The Star That Lit the Way

Luna seemed afraid that I'd press further. Huffing with effort, she pulled a stack of textbooks from her backpack.

“Uncle Jason, come quickly!”

She wore a stern little face that struck me as especially adorable, and I couldn’t help but feel a mischievous urge to tease her.

“Sweetheart, Daddy could help with your homework.”

I plopped down beside her. She flinched and darted behind Jason as if I were something contagious.

“Daddy, I don’t have time to play with you. Can you stop being so childish? I have homework to do.

“Mommy's right. You have too much free time.”

Jason gave me an awkward smile, then crouched to comfort Luna.

“Darling, don’t be rude to your Daddy. He rarely gets time to spend with you. And he’s a teacher, he can help you better than I can. Go on, it’ll be fine.”

As Jason gently tried to nudge her toward me, the princess-clad Luna exploded in fury.

She grabbed a piece of fruit from the table and hurled it at me.

“Go away! I don’t want you! I only want Uncle Jason! Why can't you understand? Why did you come back to ruin everything?”

I froze midstep as Luna’s sobs grew louder, more desperate.

“Mommy! I don’t want Daddy! I want Uncle Jason! Mommy!”

Her tears fell like hailstones.

I retreated instantly, forcing a smile around the acid in my throat.

“All right. Daddy won’t come over. Let Uncle Jason help you.”

In our final day together before my departure, I didn’t want to upset her anymore.

No matter how much she hated me, she was still my daughter.

“I’m sorry, Dante. She’s really attached to me,” Jason said with guilt in his eyes.

I shook my head and forced a smile. “It’s fine. You're right to put her first.”

How could I blame him? It wasn’t his fault she didn’t want me.

And besides, if I said even one more word, she’d only cry again.

“If you have nothing to do, Dante, why don’t you go out for a walk instead of coming here just to upset Luna? Honestly, I don’t know how you even call yourself a father.”

Amber Sky stepped out, her gaze filled with contempt.

“Jason’s the one who’s usually here for her. No wonder she doesn’t want to be close to you.”

She made a point of walking past me and slammed her shoulder into mine—hard.

I winced instinctively, a sheen of sweat breaking across my forehead.

My shoulder had already been injured the day before, courtesy of Luna.

I had shown up uninvited at her school’s event, and she’d been furious, embarrassed in front of her classmates.

Before I could react, she had shoved me with all her strength. I crashed into some playground equipment and ended up badly bruised.

Amber knew all of this, and yet, she still rammed into that exact spot.

The message was clear: I wasn't wanted here.

I lowered my head and smiled bitterly before retreating to my bedroom.

“Yay! Mommy chased the bad guy away! I hate him! He's so annoying! All my classmates laugh at me because of him!”

Luna’s triumphant cheers carried through the door, followed by Amber’s laughter.

“All right, all right. If you don’t like Daddy, then from now on, let Uncle Jason take care of everything, okay?”

“Even parent-teacher meetings?”

Luna's innocent question twisted like a knife in my chest. Yet, part of me felt relieved as her attachment to Jason meant my departure wouldn't devastate her.

That afternoon, as I drifted in uneasy sleep, Luna barged in.

A stinging slap landed on my cheek.

“Daddy! Get up already.”

I rubbed my blurry eyes, the physical pain barely registering compared to the ache in my voice.

“Luna…”

The teacher in me wanted to scold her disrespect, but with my departure imminent, the words morphed into strained gentleness.

“What is it, Sweetheart? Did you need something?”