“Bill, there’s a young woman at the door. She says she knows you.”
“Did she tell you her name, Karen?”
“No. Should I ask?”
“Never mind. I’ll come see what she wants.”
The blood drained from Bill’s head. The “young woman” was in her early twenties. Karen didn’t mention she was exceptionally attractive. More disturbingly, she looked a little bit familiar.
After taking half a minute to regain his composure, Bill said, “Hello. Umm…who are you?”
“Don’t you recognize me?”
“Recognize?”
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“Not really, no.”
“They told me this might happen. It’s been, as you say, a few years. And my mother told me you probably wouldn’t remember me. I was hoping…”
“Hoping for what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The young woman struggled to hold back tears.
“I might as well just say it. You probably won’t believe me, but it was worth a try.”
“Believe what, exactly? What are you trying to tell me?”
“You’re my father.”
“I think you have the wrong guy.”
“No, I don’t. You’re my father. My mother…”
“Look,” Bill interrupted. “Is this a prank? Did my brother put you up to this?”
“No. I am your daughter. We had to say goodbye four years ago. I was three then.”
“Now I know this is a prank. You look like you are in your early twenties, not seven. This makes no sense.”
Karen joined Bill at the door.
“Bill, who is this? Did she just say she’s your daughter? Were you married before?”
“No. Honey. I don’t know what she’s talking about. She just said she’s seven years old. This is nuts. Look, young lady, do I have to call the police, or will you just go now?”
The “young lady” started to cry. “Don’t you remember anything? You called me your Little Tweety Bird. You came to see me every week. You held me in your arms, and we laughed and played games…but then I had to go away.”
“You never told me you had a wife and a child before we met, Bill.”
“That’s because I didn’t, Karen. This has to be a sick joke.”
“I’m not joking,” the young woman said.
“What do you want from me, then?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to see my dad again.”
“Do you have any proof I’m your father?” Bill asked.
“I do. But if I show it to you, will you let me explain? Will you promise not to send me away?”
“Alright. I promise. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
The young woman pulled some pages from her purse. One was a DNA comparison, with William Howard listed as the father, and someone named Marielle X as the daughter. 99.99% probability. There was also a photograph of a five-year-old on the knee of a younger William. Both were smiling, apparently happy.
“My mother took that photograph,” Marielle said matter-of-factly.
“I need to sit down,” Bill said.
“You need to sit down before I knock you down,” Karen snapped back, but then took a breath and exercised patience. “Maybe we should all go inside and sit down.”
Marielle turned to Karen. “It’s not what you think.”
“What is it then? Some sort of immaculate conception?”
Karen was incredulous.
Bill had nothing to say.
Marielle waited a minute or so, then began. “I just wanted to see my dad again. It wasn’t his fault I had to go away. My mother didn’t understand your customs…”
“What does that even mean?” Bill broke his silence.
“I’m sorry,” Marielle replied. “I was warned this would be…difficult.”
“Why don’t you just start at the beginning, Marielle?” Karen seemed intrigued.
“Father, don’t you remember the accident?”
“What accident?”
“The accident when you saved my mother’s life and you spent a few days in the hospital.”
“I saved your mother? From what?”
“She told me she stepped out in front of an automobile, and you pushed her out of its path. But you lost your balance, and it hit you instead.”
“I don’t remember that.”
Marielle pulled another document out of her purse. “This is a report from the hospital. My mother kept it out of your official records.”
“Holy s… it says here I had a concussion and some major contusions on my right leg. No wonder my knee hurts when it rains. But I don’t remember meeting your mother. What does this have to do with your birth?”
“She came to see you in the hospital.”
“And that’s how we met?”
“Not exactly. You were unconscious. Sedated. She wanted to make sure you were alright. And she wanted some of your DNA.”
“Wait. What?” Bill reacted.
“Is your mother some kind of pervert? Did she have sex with an unconscious man?” Karen became a lot less patient.
“No! It’s not like that. She just took a small sample of his DNA.”
Bill jumped back in. “As much as I think non-consensual sex is bad, that’s not that much better. Why would she do something like that?”
“Well, my mother comes from a very important family. We’re almost like royalty.”
“And being royalty makes her entitled to…”
“She didn’t realize that at the time. She thought you were very brave and…she just wanted to add your genetic material to the family line. And before you say anything, you were very angry with her seven years ago. But when I was born, you said you would put it all behind you for my sake.”
“Oh, I did, did I?”
“That’s what my mother told me. I wasn’t aware at that time.”
