Radiance

Chen smiled in the bright sunlight of the South Carolina coast, letting the breeze tousle his red hair. The sunbeams streaming down reflected off the shiny red paint of his 2006 Toyota Camry Solara, and the rustling tree leaves provided excellent shade as he drove through downtown Charleston.

At 47 years old, Chen was a successful owner of a chain of restaurants. He had a large home and a happy social life, and he was enjoying this trip to the beach across the state. Chen drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, happy with the drive. His mind wandered to his boyfriend, Clouse, who hadn't been able to come (he claimed it was too expensive, even though Chen offered to pay for him).

Chen's smile faded when he realized he hadn't heard anything from his daughter in a while. Glancing in the rearview mirror, Chen caught a glimpse of Skylor with her arms folded across her chest and head down. He had offered to let her sit up front, but she had declined, choosing instead to hide in the backseat.

"Skylor?" He asked, watching her frown. "Are you doing okay?"

Skylor shifted, pulling at her seatbelt. "I'm fine, dad." She answered dryly.

"Are you sure?" Chen pressed, concern leaking through his voice. "You haven't spoken a lot this trip."

"Just thinking," Skylor wriggled again, and all of a sudden, Chen had the urge to crawl back there with her and hold his daughter until she stopped acting so weird.

Instead, he took a breath. I really don't know how to parent her. "How about we get you a new swimming suit? You know, like the girls in your favorite magazines?"

"I hate those magazines," Skylor snarled, and Chen could have cried with relief. Finally, she was displaying emotion. But then her tone went back to neutral. "But, yeah, sure. If it would make you happy, I guess."

Chen took a deep breath. "Look, Dumpling, this isn't about what I want, this is about you." He tried, coaxing her gently.

"Look, we can get a swimming suit, okay?" Skylor snapped, curling into a ball as they passed a group of five teens playing frisbee in a park. "And don't call me dumpling." She added as an afterthought.

Chen sighed heavily but pulled through an intersection and down to a store that sold swimming suits. He climbed out of the car, making sure to put the top up before he locked it, and then opened the door for Skylor.

"After, you, my lady," Chen tried to joke. Skylor loved that when she was little.

Skylor rolled her eyes but kept glancing anxiously at the park up the road. Another two teens had joined the first five, and all were laughing and joking, fighting over the frisbee and arguing about rules.

Chen looked up at them and caught one of the boys, a spikey-haired brunette looking over at them. He caught Skylor's eye and smiled, lifting up his hand in a wave.

Skylor paled, then grabbed her father's hand and practically dragged him behind the car, muttering. "Come on, come on dad!"

"Wait, Dumpling," Chen caught her hand and pulled her close enough to him to the point that she wasn't running away, but still felt safe behind the car. "That boy looked nice, didn't he? Do you want to go over and say hi?"

"NO!" Skylor shouted, yanking her hand out of Chen's. "I mean, no, I don't want to."

"Well, why not?" Chen laid his hands on Skylor's shoulders. "Remember that boy in second grade… Jacob, was it? You two were such good friends."

"Yeah, until he pushed me down a flight of stairs and told me I was ugly!" Skylor half-shouted. "All boys are the same. Can we just buy the stupid swimming suit already?!"

Chen stared, taken aback at Skylor's reaction. When had she become like this? Worried and sad and angry all the time? She was miserable. He cursed himself for not noticing it sooner. For not giving her all the attention she needed. For telling her she was beautiful more often. Taking a shaky breath, Chen followed Skylor inside the shop.

Inside, Skylor was flipping through racks of sundresses, barely looking at them. She stopped suddenly, staring down a grey sundress that covered... well... Everything. It had a crew-cut collar, wrist-length sleeves, and the skirt reached down to the ankles. Skylor stared at it for a few moments, then she sighed heavily. Chen walked beside her, flipping through the clothes she had decided against and finding one.

It was a sunset orange jumpsuit, patterned with pink cherry blossoms and branches, with long pants, and a v-neck. It had two thick straps that held it up. He smiled and looked over at Skylor, touching her shoulder. "How about this one?"

"Too…" Skylor started to protest but then sighed heavily, taking the jumpsuit. "I'll try it on, okay?"

"Of course," Chen answered. "Do you want me to look for any swimsuits for you?"

"No," Skylor snapped grumpily. She took a breath. "But can you find me a pair of sandals?"

