Fallen

Chapter Four

FOUR

            After dinner, I gathered my guts to talk to my father about what Jared said this afternoon. I went to his room silently. When I got there, I stood in front, nervous. Before I could protest, my hand raised and I knocked to the door.

            “Come in.” I heard him said in a low voice. I slowly turned the knob then pushed the door gently. “Samantha, dear, what do you want?”

            “I was just hoping that I could discuss something with you,” I said softly.

            “Anything,” he said, smiling. He was sitting on a chair near the window, reading. He closed the book, placed it on the table then motioned for me to sit on the chair in front of him. I slowly closed the door behind me then went towards him and sat down.

            “What is it that you want to talk about?” He asked me as he leaned to the table to look at me closer. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I was too nervous to spit it out. “Is it about taking over?”

            I nodded sheepishly. “I—uh—I wanted to take a break from all of this,” I said silently. I looked at him to see his expression. He was only looking at me intently, his eyes full of worries and concern. “I was hoping if you would let me stay at the house where we used to spend our vacation.” I finally blurted out.

            “You know that the ball’s fast approaching, right?” he said.

            “I know and I won’t be long. Three days at most,” I said, then grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Father, you know that it’s been hard for me to go through all of this. All I need is a break. I need to relax and calm down myself so that I could face everything on the night of the ball. Please let me.”

            He looked at me for a while silently before he sighed. He reached for me then stroke my hair lightly. “Oh, Samantha. I’m sorry if you’re going through all of this,” he said softly. “Alright, you’re free to go. But you won’t be alone. I can’t just let you go wandering outside the manor alone. There are a lot of dangers out there.”

            “Thank you so much,” I said happily then went to hug him tightly. “Thank you.”

            “You’re welcome, my little princess.” He whispered softly. It has been a while since he called me that. He looked at me intently as he brushed a strand of hair away from my face. “You look so much like your mother,” he said before kissing me on my forehead. I smiled at him sweetly. “No go to your room and pack your bags. Sleep early. You’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

            I hugged him once more before kissing him on his cheek. “Thank you.” I whispered then went outside. I ran towards my room and searched for a huge bag. I opened my closet, reached for some clothes, and dumped them on my bag. It’s only for three days so there’s not much to bring. I was about to close my bag when I saw the stack of books on my table. I walked towards it and pulled out my mother’s diary. I looked at it for a while then decided to bring the books with me. I have to learn everything, anyways. And I also want to read the entries of the diary. I grabbed the books and dumped them in the bag then zipped it close.

            I lied on my bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. Series of thoughts ran across my mind. About my short break, my mother’s diary, and my taking over my father. I sighed and closed my eyes, hoping to drift into a dreamless sleep.

            “You must finish what she didn’t.” An old man said in front of him. He was wearing a white cloth, draped around his fat body. He had white hair and white beard that almost covered his entire mouth.