Daydream (18+)

Prologue | Memory Lane

"Mama, What's this?" Nineteen-year-old Sonali asked her mother, as she held up a large dusty box. It had been taped neatly as if it had never been opened or re-sealed.

They were doing their spring cleaning and were starting with their garage first.

"Oh! I nearly forgot about this..." Sheridan said in surprise as stepped towards her daughter. "I haven't opened it in years."

"What's in it? Can I open it?" She asked in wonderment while already picking at the tape.

Sheridan took a steady breath, knowing she kept the box tucked away for years. "Sure, you can. I guess you're old enough now. It's your father and I's things."

"My father?"

Sonali quickly peeled the end of the tape and opened the box. Inside she found three men's button-up shirts, an old trench coat, a photo album, and what seemed to be old gifts. She opened the photo album and saw pictures of her mother with a tall, dark-skinned man. She noticed he had eyes similar to hers, piercing and a mix of hazel and dark brown. Her father was always in professional attire, and her mother had a big grin on her face in every picture. Although the sight was delightful, Sheridan found herself getting emotional as she watched Sonali pick up items out of the box.

Sheridan knew that eventually this day would come. She knew her daughter would get older and question the past. Sheridan always tried to keep her late husband's memory alive in their only child's life. However, the day came faster than the speed of sound.

Nevertheless, part of her looked forward to this day.

The garage door was open, and she briefly glanced up, as the clouds moved and a crack of sunlight beamed. Simultaneously, rain drops hit the pavement.

The air felt as if her late husband was present.

Honey, are you here? Sheridan thought with a perplexed grimace.

"—Mom? Mama!"

Sheridan snapped out of her wonder and focused on her daughter.

"What's wrong? I asked you something, why haven't you given me any of this yet? Or at least let me see it all."

"Actually... I hadn't opened this box in years—ever really. It was my way to move on–not to forget him or anything—but simply move forward."

"What do you mean?"

Before Sheridan could respond, she made sure to choose her words carefully, "I just thought that if I kept looking at your father's things it would make me far more devastated than I already was. I had to do what I thought was best since I was pregnant with you at the time, and that meant to be strong."

Silence filled the air and Sonali saw her mother's somber expression, something she often saw as a young girl.

"I always wondered what he was like, how different life would be if I knew him—oh my God! Your wedding dress!" Sonali squealed, holding up her mother's vintage-inspired wedding dress. Sheridan scrunched her face after Sonali nearly ruptured her eardrum from excitement.

"Sonali, please stop being so loud." She sighed.

Although ideally, Sheridan had never wanted to be a single mother, she immediately dismissed the notion to terminate her pregnancy. After all, she always wanted to be a mother, even if that meant doing it alone. Which scared her half to death at the time.

"Anyways, me too, he was really excited for you. You resemble him a lot most days. You have his eyes, his rich dark skin, and that charming smile...it's all him. After you, he was the greatest love I had ever experienced. Sheridan responded that her eyes began to glow as she fondly stared at the photo. The feeling of love and adoration she felt was so potent and nostalgic.

Sonali had never seen her mother with a man. Very rarely did Sheridan even date but she always kept her love life and daughter separate. She never wanted to introduce a man too early to her daughter if he wasn't potentially going to be a permanent figure.

But as the years went by, Sheridan found solace in being alone with her daughter. Her daughter and extended family were enough for her. Especially since she came to the conclusion that no man would ever measure up to her late husband. She found herself looking for his qualities in other men and wound up disappointed every time.

Many people around would tell her she deserves love again, and that her daughter needed a father figure. But Sheridan could never replace her husband and the father of her child.

Sonali was protective over her mother, but she wanted the best for her. After seeing how in love her parents looked within the photos, she was completely invested in knowing more about her mother and father's past.

It was interesting for her to see photos of her parents before she even existed.

"Come on mom, tell me about him. I want to know everything, I'm not little anymore. So, you can tell me everything." Since Sonali was a young girl, she was a chatterbox with endless questions about everything possible. Once she became suspicious or curious of something she grilled nonstop.

'She is just like her father...God, those lawyer genes run deep.' Sheridan thought, shaking her head annoyed. She had forgotten that it was a quality her late husband possessed and he ultimately passed it down to their daughter. It drove her crazy, but nevertheless it was something she loved about them.

Sonali continued to feed her mother every question under the sun while going through the box.

Sheridan had always shown pictures of her late husband to Sonali, so she'd recognize him and mentioned little things about him. But she never gave her the full love story.

"—and where was the wedding? You guys look so in love, it's all so romantic. You looked like a princess.

"I felt like one. He always treated me as such."

Sheridan reminisced for a moment, but afraid to be stuck there. She resumed sorting through their other old belongings, throwing them into a donation bag.

Her daughter reminded her of when she was young, a hopeless romantic always dreaming about finding her person; and she had found her person at some point in time. Sheridan had fallen madly in love with him. The type of love she and her husband made should have resulted in Sonali's existence along with many other babies.

But God had other plans.

"He was a district attorney, a wealthy one. He was also from New York originally–"

"--Wait my dad was an attorney? Why haven't you ever mentioned this? You know I want to be in law—wait, I had a rich father?" She laughed.

"Mm-hmm." Sheridan nodded, proudly. Her deceased husband would've been proud to know his only daughter planned to pursue the same career path. "He'd be over-the-moon excited to hear that you'd want to be in law."

"What happened to him? I know he's gone mama, and I know it's hard for you. But can you tell me more?"

"He passed away when I was about three months pregnant with you. I laid with him the hospital bed and when I woke up, he was gone." She responded with a sorrowful smile, she gently took the wedding photo from her daughter and gazed at it as if she was strolling down memory lane.

Sheridan hadn't looked at her wedding photos since he'd been gone.

Sheridan sighed, giving into her daughter's inquisitiveness. She pulled out an old comforter set from a bag and laid it on the floor and they both sat down.

"I've actually been looking forward to this day. Go on and get comfortable. I'll tell you everything."