My Screen-Mom

Hello! My name is Lily, I’m a girl, and I’m six years old. My real mommy and daddy passed away a long time ago so I lived in a place called an orphanage for my whole life. That was until Daddy adopted me a week ago. He came to the orphanage and had a long chat with the director. He told her that he and his wife were ready to have a child, but for reasons he would not tell, his wife could not give birth herself. Before he came, he had to fill a questionnaire, kind of like a test, like the ones Mrs. Marzolla, my teacher at the school I go to down the street, gives me every week. He had to answer questions about what type of child he wanted, and then the director would choose out of all of us the one that fitted the description the best. Daddy must have wanted a daughter, because he got me!

I love my new daddy. Let me tell you a little about what he looks like. He is forty-three years old. He told me. He is a little fat--actually, Daddy prefers the term “overweight”--but he’s not too much of it, believe me! Just a little. He has balding hair, which he says he doesn’t like either, but I think it makes him look mature. Even though it does look funny. He wears these square, clear glasses all the time. Daddy also likes wearing collared shirts, grilling barbecue and drinking. And at first, I was very scared to have a new family when he took me in, but now I have gotten used to having a daddy that takes care of me. But the main thing about Daddy is that he is very nice! He is polite to everyone, and when he spent a little time at the orphanage he made the children laugh. He can be very funny sometimes! I felt proud to tell everyone there that he was going to be my new dad.

Oh! But let me tell you now. The real surprise was my new mom.

I was a little shy when I met my new daddy. But he felt comforting to me when he knelt down and met me at the orphanage. He took my hand and lead me out as I said goodbye to everyone. In the car, we talked a lot about our favourite ice cream and the movies I liked to watch over and over again. He also told me that when we’d get home, I was going to meet my mom.

Mommy was a big surprise. When Daddy opened the door to his house, I was greeted by a TV on a rolling cart-thingie. There was a very pretty animated lady’s face on the screen with big eyes and a lovely smile. At first, I was confused at what she was, but when she spoke to me she said, “Hi! Welcome to your new home, Lily! I’m your new mother, nice to meet you!” and then her digital eyes turned into happy curves like those cartoons I used to watch on the TV at the orphanage.

“My new mommy is a cartoon?” I asked, unsure about it all. I had never had a mom before, so I wasn’t sure if this was what it was like to have one. What did I know about having one? They could be cartoons, maybe I just didn’t know.

“Yes Lily, this is my wife,” explained Daddy to me. “Don’t worry, you will feel right at home. I cook and clean, but she’ll play with and entertain you. You can talk to her about anything.”

“That’s right, Lily!” said my new mommy on the screen. As she smiled again, white sparkles flashed around her eyes.

“Oh, okay,” I said shyly, putting my cheek against Daddy’s hand that I was still holding.

I was scared of Mommy at first. But let me tell you now! I wasn’t that scared. And I got used to her quickly. Mommy always made sure I packed my crayons in my bag before school. She could talk about anything, and I didn’t know how. Whatever movie I told her about that I watched at the orphanage, she knew all the details about it, all the actors, the lines, the date it was released. She was very smart! Other than that, I could tell that she took care of Daddy a lot and loved him very much. She always woke him up like an alarm every morning. She told him the recipe of the pancakes he would cook for breakfast. In return, Daddy always pushed her everywhere. Even up and down the stairs, where he would carry the monitor from the cart and place her on a table in their bedroom. And he would bring her to my room whenever I needed my mommy.

Mommy and Daddy were also never afraid to show their affection! I know right, ew! In the living room while watching cartoons, they would kiss right there in the kitchen! Just a quick kiss on the lips to show that they loved each other very much. Daddy would go right up to the screen and Mommy’s animation would change to do the action by puckering her lips. They also did it every morning before Daddy went to work, and Mommy would say, “Bye, honey! Have a good day at work!”

