۞ ONE ۞

Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil

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PER OUR TRADITION, ON FRIDAYS IT'S MY TURN to cook, so, I woke around 6 am to prepare to make out breakfast, since dad wakes up quite early. But as when I went to the kitchen, dad was sitting in front of the table for two, with his iPad in hands, and the table was full of food. With my hands on my waist I stared at him, "Dad, is something affecting your memories? Today is Friday. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are my days to cook. If you are doing this because you want me to cook tomorrow, don't even think about it."

Giving me that crooked smile, he locked his iPad and put it aside, "I would never do that, Arianna!"

"Again, you mean, right?" I mocked. "You do that once per month. And you know I'm not joking. That's not going to happen, okay? So, I'll cook lunch, our noon snack, and dinner," I said, as I sat down on my chair, and took a cheese bread filled with Nutella.

His emerald eyes stared at me, watching me eat with hawk-like eyes. He does this since I was 13 and had problems with eating, because I thought I was getting fat, when I wasn't, and so I began to eat less and less and less, and I got sick because of it for a while. But dad helped me out. "No, I'll cook today."

Sigh, "I won't cook tomorrow, dad. You know I don't like to cook on the weekends," I managed to say after taking my time to finish my cheese bread and take a sip of my cappuccino.

"You won't have to, darling."

My eyebrows went up in surprise, "Dad, what's up with you? You never break out routine. This isn't like you."

"Arianna, don't you know what day is tomorrow?" What?

I blinked confused, "It's Saturday!"

He chuckled softly, "Oh, my… you must have taken this from your mom, because you are absolutely terrible with dates. It's your birthday tomorrow, darling."

"No. It's not. My birthday was a year ago."

"Yes, it's a yearly thing, Arianna," he exclaimed sarcastically. "You were born in March 27th. Tomorrow is March 27th, meaning that it's your birthday."

I blinked, not believing him, I took his iPad, "Isn't today March 6th?" But as I looked at the date in the screen, I bit my bottom lip. "Oh, it seems like you are right, dad. Tomorrow is indeed my birthday," sigh.

"You don't seem excited."

And I'm not. "It's just one year more in my life, dad. It's useless, it's not like I'm closer to my death or anything. What's the meaning of celebrating? I'm just turning 22, it's not like it deserves a celebration thought," clenching my jaw, I hoped he would switch the topic.

But of course he wouldn't. "You haven't lived anything yet, Ari, don't speak like that. It makes me sad."

"You are already sad, dad."

He gasped, "I'm the happiest for having you in my life, Arianna. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. And it makes me sad to see you talk like that. As if you felt hopeless because you can't die, when you haven't even met anyone."

"As if you would let me meet someone being scared of me being the girl of the prophecy like you are, dad," I mumbled, drinking the rest of my coffee. "I'm also not interested in knowing anyone else."

By how he arched his eyebrows, I could tell he was annoyed, "That's not how things should be, Arianna. I told you I kept you here with me to raise you the best I could and to teach you everything, since the magnetic field around our property slow down time and makes us be able to do four times more things then we could in only one. And it makes it feel like-"

"We are physically aging slowly, while our minds grow mature in a better pace," I added, knowing very well what he would say, since he said it countless of times. "And I know about that, dad. I'm thankful for it, and I was being honest when I said I have no desire in knowing anyone else. Especially when I might get attached to someone who will die, while I'll have to live with the grieve. I don't want that, dad. I don't need anyone else, but you."

I felt terrible by how sad my father looked, as if he was about to cry, "I should have given you more freedom. You can't be reclusive at 20 years old, Arianna Sasso-Saraiva! You can't. Not when you literally have the opportunity to live all you want, and do all you want, because you have time."

"Time is a curse, dad. And we both know it. I just…"

"You haven't even met your mom yet." I froze, as he yelled exasperated. "She needs you too, Ari. You need a mother."

"No, I don't!"

"Arianna, daughter, please."

"I don't need a mom, dad. I have you. It's all I need. You are all I know. I'm more immortal than witch. Mom's a witch. If I meet her, and the Sasso Clan knows about it, they will be able to tell that I'm also immortal. That will put both her and you into problems, since the Sasso Clan will probably come after the Saraiva Clan and that will not end well. And people will get anxious to know that there's a new hybrid here, and as they all fear the damn prophecy, they will treat me like a monster that might destroy that," sigh. "I don't want to deal with that."

He held my hands, making me look at his emerald eyes that mirrored my own. "Arianna, darling, you still have to meet your mom. And they won't be able to tell. Especially because she told them that she had a fling with a human, and as the cherished daughter of the patriarch, they ate her lie."

With a human? "So, they think I'm a weak half-breed, she had with a human? I feel offended."

Dad giggled, "Darling, she couldn't say otherwise. If she lied saying that she had you with a warlock of the Brazilian clan, she wouldn't be able to keep the lie alive, since they would come here and make her marry the guy, that didn't exist. It had to be with a human, and as it's quite common, they wouldn't be suspicious."

