Chapter 17: I Only Have One Dad
That night, Arianna had a strange dream. She woke up with cold sweats and could not go back to sleep. She woke the family maid and asked her to make her tea. They sat in the kitchen together as Arianna drank it, then they headed back to bed.
Arianna asked the family driver to take her to church the following morning.
The driver was surprised. Her parents were not religious people, but her late nanny was a devoted follower. Arianna had usually come up with excuses to get out of going to church with her nanny.
She didn’t believe in God. But in the chaos of her mind, she needed to find some sort of release. After spending a full hour sitting in the church pew, her mind gradually became clear.
She thought of the new people she’d met. She blamed her misfortunes on her destiny. She contemplated heaven and hell and even supernatural beings.
Arianna was much calmer.
Her parents began to believe that their daughter was moving in a good direction. She was no longer a mute zombie wandering the town. As per her request, the driver or maid accompanied her everywhere she went.
She went to church two times a week and often asked the driver to escort her into climbing a mountain that was dozens of kilometers away. She read books quietly and sometimes sang with the door closed at home.
Arianna had never had such a positive attitude, even at her peak.
But her parents barely knew her. They believed her earlier behavior was normal as she found out the truth about her birth and was deceived by a boyfriend and friend. This obedient child didn’t need much from them aside from money and food.
They had never personally tended to her problems, nor did they show her much support in her successes. They did not know how to care for her.
However, the family servants did not believe this was the normal Arianna.
The driver, Louis, said, “The lady went to the church yesterday. I took her to the temple on the mountain to burn some sticks of incense and donate money. On the way back, she asked me if I knew the special regulations for her visit to a mosque.”
The nanny, Winnie, replied, “Maybe she is studying religion? Today, when I was dusting her room, she was reading The Bible. Louis, do you remember that she was afraid of the dark when she was young? Well, she has no problems with it now.”
The young maid, Sharon, said, “I disagree. She does not sleep well at night. She often comes to my room at two in the morning to get me to make her tea, saying that she has nightmares and can’t sleep.”
They all looked at each other and sighed. Louis mentioned, “A lot has happened in the house this year. She threw herself into the study to escape from her sorrows.”
He continued, “I don’t think she can escape it now. She loved her grandmother and nanny very much, but she had shed the least amount of tears.”
“Yes, she is strong on the inside, with her outside beauty easily masking any upsets she may have. Any young girl would have cried for days when losing both a friend and boyfriend. Our girl did not cry, nor did she even tell anyone.” Said Winnie.
“I only found out when I bumped into Janie at the grocery store.” Added Sharon.
She sighed, “But she doesn’t seem sad, though. Just now, when I entered her room, she was dancing around in her robe with her hair in coils. She was singing very wonderfully, too. It was my first time seeing her sing old love songs.”
Winnie raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “Old love songs? The girl had never been into popular love songs, not to mention old ones. She typically listens to operas and symphonies.”
Sharon responded, “I’m not kidding. She even asked me to sing along with her.”
Louis looked at the ground before nervously saying, “Something is not right with Miss Jenkins, and I’m a little concerned.”
“I agree. We should go talk to Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins about this.” Replied Winnie.
Despite the concerns from the servants, Arianna’s parents did not see anything wrong with her behavior. She was quiet as usual. The only difference now was that she liked to sing, which was not a strange thing to do.
Arianna never brought anxiety or anger to her parents. They presumed she always handled her problems on her own as she never came to them for help. She always digested her sadness or fury rather than letting out the emotions.
When she was younger, Arianna participated in dance competitions. She passed one level after another but broke her foot when she entered the final. After working so hard and being a promising candidate, it should have been difficult for a ten-year-old to suffer such a blow.
Even her dance instructor wept several times for her, and her family members took her loss with a heavy heart. The only optimistic person was Arianna herself. On the final day of the competition, she invited her family members to watch with her and applaud the other competitors.
After her foot healed, she began to practice piano. As a youth representative of the city, she performed at an important celebration ceremony at the end of the year.
Her old nanny often said, “Such a resilient character is good, but not when placed on such a young girl. A child should be allowed to be a child.” So whenever Arianna did something wrong, the nanny was particularly pleased to cover up for her.
But her mother and grandmother disagreed. In their opinion, Arianna was perfect when she acted like an adult. They were pleased with her temperament and her natural talents.
Since Arianna spent more time with the family servants than with her actual parents, they were able to get to know her better. They understood what she went through and believed that her behavior was justified.
When Arianna began speaking to her parents during the rainstorm, Mr. Jenkins said, “Arianna, I want you to know that in my heart, I never thought of you like someone else’s child.”
“Yes, Dad, I understand.”
“Arianna, I…”
“Thanks, Dad.”This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Arianna, do you hate me?” Asked her mother timidly.
“No, Mom. I get it.”
“Do you want to know who your biological father is?”
“I only have one dad.”
Her mother’s eyes were welling up with tears.
Arianna said patiently. “If you need to get it off your chest, then okay.”
“He died before you were born.”
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
Without further interruption from her parents, Arianna continued to immerse herself in her own world.