorry we're spending Christmas Eve here, it's not ideal and I will make it up to you somehow."

His hand is oddly cold and shaky in mine, it's obvious why both of us are scared as shit to be sitting in the doctor's office while he is out getting the test results. He should have grabbed the papers before we arrived, but apparently, his lunch break was more important. I get that breaks are important, but my dad's health is, too. 

"Please, don't worry about that, we will get the good news and then I'll make us dinner tonight, are you up for some board games then?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood. It's not the time nor the place to be laughing, but I can't just sit here and accept that my father is scared. No daughter would ever be able to do that. 

"Definitely," He smiles, "I will kick your ass though, so prepare yourself for failure."

"I never lose, you know this as well as I do. The poker title is mine, after all, I had the best teacher," Teasing him with a small push to his skinny frame, he laughs. 

"It wasn't smart on my account to teach you poker at the age of 8, now I have to suffer through the consequences."

"Exactly, what is it you say again? The student has become the teacher"

He pokes my side with a laugh, "You're a little shit, Kota."

Sticking my tongue out at him, "I've learned from the best."

The door opening breaks our banter, as my dad clutches my hand so tightly it's almost painful. My smile slips off my face as I see his serious eyes following doctor Wilson. It suddenly hits me, that my dad really has changed, his usual chubby cheeks are sunken in and the black circles surrounding his grey eyes have me to my knees. It's a small change, subtle, but it's there, haunting me and telling me the words I know will be said in a matter of minutes.

"Doctor Wilson," My dad addresses, clearly the professional lawyer side is still tugging in him. 

The doctor sits down in front of us and interlaces his fingers on the table, his eyes are already conveying the truth. The truth of how intense and real this situation is, the truth of how my dad's stubbornness to visit the doctor will be a major issue now, the truth of how little time my father really has left.

I squeeze his cold hand, making him glance at me from the corner of his eyes. I try to look encouraging, but he knows me too well, he knows my poker face like none other. This is too real to beat around the bush with, this is a matter of life and death.

"Mr. Moore," The doctor says as my eyes focus on him again, he pushes his glasses into his grey hair and looks my dad straight into the eyes. "I have gotten your results back and went over them with another attending. In your biopsy, we can confirm there is a tumor in your brain and how it has been attacking all your organs already. Your CAT scans show us clear hot spots, they began in your brain and spread to the bones and blood, which means that you have tested positive for cancer and that it has spread throughout your entire body. I am very sorry, Mr. Moore, you have cancer and it is at stage 4. Of course, there are some treatments we can start as of toda-"

I don't hear another word, my dad's hand is painfully clutching mine as tears stream down his face. He is broken, he is ruined, and worst of all, he is sick. 

My dad is dying...