Crowded Cafe

Days flew by after that. Or rather, they walked past Lucus who was too numb to care. Every day seemed exactly the same as the last, that Lucus soon began to believe he was stuck in a never ending dream. He thought that if this was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. Not because he loved this new world he had made up or anything, but because he hated the old. It was easier to forget about his problems and become numb than face them. What a coward I am, Lucus thought. His grades fell. He was hardly above the class average, which was bad because the rest of the class got in on money alone. A poor genius surrounded by idiotic wealth should only be expected to excel at one thing. The thing Lucus soon dropped too. Every day new classmates would come up to him to ask to play. Each held no response. Ben dragged Lucus around class to class, yet he still seemed just as numb. Lucus wanted to say thanks to him every day, but nothing could come out. Only a few words a week. At first, his siblings at the orphanage would be sent in one by one to make their attempts at helping, but soon that stream trickled down to just Nate, who seemed almost as numb. He functioned enough to hide his despair, but not enough to trick others. Perhaps Lucus was the only one oblivious to it. Like his siblings, classmate visits too became less frequent. At one point, a month had flown by, yet Lucus had missed it all.

Lucus was sitting in the back of a small cafe when it happened. The cafe was nicely decorated with a jingle to greet you at the door. It was quite full and had a warm buzz of chatter adding to the mood.

A call from mother buzzed in his back pocket. He wasn't doing much, just mindlessly poking at a stress toy, but he ignored it. Lucus had already had enough people tell him off for being so depressed. One more was not something he was willing to add to the pile. A few more text notifications sprung his phone, and one more from Abby, but he spared them no thought. Lucus fished his phone out of his back pocket and switched it to silent, before sighing and sticking it back in. The quiet jingle of the glass door followed by a swish flew in one ear and out the other. Lucus tuned them out. He placed his head in his folded arms and closed his eyes. Maybe a nap would pass the time and let him wake up to a fixed world. It didn't work. A few moments later, a tap on the shoulder brought Lucus back to reality, and he grunted, irritated.

"For the billionth time. I'll order if I WANT to order." He didn't look up, he just scowled at the table. "Now leave me alone." The person who tapped Lucus ignored these hateful words, and spoke for himself. He placed a feeble hand on his shoulder, and began talking in what seemed to be a pleading yet happy and regretful manner.

"Oh god. Lucus? Is it really you?" He sniffed in what seemed to be a tearful way. Lucus finally looked up, showing his attention.

"Sorry old man. Who are you again?" He didn't sound sorry. More like an ungrateful teenager. Even Lucus was scared of his own tone. Was he always this rude, or just as of recently? The stranger seemed unfazed.

"Lucus, my boy! It's been so long and you've grown so much!" He clasped Lucus's hand and leaned in closer, as if the shadows from a broken lightbulb blocked the view. Lucus pulled back, making a disgusted face.

"Get away from me! Who are you? Get out!" He pushed the man forward towards the door flabbergasted. "What the #$!% is wrong with you? Are you crazy?!" His own irritated state was coming out now, only adding fumes to Lucus's annoyance.

"I guess I shouldn't be upset." The man pulled his hand back and smiled warmly. "I should only expect that you shouldn't remember me after all this time. Even if I am your father." It took a quick moment for this news to sink in, and when it did, it hit Lucus like a truck.

My very own father, he thought. I can't believe it. He didn't know whether to feel excited, resentful or confused. Yes, he had abandoned him and his sister as mere infants. They had zero memories of this person, and zero reason to feel anything towards him but hate. Yet, why was this so gratifying? The figure Lucus and Alya had lacked for so long was standing before him, just as they had always wanted. All the red flags jumped around behind him, yet Lucus pushed them aside. Instead, he focused on the first bright thing he had seen in a while. His dad.

A single tear dropped down his face, and overcome with emotion, Lucus hugged him. The touch was warm and soft. Just as he had imagined. His dad seemed startled at first, but quickly moved in to wrap his own arms around him. Lucus was only able to make out one word.

"Dad."

They decided to change location to catch up, as the cafe had become quite packed, so they walked around town for a bit. Lucus's father had suggested that they go to the park to play catch like a normal father and son, but was quickly shut down after being re-informed of Lucus's condition. It wasn't awkward at all, and conversation flowed with ease. Every time Lucus found himself without something to talk about, his dad would prompt a new question and say exactly the right words to start it up again. Every phrase seemed to touch Lucus, and opened up every door for his favorite things. It seemed just like a dream and not at all like the nightmare Lucus had expected his father to be. He was kind, warm, and sweet. The opposite of the devil in his mind. All too good to be real.