Memory Lane 8...

What the King said made little sense to Andrew as he saw things from his own point of view...

He actually didn't understand what his Father really meant...

But what his Father said next, shocked him...

"But I also have a duty as a Father...!" The King said as he used his index finger to slowly raise the chin of his son up to look at him.

When Andrew's eyes met his Father's, and when he heard what his Father said, he didn't know if he should cry and be emotional alongside his Father...

For being so caring all of a sudden and wanting to fix up things that were somehow difficult to fix...

Or for the fact that he too (i.e Andrew), who had needed his father after like, about nine years (he's nine (9) now), never showed up to be there for him, even on his birthday...

When he turned nine (9), the King neither made an appearance, nor was he even in the Kingdom...

Even when he asked about his Father, Andrew got silence as his answer, causing him to wonder where his Father had gone to on his birthday...

"Mother...?" The little boy asked.

"Hm?" The Queen replied.

"Where's F...F...Father?" The little boy stuttered as he asked.

The Queen stopped what she was doing as she heard that question.

"He, um...!" The Queen was thinking of a better way to try to explain things to the little boy.

The boy's face fell when he heard how his Mother responded, knowing the answer fully well.

Lowering his head down, Andrew asked sadly;

"He's not in the Kingdom again, is he...?"

The Queen stopped thinking when she heard that her son had guessed it already, so she looked down at her son, with Motherly eyes, she placed her arms around the little boy as she hugged him and said;

"Don't worry Andrew...I know how you might feel right now, but, he'll be here, very soon...!" The Queen said as she bent down to his level to console him.

With his head still down, the boy said;

"I know Mother, I know he'll be here...someday, because you say that every day and every year...!"

"And every year, he brings up new excuses about new things, and very odd things...!" Andrew said as his yes began to glisten.

"He's always handling Kingdom affairs, or he's out on a journey...he's always so busy, to the extent that it looks like, he doesn't even love me...!" Little Andrew said as he began to cry

"No no no...!" The Queen said as she swept Andrew off his feet and onto her laps.

Cradling and rocking him, the Queen shushed him gently as he sobbed.

"Sh, sh, sh Andrew...don't say that...!" The Queen tried to console him as she rocked him back and forth.

"But it's the truth Mother...!" Andrew said.

"He never spends time with me...even if he does, it not a quality time...his either ordering me around, or yelling at me, saying things that are not...!" He wants to say something, by then held his tongue as the walls had ears.

"Or sometimes, he could even be in a secret chamber, listening to every discussion from every angle of the castle at once...it's...it's not fair...!" Andrew whined.

"Didn't his own Father have time for him and attended his own birthdays when he was my age?" Andrew asked.

"If no, why then is he doing this to me?" Andrew asked.

"But if Yes, why couldn't he, or rather can't he change that pattern? Does he have to implement all these...all these, in my own life, is it that I should suffer what he suffered...?"

As little as Andrew was, what he said was the truth...

"Mother, does Father love me...?" Andrew asked all of a sudden after sometime.

The Queen had been silent for some time before answering;

"Yes...!"

He had expected something else in addition from his Mother, but nothing came, so he just let it slide...

But now that his Father was acting all pitiful, Andrew really didn't know what to do...

Whether he should cry and become as emotional as his Father...

Or whether he should laugh at the fact that his Father acted really funny right now...

Sure enough, he had desires his Father to be present in his life, but with the way he had treated him, he didn't know if he could really accept his Father in this simple manner...

You couldn't know the heart of a King, even to his own family...

He would act all innocent in front of you and then go back behind you, act like as if they're the most holiest...

He could remember so vividly, the night his Father arrived...

It was still his birthday, but it was night.

His Father had just arrived and as he went out welcome his father, he found his father talking to his Mother with a big grin plastered on his face...

By when, 'he' came out to welcome his Father, Andrew said;

"Father, today's my birthday...!" Andrew announced.

"Oh yes, did you get my gifts?" The King asked non-chalantly, as he walked passed Andrew and into the bedroom without talking too much.

Andrew chased after him, ignoring the rules that the King; he, had followed.

"Um...Father...?" Andrew asked as he followed from behind.

The King did not speak a single word as he was fully aware of the rules he had laid down, but yet he played a if he didn't listen to what his son  wanted to say, before dealing with the boy severally.

"You weren't around to celebrate my ninth birthday with me...!" Andrew said as he looked at his Father.

The King stopped as he turned to look down at his ridiculous son.

"Didn't you get the gifts I ordered the maids to give you...?" The King asked a question as he cut in

"No no no, I...I got the gifts...!" Little Andrew laughed.

"Then what's the problem that you call my attention?" The King asked sternly.

"Is it serious...?" The King asked in a very hard tone.

Gulping really hard, Andrew cut in and said;

"You weren't present today at my birthday party...!"