Prince of Gold and Pine

Chapter 6 - Change

Marceline looked at the figure before her. A familiar face, yet worn down during their time apart. She noticed his wrinkles had deeper creases, his cheeks more hollow, but still the same warm brown eyes.

A lopsided smile spread across his face as he recognized her.

"It's really you isn't it Mari" He whispered in disbelief. He raised an age-spotted hand to rest it in his forehead in shock.

"It's me Dad" she replied, shuffling her feet under his intense gaze.

"Wow" he mumbled, running a hand through his soft whispers of grey hair in disbelief.

Cleaning his throat, he stepped back, "Oh! Right! P-Please come in!" He said, gesturing her inside.

"Make yourself at home! Or back at home. It is your home. Not that it ever wasn't. I guess what I'm trying to say is...Welcome back" he stuttered.

She gave a weak smile and followed her father into the house. The old floor creaked and groaned with each step.

~*~

After a quick tour of the house, her father led her to her room and left her to unpack.

Her childhood room was still as untouched as the day she left.

She unpacked her clothes, hanging her black shirts, blouses, and sweaters in her closet. The dark colors were a stark contrast from the room's white walls and her baby pink bed sheets.

With a sigh, she plopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. She thought about her mother who left just before Marceline moved away for college. She hoped she was okay, and that she had found a place where she would be happy.

Her mother was a wanderer. She was attracted to her father's curiosity of the natural world, but that died as she began to feel trapped in this cage of a house.

With her father distracted by his newest discovery, her mother would leave for days at a time. After finally getting a divorce, her mother decided to move away. Somewhere on the East Coast her mother had said. Her mother invited her to come with, but Marceline had refused, choosing to stay in the familiar forests of Oregon. After a year alone with just her air headed father, she began to regret her decision of staying. After a while, Marceline got sick of it and decided to move out for college as soon as she graduated high school.

Her mother was not happy with Marceline's decision to stay all those years ago and hasn't answered any of her calls since. So here she was, back with her father who, despite his many distractions and flaws, had picked up the phone.

It made her think about what that meant. That even though she had decided to move away for college, that apartment wasn't really her home. Part of her wished she had just stayed with her father, but the excitement of getting out of this small town blurred her judgement. But that was all in the past. What mattered now was that she came back, and at last, she was truly home.