4 father?

"Are you ready?" Jebal asked, looking at me worriedly.

"No, but I will be," I breathed in, and out again.

"Let's go."

---

I pushed the glass doors to the internet cafe open, and breath in the warm smell of roasted coffee beans, calming down a little. Jebal trotted ahead towards the counter where the bartender sat, with a clean-shaven beard and blue eyes, wiping a small glass cup with a white cloth as I followed. The man looked up as we sat, and his eyes lit up at the sight of me.

"Well well, daughter, what brings you to my shabby cafe?" My father grinned, pushing past the short wooden door to give me a hug. Noticing my silence, his blue eyes became serious as he stared at me, waiting for a response.

"Father-" I glanced at Jebal as he nodded and squeezed my hand in support.

"Mom's dead." I swallowed back a lump in my throat as I tried not to think about the events that just transpired. Father stared at me blinking slowly. He stood up, and placed his hands on my face, tilting my face towards him.

He pulled my body towards him and gave me a firm tight hug.

"I'm so glad.. You're safe," Father pulled back and wiped a tear from his eye, smiling gently at me.

"You're not going to ask me about how she died?" I asked as he shook his head slowly.

"Your Mom and I knew that this day would come. Everyday we leave home, prepared to never see each other again- but I never thought it was going to be this soon." Father sighed heavily and rubbed his head.

"You foresaw this? Wha-"

"Let's go behind to talk," He took my arm as he led us into the inner room, behind the counter. The soft pastel blue of the curtains reminded me of Mom- That was her favourite colour, she insisted Father use that colour to brighten up the inner room when they first did a renovation of the entire cafe. But now Mom's-

"You've done well, staying alive," Father said as he patted me on my head, and my shoulders, biting his inner cheek.

"Father-" I clung to him tightly as he pulled me into another embrace, this time a painful one, thinking of how Mom had ended up.

Jebal coughed, and the moment was lost. Father turned to glare at him-

"Who is this?"

"This is, Jebal, Father. He helped me when I found Mom's body... It... was in a horrible state-"

Father suddenly pulled me away from Jebal in a quick violent jerk.

"Jebal isn't his real name-"

"What?" I turned to stare at the boy with short brown hair and eyes, leaning against the dark blue walls with an alarmed expression of his face-

"Mr Frace, I can explain-"

"There's no need to explain- Keiko leave now, I'll take care of him-" Father cut him off as he pushed me behind him hurriedly.

"Frace?" I pushed Father's hands away.

"Whose's Frace? Isn't your name Tachibana Asada, Father?" I asked as the atmosphere tensed up, and I looked up into his deep, deep blue eyes, and his face that showed no sign of being the mixed, he said he was.

"You didn't even tell her anything?" Jebal-the boy scoffed as my father backed away from him and took my arms in his-

"Keiko-"

"What are you not telling me? What is it that you're hiding from me?" I looked into his eyes, feeling hurt and betrayed. Even this boy, whoever his name was, still knew more than me. I turned my head from both of them and sat on a small stool in the corner of the room.

"I just- I just don't know when to start-" Father stuttered as he stepped towards me, reaching a hand out towards me.

"Because you don't know when to start, Mom's dead right now," I whispered, glaring at him fiercely, not backing down as a tear slid down my face. He crouched down in front of me, kneeling on the ground.

"Sayang-"

"Father I'm old enough to be able to tell that you are definitely not Japanese, and neither is Mom-"

"Just tell her now," the boy looked up, exhaling. "She can take it now, the way she is, I know her well enough."

"What?" I looked at him confused, and then to my Father, who stood up and walked towards the cupboard beside me.

"Stand up," he told me.

"Where are we going?" I looked at him cautiously.

"Didn't you say you wanted the truth?" he turned towards me and shook his head, looking at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen.

"The truth... Is sometimes harder than it seems, querido."