Afloat E. 9

"Weeping may endure the night but joy comes in the morning.” 

-Psalm 30:5.

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Fresh tears seeped out of my swollen eyes and ran down my excreta designed face. 

"God, please help me...." I murmured a silent prayer.

*******

“Where did you say Dapper went to?” 

I asked while flipping through the newspaper in my hands. I had been home for two hours and it was almost 2100 hours and there was still no sign of my kid sister. 

“Where else if not that troupe." 

My mother explained with a deep frown creasing her beautiful face. She was sitting across from me in our large and tastefully furnished living room.

"Oh I totally forgot she is still with them."

“I am worried. Ever since you left, this is what I have been facing. I just don't like this group that is always keeping her outside till late in the night. I don’t like it and I will have to put an end to it today.”

Dropping the newspaper on the side table, I met her worried gaze; 

“Mom come on. She told us before joining the troupe and you gave your consent.”

“Alex this is not a joke. So what if I consented? Nobody told me it would turn her into a night crawler. Besides, you know the country is not safe. I am simply not comfortable with my only daughter walking our lonely road at night because of a silly group. If you won't talk to your sister, then don't blame me when I forbid her from attending that group's activities.”

I laughed lightly and flung my legs off the couch; 

“remember what the doctor said about your blood pressure, so don’t start getting worked up over this issue... I will talk to her when she gets back.”

She mumbled in response, got up and headed for her room while I stood up and went outside to look out for my kid sister. She was unusually late and I was getting worried. 

Bridget or Dapper as she loves to be called, is my younger and only sister. Growing up with her was amazing and annoying at some point but I love my family and would look out for them. After dad informed the family he had cancer and had few weeks to live we refused to accept the diagnosis. It was a brief but fierce battle to save his life and it gulped down all my savings, the family business was already facing crisis so nothing could come out from it so Bridget's savings for her clothing line business had to go into dad's hospital bills as well. Eventually dad passed on, then the battle to save Bridget started.

We thought we were going to lose her. She became withdrawn and a shell of her former self. Mom would cry all night and everything we tried to get her back failed until the day she announced she had gone for the troupe’s auditioning and was selected. That troupe brought back my sister and, we were ready to do anything to keep the smile on her beautiful face. I gave in to her wish without any objection because I needed the two most important people in my life to continue being happy.

“Dapper, where are you?”

I asked the darkness as if my answers laid in it. Pulling out my phone, I dialled a number I knew by heart.

“Where is she?” I asked the moment he answered my call.

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