25

The next day while we were walking, I asked Christian if he still felt like he wasn’t good enough for his parents.

    “Why are you asking?” he inquired.

    “Because I’m worried and I don’t think you should feel that way.”

    “Yes, I do.”

    I could tell from the sad look on his face that he wanted to talk, so I reminded him of the goodbye the dwarves gave him, which meant they loved him.

    “You said Angus is your Dad,” I said.

    “Yeah.”

    “He seems to love you.”

    “He does,” Christian said, smiling.

    “Did it occur to you that your parents were the ones who screwed up by abandoning you?”

    “Yeah, but I’m not sure, so I don’t know what to think.”

    “Angus seems great.”

    “He is. You know, the dwarves didn’t always live together.”

    “So, why do they now?”

    “Milton knows how to fight with a sword and he used to fight in the last war with the ghouls, like your Mom. But he was injured many times.”

    “Oh, no.”

    “Dad decided to gather his group of friends and suggested they go live in the forest because he was sure the ghouls would attack again at some point, even though by that time the war was over. He thought they would be safer if they lived in the forest, instead of the city. They all talked about this several times and decided this would be safer and they could live together because it wouldn’t make them lonely. Years later, Dad adopted me. I understand how close you are to your Mom.”

    “How?” I asked.

    “Because when you talk about her.”“Do you get along with your Dad?”

    “Yes.”

    “And if you need more proof, it seems like your Dad is proud of you.”

    “Yeah, and I’m glad.”

    Then, something seemed to occur to him.

    “You know, Dad has a habit of always considering the worst case scenario so he would be prepared for it.”

    “Does that help him?”

    “It has. And sometimes even when the bad things didn’t happen, he said it still helped him be strong. But with me, he always expects the best.”

    “That’s great,” I exclaimed, smiling. “It means he believes in you.”

    “He does. Even when I fail, he tells me people fail. He’s not mad or disappointed. He told me that people fail and I will never be perfect because it’s human nature.”

    “See? Does that sound like someone who thinks you’re not good enough?”

    “I have thought about that a lot.”

    A few hours later, I called Dad because he asked me to keep him posted. I felt better after talking to Dad and having Christian, of all people, with me. But there was something inside me that was screaming and it wouldn’t stop until I found Mom.