“But you were aware at three?”
“By my third year, I became very sick. Your genetic material and my mother’s genetic material were not compatible. This sometimes happens with hybrids. Sometimes genetic disease results. My life was at risk. So, I had to go away.”
“I know I’m not going to like the answer to this question, but away to where?”
“To my mother’s home world.”
“O…K. This is a prank. Where are the cameras?”
“It’s not a prank. There are no cameras. You didn’t have sex with my mother. She used your DNA to become pregnant with me. And three months later I was born.”
“Right…so you were a preemie…” Bill lapsed into sarcasm.
“No. Three months is the normal amount of time on my planet. We grow and age approximately three times as fast as humans, at least at first. Even hybrids like me. I am 7 years old. At about age 12, my aging process will slow, allowing me to live to about 200 Earth years. My mother explained all of this to you.”
“I don’t remember any of it.”
“Don’t you remember the fun you had watching me grow so quickly. You were always excited to see how much I changed from week to week.” Marielle pulled a little star-shaped plush pillow out of her purse. “You gave me this one week before I left. You said it was a good luck charm…so I would have a safe journey to the stars.”
“You said you went to your mother’s home world. Why?”
“Isn’t that obvious? It’s the only place I could receive treatment for the incompatibility. My mother had to pull a lot of strings, as you might say. You made her promise that I could come back someday. Here I am.”
“Why don’t I remember any of this? As I look at you, I see some of myself. No doubt your mother is there too, but I don’t recall what she looked like.”
“She told me you were heartbroken after you said goodbye to me. She said she didn’t expect you to be so…inconsolable. That’s the word she used. You wanted to go with me, but that wasn’t permitted, so she erased your memory rather than allow you to be miserable.”
“Let’s see if I have this straight. Your mother took a sample of my DNA. I don’t want to ask where that came from. She got herself pregnant. And she erased my memory. All without my consent. And she sent you away from me just when I had grown to love you as my child. Then…she sent you back to me. Why? To torment me? If this is a prank, it’s not funny anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I thought you would remember, or I could help you remember.” Marielle paused. “I love you, father.”
Bill turned the plush star pillow over and over in his hands. He sighed. “Marielle, what is your mother’s name?”
“Her name is Asteria of the House of Xorra. It is somewhat different in our language but that is what she told you.”
Bill stared at the little star. He pictured young Marielle squeezing it. He handed it to her and said, “Squeeze this for me.”
Marielle squeezed the pillow, smiled, and said, “thank you, father.”
Her little hands were all grown up now. Yet she squeezed the pillow the same way she did 4 years ago…or 12 years ago… Her smile hadn’t changed, nor had the earnest look of a sick little girl who might never see her dad again. Bill stood up and motioned for Marielle to stand. He looked at his wife as if to say, “she’s telling the truth.” Bill hugged Marielle and said, “I love you, Little Tweety Bird. I’m happy you came. You were lost, but now you’re found.”
Later, Karen’s mind raced through the alternative explanations for a twenty-something arriving on a married man’s doorstep. Could Marielle’s mom have sent her away because she was a teenager who was getting too close to an older man? Possibly. Could she be a con artist playing for sympathy? Maybe. And where was her mother, anyway? When would she show up to play her part? Was Bill faking amnesia? Would he do that? Were the documents forgeries? Was the photo real? Was Marielle more of a Jolene, who came to take Bill away? She was stunningly beautiful after all. But she had Bill’s eyes…
Karen reluctantly agreed to let Marielle stay for a few weeks. In time, Karen was able to see their father-daughter bond reshaping itself. Deep down, Bill realized that this visit could not last forever. Intellectually, he knew Marielle did not belong here, but he still feared the approaching loss. Karen began to accept Marielle as a stepdaughter of sorts, although she didn’t appear to be “that much younger.” Talking with Marielle reminded her of the chats she had with her mom a few years before she got married.
One night, the power went out for a minute. Bill and Karen heard a whirring sound outside. At first, they thought it must be a repair crew. Then they remembered Marielle had said “goodbye” to them after dinner and had gone to bed early. It didn’t dawn on them that she might be leaving until well after the whirring faded. In the morning, Marielle was gone.
Bill couldn’t find the right words to express what he felt. He was heartbroken again, only this time he knew he would remember every moment. Karen was heartbroken not only for Bill, but for all her doubts about him and Marielle.
Karen was the first to speak. “You’re going to make a wonderful father, Bill.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“Let’s just say I didn’t need alien science to get a sample of your DNA.”
MurrayWorks 