Daisy | The Walking Dead

10. Vatos Ⅲ

~Day sixty-one~

The cramped space under the dusty desk in the back of Dale's old RV provided a surprisingly comforting shelter for the young Linette girl. With big brown eyes and curly hair, she found solace in the enclosed walls that shielded her from the world outside.

Her mind was in disarray, tangled in the aftermath of what happened down by the water. Ed, the man who had hurt Carol and Sophia, was undoubtedly a villain, but as Daisy's thoughts turned to her own father, her confusion and doubt began to consume her. Her stomach churned with an uneasy feeling as she asked herself, "Is Daddy bad too?"

She couldn't shake the memories of the times when her father had raised his voice or hit her and Mason. But, she reasoned with herself, it was always for a reason - to teach them a lesson or to stop them from being annoying.

Wasn't that different from what Ed did to Carol and Sophia? Daisy tried to make sense of it all, but the nagging voice in her head wouldn't let her rest. It whispered incessantly, "Daddy is bad."

Frustration and desperation seized her as she pulled at her curly locks, wishing for the thoughts to cease. "Just shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" she pleaded with her own mind. Her voice cracked with the weight of her emotions, and the plea echoed through the RV.

But the thoughts persisted, always lurking behind the surface of her mind, and blooming chaotically at the slightest trigger - sending her into a self-curated void of complete dismay. 

Desperately seeking a reprieve from her thoughts, Daisy's gaze wandered towards the RV's open door. Rays of sunlight filtered through the dusty air, casting a warm, golden glow over everything in its path. Tiny particles of glittery dust danced in the light, beckoning her into a magical world.

She imagined a golden-haired magician orchestrating the sparkly little things.

As she slipped further into her daydream, Daisy's surroundings warped into a fantastical realm of her own creation. The glitter transformed into a magnificent blue squirrel, adorned in a black cloak and armed with a miniature sword.

Perched on the shoulder of a wise magician, the squirrel radiated a sense of calm that washed over Daisy, soothing her frayed nerves. The bad thoughts that had been plaguing her vanished into obscurity as the possibilities of her imagination unfolded before her.

The magician caught her eye and winked, his reassuring words echoing in her mind. "Your thoughts can't hurt you, Lady Linette," he said. "Why dwell on your father or grumpy, mean Ed when you can create entire new universes and stories just inside that little head of yours?"

The squirrel chipped in, urging Daisy to push the scary thoughts aside and forget about them. "Just like you did before Glenn found you at home!" the little creature added. "If you forget about the real world, then those thoughts don't even matter."

Daisy blinked away the imagery, taking a deep breath and rolling onto her side to face the wall. "Push them away and ignore them," she whispered to herself, heeding the advice of the wise magician and his furry companion.

The bad thoughts remained, but Daisy's mind was now preoccupied with her magical world and her protector, Merlin. She was able to divorce herself from her own anxieties. 

From a young age, Daisy had been fascinated by the idea of a powerful magician who could make her troubles go away. Mason had introduced her to Merlin, and since then, he had become her constant companion and confidant.

She felt comfort in knowing that Merlin would always be there to guide her through her darkest moments, and his trusty squirrel companion was always by his side. He appeared to her when she felt overwhelmed, alone, or unable to handle her thoughts and emotions.