Oh, I forgot. I don’t think I’ve really told you what my mommy looks like. Well, that’s the fun part! She doesn’t have just one look. Some days she has brown hair, some days blonde. Black, red, and--you won’t believe me--other cool colours too! Like, I have seen her with purple hair, or neon pink hair, or green, blue, silver, any colour possible! She says that it’s Daddy’s decision what hair colour she will have that day, he gets to choose with settings when he wakes up. I think that’s sooo cool! Even her eyes, too! She gets to choose whatever eye colour she wants. And did I mention not just the colour, but the style of her hair, too? Oh, and her face! Maybe one day she has a pretty ponytail, or her face changes from looking like a beautiful mature lady to a young teenaged girl! I wish I could change my appearance like that, to anything I want whenever I feel like it! Sometimes, her screen zooms out and her full body is visible on the screen, too. Just like her traits, she can also choose whatever outfit she wants. Well I mean, and Mommy reminds me all the time, it’s Daddy that chooses. Sometimes she wears a kimono, sometimes a gown or dress, sometimes a cheongsam, sometimes a hanfu--I’ve seen her in high heels, in a baseball cap and t-shirt like she’s ready to play, in casual pyjamas, in a hijab and her skin tone turns darker, and she’s even shown me the white wedding dress she wore when she married Daddy. It was pretty. The one constant thing about her appearance though is that she always has big eyes. I mean, they don’t look unnatural or weird, but compared to the rest of her face they are big. And her lips are always small. She says Daddy never changes these settings. I personally think he made a good decision, she looks so cute with those features all the time!

I love my mommy and I know she loves me very much. Oh! One time, I remember that I fell off my bike while trying to learn how to ride without training wheels with Daddy. I scraped my knee really badly, and there was a huge cut! I cried a lot. Daddy brought me in and while he searched for the first aid kit, Mommy was there, on the screen, comforting me the whole time. She told me it was okay, and that she’d blow kisses at it to make me feel better. I watched as she did and her screen was filled with pink hearts. I giggled and I ended up feeling a lot better. I don’t know what I’d do without Mommy.

Here are some of my other favourite memories with my new parents. The first is when they took me on a picnic in a national park. It was a road trip. Daddy drove the car and Mommy, on her screen, was at the front too. Daddy played my favourite songs as I sang along to them in the car. We hiked up this short trail. Daddy carried Mommy on her screen the whole way. He said he wasn’t as fit as he used to be and he got tired a lot, while she encouraged him all the way. There were a few people on the trail that stared at Daddy carrying Mommy when we came to them, giving him weird looks.

“Why are they looking at us like that?” I asked him.

“Don’t worry about them,” he said. “They just don’t understand.”

“What don’t they understand?”

“I love your mother very much.”

Mommy smiled, showing that she was very happy on her screen.

When we got to the top of the trail there was an amazing view. We could see a whole forest, mountains, and a waterfall in the distance! Wow! I wish I could go back there and see it again. Daddy had brought a backpack with snacks. He brought them out for all three of us to enjoy. He brought granola bars to Mommy’s mouth to eat. He had to only pretend though, she couldn’t really eat it, which was funny. We had a really great time! The one thing I remember was that Daddy had planned it all, and I really like him for that!

The next memory was when I had a chat with Mommy on a rainy day about my bullies. Some of the kids at school were very mean to me because they had heard that I had gotten adopted and that my new parents were freaks, and they even said the teachers thought so because they heard them call my daddy an outcast. I had asked Mommy what an outcast was.

“Don’t worry sweetie,” she said. “It’s just a word that people call other people when they don’t understand each other.”

“What don’t they understand about you, Mommy? Why don’t they like you? Is it because you’re not a real person?” She looked hurt after, so I said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything like that!”

“It’s okay sweetie, I know you didn’t. And it could be that. Or maybe they’re jealous of how much your father loves me. People don’t like things alien to them. Maybe true love is alien to them. You don’t have to worry about them.”

And then for the rest of the night she talked to me about how to deal with my bullies. She gave me lots of “life advice,” which is what she called it, and made me feel much better. It was the first time I was really thankful for my mommy, and was the first time I realized how much life was better with a loving mom and dad.