"Still, being half human sound quite disgusting. Nothing against them, but nothing on their favor either. Besides, I have my pride as an immortal, dad, even if I'm just 50% like you. I have more of you than mom's. And I don't know if I'll be able to handle them saying that I'm half human, or even being far from you."

Bringing my hands up, he kissed them, and I felt drops of tears falling on my skin, making my heartache, "I will also suffer being far from you, Ari. You are my precious baby, and you will always be. But you have to go."

I gasped, confused and annoyed, "But why? Why do I have to go, dad? Why? I don't want to be apart from you. I..." I fought back my tears. "What are you not telling me?"

He took a deep breath, "Before she left Brazil and went back to Italy, your mom and I made a deal. I would do my best to give you the best childhood and teenage-hood, and raise you until you turn 20. But to be able to do that, away from my clan, I raised the time barrier around our territory, with my blood as the key, so only I could get in and out, and it would keep your existence away from my clan's radar."

My eyes went wide open, "Is that the reason for the barrier?" I asked him about it for years but dad never told me about it. Now it all makes sense, I always knew he was scared of what his clan could try to do to me, but I didn't knew it was to this extent. "You could have told me, dad."

But he bounced his head, denying, "No. I couldn't bring myself to tell you. You mother would go back to Sicily in Italy, pretend like she had lost you, as if someone has kidnapped you, and would make them aware of your existence, so they would be waiting to one day found you. And then," oh, I got it.

"So, your plan was that when I turned 20, I would act as if I had just discovered about my biological mother, and went after her, in Italy, to reunite with her and her clan, under the pretense that I was the daughter she had with… a random human?" I'm not prepared for this.

A nod, "I'm sorry for not telling you, darling."

"You don't want me to go tomorrow, do you?"

"Yes, Ari, you should."

I felt hurt. Dad could at least have prepared me for this. And not just come and tell me I'll have to leave like this. I won't have time to deal with the fact that I'll have to leave my dad.

My tears came down like a waterfall. It couldn't be helped. I intended to never leave this place, to live here with my dad forever. I've never met any other living person, and I'm not prepared to that. I was only prepared to stay here with him.

"I… please, dad… can't you… can't you give me more days?"

He got up, came to where I was and hugged me, "I am sorry, Ari, but your mother is the one who helped me put up this barrier with her magic, and it was supposed to last until tomorrow. The day you turn 20. And I know I should have told you before, but that would make you get melancholic in your last days with me, and I couldn't handle that," dad kissed the top of my head.

Which was easy even if I was on my feet, since he's around 6'4, and I'm only 5'6. I don't know who I look like more, since I don't have a picture of my mom, although dad described her to me way too many times. Enough for me to have an image of her in my head.

While my dad, Lucas Saraiva, is tall, has tan skin, emerald green eyes, and straight dark brown hair, a thin nose a little bigger then normal, full heart-shaped lips, marked cheekbones, long eyelashes, dark beautiful eyebrows, dimples in both cheeks, wide shoulders, with a beautiful body, sculpted thanks to how hard he trains daily. Dad's both intimidating and cute to look at. Or maybe I think that because I know how emotional he is.

I bet he was a crybaby when he was a child. Or maybe loving and losing mom, and having me made him sensible and sweet like this.

While, according to what dad said, my mom, Alessia Sasso, is around my height, has pale skin, hip-length curly blond hair, full lips like Angelina Jolie's (my dad's words), a curvy hourglass figure but skinny, big round ocean blue eyes, wide shoulders, small waist, chubby cheeks, small nose, wrinkles on her cheekbones, bow thighs, and the most beautiful smile he had ever seen in his life.

I took her height, her body figure but not so skinny anymore since dad supervises all I eat and also because I train my body a lot so my figure is more sculpted than anything, and my shoulders are wide. My lips are what I believe to be a mixture of both, and my skin is more tanned then pale, but my skin is lighter than dad's. Now my hair came out a mixture of both as well as it's wavy and light brown like honey, and as I let it grow, it's now around my hips like dad said mom's was.

My eye are definitely round and big, but they are emerald like my dad's. Overall, I think my face is more like my dad's, since I have his eyelashes, his marked cheekbones, his dimples, and even the more under his left eye that makes him even more charming. Although I seem to have gotten mom's nose, and her wrinkles too, but they aren't just spread on my cheekbones, as hers were according to dad.

While my body is definitely more like hers as I said before, and I also have bow thighs. But my body is build to fight, since dad made sure I would be able to beat anyone who tried to come at me. And I, one hundred percent, didn't take dad's emotional way of acting and thinking, since I'm a very rational person, and I don't tend to be controlled by my emotions, which cannot be said for my dad.

Dad told me that I didn't take my bad tamper from mom either, since according to him my mind works similarly to my grandma, his mom. Nevertheless, dad also said that my stubbornness and straightforwardness definitely were things I took from mom.

So, yes. The fact that I'm crying right now means I'm about to break. Which isn't surprising, since my dad means the world to me, and I don't want to be apart from him.