Tale of Death

Chapter 21 - Childhood? Final

Without stopping, Shi ran all the way to her home practically barging into the door; only to draw the attention of her mother that had finished washing the dishes a while now.

Coming out of the back room, her mother saw her in a heated state— still tired from running, panting as she tried to calm down. Worried, her mother got closer and spoke to her, "Is everything alright dear? Did something happen?"

Shi could not answer immediately; instead, she had to take a deep breath in order to catch herself properly. While also using this time to try and figure out an excuse to tell her mother.

She naturally couldn't tell her about following after a strange man, and almost getting herself kidnapped and sold— that would be bad in so many ways. Not only would it worry her mother, but she would also get a scolding for basically going against everything her mother thought her.

Shi didn't want to think about the punishment she might get for something like that, she mightn't be able to go outside for her entire life! No, she couldn't tell the truth, at least not the full truth.

Before her mother could get suspicious, she quickly pulled a smile over her face like a mask, and loudly exclaim, "Mom! There's someone here! Daddy's home!" Her voice filled with excitement— real excitement since she never fully got to enjoy his arrival due to the situation before.

Now, she was free to be happy that her father was home. 'Odd; why do i feel like something wrong, it's been getting worse and worse.' She thought to herself, as a stabbing pain kept aching across her head.

"Oh, he's back so soon? I thought he was coming later. That's quite the news!" Her mother was clearly happy; Shi could tell from the tone of her voice, and the smile that plastered her face. She could also tell she was trying not to show just how truly excited she was.

Shi knew her mother always missed her father whenever he was working; he worked for most of the year and only came home for around a month or two each year. This left her mother alone for the rest of the year, not including herself that is.

"Yep, i met him while strolling through the market, he told me he had something to do and that he will come in a bit. He wanted me to tell you!" Shi said happily as she walked past her mother and went into the kitchen to get herself some water.

Thankfully they had a well relatively close to their house due to how close the forest was, allowing them to have water stored almost always for use. Her mother didn't question her further and instead went to her room to prepare.

Shi assumed she was going to change and get all dressed up before her father came, 'So weird,' she thought to herself at the idea of getting all dolled up for someone else.

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Shi had finished getting some water to drink, and was resting in her room; laying on her bed of hay— when she heard a loud voice from the living room, "I'm home! And i come bearing gifts!" The voice of her father was loud enough for her to hear easily, and so was his loud chuckle that followed after— clearly proud of his actions.

Shi didn't even wait for a second longer now that her father was finally home and better yet with gifts.

Jumping off her bed, she rushed out of the room and into the living room. Literally jumping into the arms of her father, who proceeded to spin her around playfully and laugh.

While her father was laughing, and Shi was also trying her best to laugh, the painful ache that previously assaulted her mind returned upon getting into contact with him.

This pain forced her to pull away a lot earlier than she would've wanted to. Thankfully this action wasn't noticed by her parents who simply assumed she was being shy.