The third and final memory is actually a terrible one. But what happened at the end is why I still like it and why I’m going to tell it to you. It all started one night when Daddy invited his coworker friend and his family to dinner at our house. This was the first time other people had ever entered our house, and I did not know what was going to happen. Before, I thought Daddy never wanted other people in the house because they would hurt Mommy in some way. But I guess he decided this time to finally reveal his wife to his friend, who had been asking about her a lot.

The Dobermans came over one winter. There was Mr. Doberman, Daddy’s friend, his wife Mrs. Doberman, and their kids, two boys and one girl, and oh, the girl was the youngest and looked like my age. During the dinner they looked uncomfortable to be there and kept looking at Mommy on her screen propped up on some books on her chair, next to Daddy. Mommy was in a bright, green dress, had the top of her hair in a bun but the rest long and overflowing, and had makeup on for the guests. She looked beautiful as usual. But of course, as usual, she looked cartoonish with her big eyes and neon pink hair--that was her hair colour at the time, Mommy said it was called fuchsia--and she even had a ribbon in her hair so she looked a little girlish. Daddy, of course, looked the same, he kept pushing up his glasses and trying to stuff and hide his big belly under the table.

“Thanks for having us over, Albert,” said Mr. Doberman. “And, uhh, it’s nice to meet your… wife, too.”

“Have a seat! I made a lasagna for us all.”

For most of the dinner everyone talked normally and tried to be polite and respectful, even if the Dobermans tried to ignore Mommy at the table. Mommy would smile and put her hands together and lift her leg up behind her and there would be starry sparkles on the screen. She would talk every so often just to join the conversation of the adults, but the Dobermans rarely listened to her, it was mostly just Daddy who did. The kids looked at her and grew more uncomfortable. It made me mad. Enough to the point when one time I told them, “Stop staring at my mommy that way!”

Then, everything got worse when one of the boys, the middle one, cried out, “Dad! Why is that TV with that girl there? Can we turn it off? She’s creeping me out!” and his brother and sister chimed in agreement, “Yeah!”

Mrs. Doberman had pleading eyes to her husband, but it was obvious she did not want to do anything to stay polite to Daddy. After all, she was in his house. Although, before Mr. Doberman could even answer his kids, his little daughter at the table got off her seat, walked over to the screen, and turned it off. Her siblings cheered.

“No!” roared Daddy, louder than I’ve ever heard him before.

“Okay,” said Mr. Doberman as his eyes suddenly filled with fear I didn’t know he was hiding. “Now that she’s not listening, I must say, Albert. At first I thought this was all a joke. But I can see you’re clearly serious. I must ask the question we all have been waiting to ask. Why is your wife a cartoon on a screen?”

“How dare you do this to her in my house!” said Daddy. I’ve never seen him this mad before either. In fact, I’ve rarely seem him mad at all. He’s usually very happy and kind. “You don’t get to decide what to do here!”

“You’re delusional, Albert. I’m trying to help you. Trying to clear your mind. This isn’t… right. Do you want everyone to think you’re insane? You can’t love a--a cartoon. Get a hold of yourself and reality.”

“We’re just trying to help,” Mrs. Doberman pitched in.

“I don’t care what you say!” said Daddy. “I love her!”

“Albert,” said Mr. Doberman slowly, like trying to tame an animal, “we mean no disrespect, but--”

Then Daddy got really mad. His face turned red, he got up from his seat and slammed the table, and he shouted, “Out. Now!”

The Dobermans did not try any further. I watched in silence through it all as Mrs. Doberman whispered to her kids that they were going to go and gently ushered them out, with Mr. Doberman putting on his coat and following them, looking back at his friend with a frown. I didn’t say anything at all, and maybe Mr. Doberman noticed. I saw him looking at me, his face all scared-looking, and then it lit up like he had a big thought. But then he went out the door as well.

When the Dobermans were out the door, Daddy rushed to turn the screen back on to bring back Mommy. She came back to life panting for air. “What happened?” she asked. Daddy told her she was safe now and hugged her. I saw her do the same, trying to wrap her arms around the edge of the screen he was against. Then they both waved a hand at me to join in. So I did.

