unseeing eyes fixed on a spot
light-years away. But it wasn’t his hollow eyes that shocked Minki. It was the
ridiculous, almost idiotic smile on his face. It was the inane grin of a
brain-damaged child; frozen, unwavering and without humour. Her father’s eyes
and the plastered grin that sat below, were miles apart; they did not belong to
the same face. A cold chill shot down Minki’s spine. She clasped a shaking hand
to her mouth in disbelief. Tears ran into the neckline frills of her dress; her
chin trembled as deep silent sobs surged through her.
‘Daddy, it’s
me. Minki.’
His stare did
not waver. The same idiotic smile froze his lips in place.
‘Daddy?’ Minki
edged closer. ‘Daddy?’ She was about to move even closer when ...
He slowly
twisted his head and looked at her with hollow sightless eyes and that grin
( oh no that
grin! )
still on his
face.
Minki slowly
backed away, terror spreading through her.
‘Sophia.’ It
was a slow drawn-out guttural sound. A horrible parody of affection.
So-phee-aaah.
Minki
screamed.
Her father –
her daddy – blinked hard. Looked away. Then turned to look at her again. The hollow
eyes and the dumb grin were gone. She held her breath as the strange man before
her stared into her soul.
‘Minki.’ It
was her name but it shocked her. It sounded horribly out of place. ‘Minki.’ She
wanted him to stop; stop saying her name. She wanted her father back. And then.
It was her
father. Standing before her. As if nothing had happened.
‘I need you to
fix some cereal for yourself.’ There was a disconcerting calmness in his voice.
Minki found this even more unsettling than the zombie that moments before had
been staring into the wall. She backed into the slanting balustrade hoping her
father wouldn’t come anywhere near her. Hoping he wouldn’t touch her. He seemed
completely unaware of her state of terror.
‘I’ve got a
few things to do this morning.’ He turned and was gone, disappearing through
the archway that led from the dining room into the spacious lounge.
Minki sat
against the lower balustrade and cried softly. All she had wanted was her
daddy. All she had wanted was the re-assurance of his presence. The comfort of
his arms around her. She felt confused and scared. And she felt alone; more
alone than she had ever felt before.
She sat for a
moment her head between her knees softly rocking back and forth. Then she
composed herself and walked through a second archway into the kitchen, still
wiping tears from her eyes. She opened a cupboard and reached into the shelf
for the Kellogg’s Fruity Loops. Although she wasn’t hungry, she dutifully
poured herself a small helping into a bowl. She fetched milk from the fridge
poured it over the multi-coloured rings then added sugar.
She tried to
be brave but it required all her resources. Deep down Minki felt like she was
cracking. She remembered Aunty Terry’s words: nervous breakdown .
She listlessly
ate the soggy maize loops. The incident with her father had shaken and scared
her even more than the nightmares this morning. She loved her daddy more than
anyone or anything in the whole wide world. But now ...
She chewed
absently trying not to think of her father.
Now she feared
him with all her heart.
The brawny
uniformed man sat at the long glass-topped table. His closely-cropped hair was
grey with age but there was no mistaking the forceful vitality in his hard
angular face. Right now, however, the tough lines of his face were creased with
great distress.
He was
reading from pages inserted into a red plastic folder. If one could see the cover
of the folder, the words TOP SECRET would have been clearly visible.
Underneath, a disclaimer warning that lack of sufficient clearance would result
in prosecution, appeared in bold type. To eradicate any further doubt regarding
the sensitive nature of the document every single page in the folder featured a
red CLASSIFIED watermark. The large man turned a
light-years away. But it wasn’t his hollow eyes that shocked Minki. It was the
ridiculous, almost idiotic smile on his face. It was the inane grin of a
brain-damaged child; frozen, unwavering and without humour. Her father’s eyes
and the plastered grin that sat below, were miles apart; they did not belong to
the same face. A cold chill shot down Minki’s spine. She clasped a shaking hand
to her mouth in disbelief. Tears ran into the neckline frills of her dress; her
chin trembled as deep silent sobs surged through her.
‘Daddy, it’s
me. Minki.’
His stare did
not waver. The same idiotic smile froze his lips in place.
‘Daddy?’ Minki
edged closer. ‘Daddy?’ She was about to move even closer when ...
He slowly
twisted his head and looked at her with hollow sightless eyes and that grin
( oh no that
grin! )
still on his
face.
Minki slowly
backed away, terror spreading through her.
‘Sophia.’ It
was a slow drawn-out guttural sound. A horrible parody of affection.
So-phee-aaah.
Minki
screamed.
Her father –
her daddy – blinked hard. Looked away. Then turned to look at her again. The hollow
eyes and the dumb grin were gone. She held her breath as the strange man before
her stared into her soul.
‘Minki.’ It
was her name but it shocked her. It sounded horribly out of place. ‘Minki.’ She
wanted him to stop; stop saying her name. She wanted her father back. And then.
It was her
father. Standing before her. As if nothing had happened.
‘I need you to
fix some cereal for yourself.’ There was a disconcerting calmness in his voice.
Minki found this even more unsettling than the zombie that moments before had
been staring into the wall. She backed into the slanting balustrade hoping her
father wouldn’t come anywhere near her. Hoping he wouldn’t touch her. He seemed
completely unaware of her state of terror.
‘I’ve got a
few things to do this morning.’ He turned and was gone, disappearing through
the archway that led from the dining room into the spacious lounge.
Minki sat
against the lower balustrade and cried softly. All she had wanted was her
daddy. All she had wanted was the re-assurance of his presence. The comfort of
his arms around her. She felt confused and scared. And she felt alone; more
alone than she had ever felt before.
She sat for a
moment her head between her knees softly rocking back and forth. Then she
composed herself and walked through a second archway into the kitchen, still
wiping tears from her eyes. She opened a cupboard and reached into the shelf
for the Kellogg’s Fruity Loops. Although she wasn’t hungry, she dutifully
poured herself a small helping into a bowl. She fetched milk from the fridge
poured it over the multi-coloured rings then added sugar.
She tried to
be brave but it required all her resources. Deep down Minki felt like she was
cracking. She remembered Aunty Terry’s words: nervous breakdown .
She listlessly
ate the soggy maize loops. The incident with her father had shaken and scared
her even more than the nightmares this morning. She loved her daddy more than
anyone or anything in the whole wide world. But now ...
She chewed
absently trying not to think of her father.
Now she feared
him with all her heart.
The brawny
uniformed man sat at the long glass-topped table. His closely-cropped hair was
grey with age but there was no mistaking the forceful vitality in his hard
angular face. Right now, however, the tough lines of his face were creased with
great distress.
He was
reading from pages inserted into a red plastic folder. If one could see the cover
of the folder, the words TOP SECRET would have been clearly visible.
Underneath, a disclaimer warning that lack of sufficient clearance would result
in prosecution, appeared in bold type. To eradicate any further doubt regarding
the sensitive nature of the document every single page in the folder featured a
red CLASSIFIED watermark. The large man turned a
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