Innocence [On Hold]

The New Dress

As soon as she got home Kaitlynn ran to her room. She wanted to get the letters as fast as possible. They were her most precious property. If she ever had to leave them behind or lose them she would lose a part of herself. They were the only memory of her mother that she had, though they weren’t real memories. She doesn’t know anything about her mother except the things she got from the letters.

“Kaitlynn? Where are you?”

She looked up as her father called her. He wasn’t allowed to ever find out about them. No one was. Jase told her to keep them a secret and she knew he was right. They all thought that the monster killed Martha but it didn’t. If it killed her how should she write letters to her daughter?

“I’m here daddy!” She replied as she hid her letters under the pillow.

It was the best place to hide them. If we hid them anywhere else her father would find them easily. It’s quite strange but he never looked at her bed. He looked at everything, her bedside table with its drawers, her wardrobe, even UNDER her bed, but never under her pillow or on her bed. The little girl never understood this but she was grateful that he never did. It gave her a place to stash the letters which she could reach easily.

“Come on. Let’s choose a dress for tomorrow. You need to be pretty when you leave. I think I have a new one that you’ll like.”

Kaitlynn giggled as her father picked her up and twirled her around. He was a great father. It was sad that she had to leave him, but she knew what needed to be done. She had to leave, even if she would never get the chance to see him again.

Marc smiled sadly at his beloved child. He was already heartbroken. First his wife left and now his daughter would leave too! That was almost too much for his heart to take. He always lost people precious to him.

“Okay daddy!” The little girl smiled back at the aging man. It was an honest smile; her blue eyes sparkled with joy. She loved her father. He was her only family. She didn’t know what had happened to her grand-parents or if her parents ever had siblings; she only knew her father. He was her whole family.

Suddenly she felt sadness overcome her. He was her only family. And she would leave him. Just like that. Like the last six years didn’t exist. But they were real and the memories would stay with her wherever she was going. They were something you couldn’t erase. She would keep them treasured forever.

“You still like blue right?”

She nodded, sending her blonde curls flying around. She loved blue. It was such a beautiful color. It was the color of the sky and the color of the ocean. The ocean was the most amazing thing ever to her. It seemed to be infinite. Like it was floating right into the sky. The blue, blue sky, the sky was always there. Even at night when the village and its people were nothing but mere shadows it still was there. Letting millions of stars sparkle at her, letting the moon illuminate everything. It was so beautiful. Every night that Kaitlynn couldn’t sleep she would stare out her window at the sky. It was the only thing that could make her relax at times like this.

“Then you will love the dress I have for you!” Her father still held Kaitlynn in his arms, holding her tight.

The fragile girl looked him in the eyes. She always loved his dresses and she couldn’t wait to see the new one he made for her. It was surely the most beautiful dress she’ll ever see.

Marc O’Donnell turned around and carried his daughter out into the living room where he had left the dress for her. The little girl was curious to see it. “Is that the dress?” she asked pointing towards the blue pile of linen. Her father nodded.

“Do you like it?” The little girl nodded again. How he would miss her. She was just a little child, and still she had to leave him. Marc slowly set his daughter down on the table where the dress lay.