"Yes, I can," Chen glanced over at the display along the back wall. "What color?"

Skylor thought for a moment. "...gold." She turned, and before Chen could ask any more questions, she walked into one of the changing stalls at the back of the store. Chen looked through the sandal section, glancing at a pair of white sandals with ornamental bronze bolts in them. They were made around the feet, so someone could run while wearing them.

A weird noise cut through the warm silence of the shop. Chen looked around for the source, but only found the bored desk attendant scrolling through her phone. He glanced to the side, anxious about what that could be.

Then it hit him.

That noise was Skylor.

She was...

...crying?!

Chen ran to the changing room she was in, and after a moment of consideration, knocked on the door. "Skylor? Are you alright?"

A sniffle answered him. "Yeah, dad. I'm fine."

Chen was still anxious but was worried that if he dropped the subject, she would only push him farther away. "Can I see how you look?"

"Um…" Skylor answered through the door. "... I guess." She reached over and unlocked the door, the bolt sliding over with a clicking noise.

Chen stepped in after his daughter, looking her over as she wiped her red eyes. She didn't look at him, instead choosing to stare at the mirror. She looked wonderful, almost exactly like her mother, and Chen smiled, looking her over. "You look radiant in that jumper, Skylor. Do you want it."

Skylor sniffed. "No."

Chen's face fell. "You… you don't?"

"No, dad, I don't!" Skylor half-shouted. "I don't want the jumper, I don't want a sundress or a swimsuit. I don't even want sandals! I… I want… I want to be pretty."

"Skylor, Dumpling, you are pretty," Chen tried to reassure her.

"No," Skylor whispered, sitting down on the triangle-shaped stool in the corner of the changing stall. "I'm not pretty. If I was pretty, I'd have friends. You know that boy? He wasn't being nice! He was… pointing me out to his friends because I'm such a freak! I can't wear this, it shows off too much of my ugly skin!" She sighed shakily. "You should've left me at the hotel."

"Dumpling," Chen kneeled down on the floor, taking one of Skylor's hands in his own. Her words had stung him, yes, but it hurt even more to know that his daughter, his beautiful, smart, talented daughter, was suffering like this. She was beautiful, she just couldn't see her own beauty. Chen thought through her life, from when she was a little girl to now, where she sat, and wondered where he'd gone wrong. Why had this happened? Was it his fault? He took a deep breath. All of that didn't matter. Now, Skylor needed reassurance. She needed her father. "Skylor, I know you have a hard time seeing it, but you are beautiful. You are beautiful in your laughter, in your smile, and even in your face. It's something that saddens me when I realize how little you've been laughing and smiling lately. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. You are beautiful, Skylor. Don't you ever forget that."

Skylor sniffed, looking down at her hands. "You really think so?"

"Of course I do, Dumpling," Chen assured her. Skylor smiled slightly, then suddenly leapt up and threw her arms around her dad, hugging him tightly. Chen stiffened for a moment before he reciprocated the hug, squeezing his daughter in a hug.

"Can we still get the jumpsuit?" Skylor whispered to him. "And the sandals? I have a few bracelets they would match."

Chen smiled. "Yes, we can."

After Skylor changed and Chen paid for the sandals and dress, the two of them left the shop and started walking towards the car. While they were walking, however, they were stopped by four teenagers, all Skylor's age. One was the spiky-haired boy Chen had seen in the park. The other three he also recognized as this boy's friends. One was a boy with platinum-blonde hair and a green shirt, and the last two were girls. One had black hair, and the other had white-blonde.

"Hi," The spiky-haired boy smiled. "I'm Kai, and these are my friends, Lloyd, Nya, and Pixal. We saw you with your dad and were wondering if you wanted to play ultimate frisbee with us?"

Skylor glanced at Chen, and he nodded.

"Yeah, can I?" She asked Kai.

"Sure!" He answered. "Dibs for my team!"

"Not fair!" Nya protested. "You always get the best players! Let us have a chance for once!"

"Okay, fine, we can change teams up after this round, but only after we cream you!" Lloyd retorted, both trying and failing to keep some peace whatsoever. Chen went to the car, so he could drive it over to the park, but as he watched Skylor walk away, laughing at something Nya had said, he smiled slightly.

That was a low point for Skylor. It might always be. But after all, when you hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up.

A/N: Behold, the product of a boring Saturday. Let me know what you think!