"Papa hasn't come home yet…"
Ria gazed at the sky from their spacious balcony with a yearning melancholy in her amber eyes. The winds in the evening sky brushed past her hair, causing it to sway while her clothes fluttered.
Ria recalled her father telling her that he would come back soon, only to disappear for weeks altogether. She had noticed his absence right away, feeling an aching pain in her chest at his disappearance.
She enjoyed her father's presence, his attached affection for her, and how much fun they had together. She especially loved it when she commanded him with 'whoosh,' he would lift her up in his arms and take her somewhere new in the blink of an eye.
"Oh dear Ria…" Amare emerged on the balcony, her eyes softening as they fell on her young daughter.
"Mama?" Ria turned around towards her mother with a yearning expression. "Mama, where is Papa? When is he coming back?"
"…I'm sure he'll come back soon, my precious baby."
"Ria isn't a baby."
