We need our daughter

After deliberating and concluding that I've been selfish keeping away from them, I decided to swallow up my fears. Most times, Dad would call, and I’d just watch the phone ring until the calls stopped coming in as frequently.

It would take longer and longer with me picking up just twenty percent of the time until he got tired and then, here we were. Mum, on the other hand barely calls and it was understandable. Mum was more strict and rigid than Dad was.

Granny Carys once mentioned how I inherited my toughness from her. What Granny Carys didn't know was that circumstances shaped me into what I have become. I was more of my father’s child than Mum’s.

I inherited Dad’s soft traits but had to put on a facade of toughness because I have found solace in it. In my facade lies my coping and defense mechanism altogether. I’d rather be difficult and keep my circle small than be the penetrable Calista who got in a huge mess.

“Mum.” I mused in a low tone as soon as the call got answered.

I was