Star Wars Jedi: The Haunting

Chapter 6

2 months later, Cal had begun to fix things with Kata, but it was difficult.

The process was very slow. Kata wasn't the easiest child to get through to. Her brick wall was so high, and she generally didn't show much emotion. Bode had told her not to. He had convinced her that emotions were the path to the dark side. And in a way, he was correct. But Kata's naïve nature had caused her to take what he had said literally.

Cal had begun to admire Merrin all the more. She'd got through to Kata remarkably well considering the relatively short period of time they'd had to parent, and Kata's naturally withdrawn personality.

Kata, despite everything, still had an attachment to Bode. Cal could sense it. She still loved him, despite the fact that he had been dead for over 2-and-a-half years.

And Kata would never forget that she had seen him kill Bode.

That was another factor which was preventing them from moving forward properly, even though Cal didn't want to admit it. Kata's attachment to Bode, as well as the circumstances surrounding his death, made it near impossible for him to make things up with Kata. He was a murderer. There were no two ways about it.

Despite all that, Cal still tried.

And he'd made some progress. Hadn't he?

He could hold a conversation with Kata for a short period of time. On a good day, he could give her a quick hug. He could occasionally tuck her into bed. On a good day, he could eke a small smile out of her.

But some days were difficult. Some days, it felt like he was back to square one.

And today was one of those days.

He'd woken up with a bad headache, and in a bad mood. Kata had been hyperactive, and it had annoyed him a lot. He had snapped at her without meaning to. He had made her go silent, and then Merrin had to come in and only she was able to get Kata talking again. She had then scolded Cal. Told him that he had been too harsh on her, and that Kata was only 10. Cal had mumbled apologies, and then Merrin had left them alone again.

The way Kata had behaved after Merrin left had made Cal question whether his efforts had been worth anything at all. Cal had tried to talk to her but she had completely ignored him. Eventually he had begun to get annoyed at her lack of acknowledgement and Kata returned his annoyance with her own, staring at him with her arms crossed, scowling. Eventually Cal had given up and walked away.

Cal sometimes felt like the galaxy wanted him to fail. He tried. He really did. But he just couldn't seem to be the father he wanted himself to be. Merrin, on the other hand, was doing a much better job of getting through to Kata than he was.

Because Merrin wasn't the one who killed her father.

Cal started, and looked around, but there was nobody there. He rubbed his temples and sighed.

Just then he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Greez.

"I heard what happened with Kata this morning, Cal. You feeling alright?"

Cal shook his head.

"Why? What's wrong?" Greez asked.

Cal groaned. "I've got a headache, and I feel very tired. Didn't sleep brilliantly last night."

Greez looked concerned.

Cal continued. "I also... upset Kata. I don't know, she was just being a hyper 10-year-old, I had a headache, she made it worse, and I just..." Cal shook his head again. "I don't know, Greez. Sometimes I just... snap, and there's nothing I can do to predict when it's gonna happen."