Chapter 22: Two Different Worlds

"Ah, great..." Daisy sighed as she stepped out of the taxi in front of her house. Her stomach growled loudly, echoing her regret. She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. If she had just swallowed her pride at that dinner, maybe she’d be full right now instead of starving. "Never mind... instant noodles it is," she muttered, fishing out her keys and unlocking the front door. The house greeted her with silence and darkness. Confused, she stepped inside and switched on the lights. "Mom...?" she called out. No reply. Her instincts kicked in. "Mom!" she called louder, already hurrying up the stairs. "Dad!" But instead of heading to her mother’s room, her feet took her straight to her father’s. That room... the one he had been lying in when the stroke first started. She threw the door open. Another dark room. "Dad..." She flipped the switch, and the lights blinked on revealing her father on the bed, his expression blank and heavy, his eyes full of something that made her chest tighten. Helplessness. She rushed toward the bed. "Dad..." Her voice cracked as she reached him, dropping to her knees beside the mattress. His hand twitched slightly, just enough for her to see it. "It’s okay, I’m here," she whispered, taking his hand gently in both of hers. His eyes moved slowly to her face, and even though his body wouldn’t fully respond, she could see the relief behind them, fragile and heartbreaking. "Where’s Mom?" she asked quietly, brushing a trembling hand over his blanket. No answer. Only the faintest squeeze of his fingers. Her throat tightened. She fumbled for her phone with one hand, the other still wrapped around her father’s. Daisy tried calling her mother, but after three times, the call was never connected. She sighed, staring down at the phone screen before slipping it into her pocket. Then she took a deep breath and forced a thin, straight smile. "It’s okay, Dad. I’m here now. Have you eaten?" He blinked once. "Lunch? Did the caretaker feed you?" she asked gently. This time, he blinked twice, slow and deliberate. Daisy exhaled, shoulders sagging just a little. She gripped his hand tighter. "I’m so sorry you had to wait." The guilt settled in her chest like a stone. She had chosen the caretaker with so much care, trusting her completely. But she could only afford help until five in the evening. After that, she had been hoping—nope, more like desperately wished that her mother would help look after her father. Because she couldn’t afford someone to stay the night. Because she was the one juggling survival and responsibility all by herself. Daisy blinked back the sting in her eyes and forced a smile, thinner now and shakier. "I’ll make you something, okay? Something soft." She slowly stood, her fingers slipping gently from his. "Just wait a little longer, Dad. I’ll be quick." She stepped out of the room and moved down the stairs, the weight of everything dragging behind her with each step. In the kitchen, the silence was heavier than before. Her fingers clenched around her phone, the screen now dark and cold against her palm. "You’re really selfish, Mom." The words slipped out, soft but bitter, like something that had been sitting on her tongue too long. But then, the phone rang. She didn’t expect her mother to call back but she did. Daisy hesitated for half a second before answering. "What is it, Daisy?" came Jasmine’s voice, bright, carefree, like she was calling from another universe entirely. "I’m out with my friends. They dragged me into some ’Mom Me Time Party’ thing." A light laugh followed, "I’ll probably be back around midnight." Daisy stood frozen in the kitchen, phone pressed to her ear, her hand tightening with every word. Midnight. Her eyes drifted to the dim hallway beyond the kitchen and the stairs that led back to her father. "Do you even deserve the me time?" Her voice was low, but the edge in it was sharp enough to cut through the distance between them. There was a pause on the other end. Just a second but it said everything. "Daisy," Jasmine finally said, her tone shifting ever so slightly, "Don’t start." Daisy let out a breath through her nose, a bitter smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "Too late. I already did." "You find everything I do wrong..." Jasmine’s voice strained. "Can’t I just have—" "No, you can’t!" Daisy snapped, cutting her off. Her voice cracked with the force of it. "It’s not like I think what you’re doing is wrong—it is wrong, Mom!" Her throat tightened, rage colliding with heartbreak. "How could you? How could you leave Dad alone in the dark like that... like he’s already dead?" The moment the words left her mouth, her legs gave out. She grabbed the edge of the kitchen table, barely catching herself before she fell completely. Then slowly, she sank into a crouch, her hand still gripping the table as her body trembled, barely holding her emotions together. Jasmine was quiet on the line. There was a long hum, like she was trying to find a way to reason with her. "When I left early... Minda was still there." Daisy let out a soft, breathless laugh, one that held no humor. Still crouched on the kitchen floor, she stared at the space in front of her like it might ground her. "She leaves at five, Mom." Her voice was quiet now. Flat. "You knew that." The silence on the other end stretched longer this time. Then, a hesitant breath. "Hmm... I—I thought you’d be back by then." Jasmine’s voice wavered, and Daisy could hear the nervous gulp on the line. She knew. She knew Daisy was really mad and this time, she had no defense that could soften it. "Mom..." Daisy paused, holding back the storm building in her chest. She didn’t want to explode. But she’d had enough. "Since you like to party so much... don’t bother coming back." Another breath. This one is harder. "I guess me and Dad’s world is just too different from yours now." And with that, she ended the call.