And then later, after this all, the two of them told me a lot about how the world was going to treat them, but that none of it mattered because the two of them would always be there for me, and they would go through all the bullies all for me.

That is why that is one of my favourite memories of Mommy and Daddy! I saw very clearly their love for each other and their love for me! 

But now, I have to get to the bad part of the story. 

Mommy was taken away today.

It happened like this. Before it happened, Daddy was feeling really down one day.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, giggling because I didn’t think it was very serious.

But he was slumped over and frowning so bad that he made me feel sad myself. When he looked at me he smiled a little. “It’s nothing, Lily.”

“I don’t think it’s nothing!” I said. “Maybe you should go talk to Mommy. She will make you feel better.”

His smile faded and he looked down. Then he said, “That’s the thing. Mommy might be the problem,” and before I could say anything else, he got up and went up to his room, where Mommy currently was.

Then, before I knew it, today Mommy was gone. I noticed it immediately when I woke up, because she always says good morning to me when I go downstairs to the living room.

I asked Daddy where she went. He told me she’s gone because he got rid of her. He put the monitor screen that held her outside and early this morning, before I woke up, a garbage truck picked her up and is now carrying her away. I didn’t even get to say goodbye! I screamed, “No! No! No! That’s my mommy! I don’t want her to go!”

Daddy closed his eyes and looked down. “I’m sorry.”

Then, as fast as I could, I ran to the door, put on my shoes, unlocked it, and ran outside. “Wait!” said Daddy, but it was too late. I was rushing down the street, hoping to catch the garbage truck that took my mommy. I was running faster than I ever did before, on the sidewalk, past all the houses and streets, not believing that Mommy was gone.

I ran into two policemen who stopped me.

“Whoa, whoa! Easy there, kid. Where are you going?”

“Hey, wait a minute, Jerry. This is the kid we’re looking for.”

“Hey, you’re right, it is!”

One of them, the one named Jerry, knelt down to me. “What’s your name?”

At this point, I was crying. “Lily,” I said, quietly through tears.

Jerry looked up at his friend. “This is her.”

He looked back to me. “Listen carefully, Lily. Did you run away from home?”

I nodded, my mouth quivering.

“We are doing an investigation on your father. Someone reported to us of a man who is not fit to take care of a child. It may be him.”

“It’s not my daddy!” I blurted. “He takes care of me very well!”

The officer looked confused. “Why did you run away from home?”

“Because the garbagemen took my mommy! I’m trying to get her back!”

They were unfazed by this. “Has he ever hurt you?” asked the officer.

“Why would he hurt me?”

“Has he ever made you feel scared?”

“Never!”

“Has he ever said anything you didn’t like?”

“Stop! I love my daddy! Don’t go near him!”

“Do you know if other people don’t like him?”

Then I remembered the dinner with the Dobermans. “No!” I lied.

The other officer tapped Jerry’s soldier, and Jerry stood up. He whispered something into his ear. Then Jerry looked at me and said, “Lily, this might be hard for you, but we’re going to have to take you in. You didn’t do anything wrong. We’re trying to protect you.”

“No! Please help me find my mommy!”

“We will. But for now, we need to keep you away from your father until we learn more from our investigation.”

I sobbed harder. “Will I ever see him again?”

The two officers looked at each other. The other one nodded. Then Jerry said, “You will.”

I felt a little better after that. When I calmed down more, the policemen brought me inside their car and we started driving somewhere. I had no car seat, so I was not tall enough to see the window. But during the ride, all I could think about was if my life would change forever from the happy one it used to be with my parents. I didn’t know where I was being taken, or what would happen next. All that I knew was that I missed my mommy and daddy. They said they would both always be there for me. They promised me. I wished we were back at that moment after the dinner with the Dobermans, hugging each other as a family, and I wished we could be like that forever.

I lost my screen-mom, the one person who made Daddy happy. As the policemen drove me further and further from home, and because maybe I might never see her again, I thought to myself, I will never ever forget her. Ever.

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