“I see,” their dad said, once Seren could actually speak clearly. He kept them in his arms, Seren wiped at their wet face. They felt somewhat content despite the weight in their stomach, even though their dad’s hands were icy cold. In his chest, they could hear the comforting sound of his heart beating. When they closed their eyes, half-remembered muscle memory made them feel like they were being rocked but when they opened their eyes, they were still.

“So these clothes belong to the housekeepers?” The dad asked, Seren looked up and shrugged.

“I think Mrs. Houper said they belonged to one of her children.” Seren said, “I’m not really sure what Mrs. Houper is. I think she’s officially the head of housekeeping but she’s kinda more like an assistant.”

“Right,” Their dad nodded, his look was far away.

“She ran me a bubble bath. It smelled nice and now I smell nice.” Seren said, trying to lighten the mood.

“You do,” Their dad agreed, snapping out of the trance and looking down at them. “Did you eat?”

“No, but I had a very nice cup of tea.” Seren leaned on his shoulder.

“Well, then. Let’s finish cleaning up the kitchen and I’ll make some dinner for us.” Their dad shifted Seren out of their lap and onto their feet. Where Seren helped him to his feet.

“What are we making?” Seren asked as their dad walked into the little kitchen area. The night slipped into a comfortable rhythm as their dad cooked and told stories of places far away, and Seren cleaned up the floor and counters so they would have a place to eat.

Their dad told them the story of the fae. How the very first of the icy fae found the Silver Well and sacrificed to it. Letting the blood of that which they loved most empty into its waters. The well released a mist that shrouded the fae kingdom so they could never leave unless they were called upon to make a sinister deal.

Seren listened to the story in a trance, taking as much time as they could filling the recycling and the incinerator bins. Running to empty the bins in the cans and back so the story could continue. During dinner it was another story about the sea and the beastly pirate crew that sailed it. Though Seren was sure that one was made up. They could believe in the fae but a bear that walked upright and a land shark seven feet tall was a bit more than they could believe existed.

Overhead the sound of rain pattered on the wood roof, dripping down through the cracks in the ceiling and into the holes in the floor.

"Dad?" Seren asked as they worked on the dishes together. He hummed in response as he handed another dish for them to dry. "Miss Jass is related to us, isn't she?" Their dad paused.

"Yeah. She's your aunt." He said his voice was devoid of feeling. Seren dried the dishes while staring off in the distance. Considering this new thought.

"Dad?"

He hummed again in response.

"You don't think my voice is annoying, do you?"

"Did Mr. Asche tell you that?" Their dad huffed.

"No," Seren said simply. "Miss Jass did."

"Miss Jass is a-" their dad stopped and cleared his throat. "She just wanted to upset you, honey." Seren nodded slowly.

"It's pretty late, we should get you to bed." Their dad took the damp dish towel from them and hung it on the back of a chair.

"Doesn't feel that late." Seren said.

"Yeah, but today's been busy." Their Dad said. Ushering them toward the curtain. Seren looked hard at their dad.

"Can I ask one more question?"

"You can ask, but I don't promise any answers,"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I guess it isn't a question, but. I'm glad you're my dad and not Miss Jass." Seren said. Their dad's eyes watered and he coughed unexpectedly.

"Thanks, I love you too." He said. "Goodnight,"

"Night"

Seren ducked under the curtain and into their room. They weren't tired yet, but this was their dad's polite way of saying the conversation was over. They stripped off their new boots and the socks they borrowed. Staring at the ill-fitting bright and colorful socks, dreading that they would have to return them at some point in the future. The idea made them sick to their stomach, they quickly put it out of their mind. They didn’t have to be in until Monday and it was only Tuesday They could just return the items then and until then; they would not bother themselves about it..

However, they still weren’t tired. So instead they lay on their makeshift bed and watched the water drip down from the roof and into the hole in the floor. Counting the time between the drop hitting the water beneath the house and the next drop.

Counting hypnotized them and before they’d concluded about how much time elapsed between drops, they fell asleep.

Seren woke to the chill of the winter, the chill that would turn all the rain water into ice before noon. The sun wasn’t up yet, so Seren rolled over and watched out the crack in the wall. It was pitch black but the way the shadows moved allowed a backdrop for Seren’s imagination to entertain them. At least until the sun rose, and the shadows fled the light.

They stretched out their bones and sore muscles. Hearing the creaks and cracks of the house settling and the ice solidifying beneath it. Seren crawled to the curtain, peeking under it to make sure their dad was okay before standing and pulling on their socks and boots. The whole house was cold, ducking out of the curtain and into the main room space they ran to the table where their coat was hanging over the back of a chair. It was just as cold and didn’t help much to keep Seren warm.

Puffs of mist accompanied Seren’s breathing, even all bundled up they were still cold. Walking through the house by only the light of the dawning sun coming in from the windows and cracks, they peeked into the only other room in the house, the bathroom.

Groaning at the sight of the half frozen water flooding half the bathroom.

“Every year,” they sighed, turning on the light in the bathroom to guess why it was flooded this time. With another sigh they tried to refrain from stomping over to the kitchen where a pail was hanging. Returning to the bathroom they stood on the toilet and reached over the flooded part of the room to open the low window.

They removed their socks and shoes and rolled up their pants well above their knees and used the pail to bail the water out the window. Walking into the water to get to bail the deepest part. The water had ice chunks in it and Seren’s feet were so cold they felt like they were on fire. As the water level dropped the part of their skin that was no longer in the water itched as well as burned. The water washed over their hands and left them itchy as well.

“Oh, did the bathroom flood again?” Their dad yawned as he looked into the bathroom.

“Yeah,” Seren said as they threw more water out of the window., “Not that much though.”

“I’ll get the faucet going so hopefully the pipes don’t freeze up again,” Their dad said and left the doorway. Seren took a second to scratch their ankles though it did nothing to stop the itchy burn. They kept bailing until the water in the sunken floor was too far down for their pail to get.

“I think I got it all,” Seren called as they hung the pale on the doorknob.

“Good job, here.” Their dad handed them a towel to wipe their feet with. Everywhere the cold water had touched was bright red. Seren roughly dried off their feet, the house creaked as more of the sun rose and the morning breeze blew making the house sigh.

“I’ve got some warm tea going, that should help warm you up.” Their dad said and pulled down a couple of mugs.

"That sounds nice, can I have some sugar in mine?" Seren asked. They sat down and grabbed their socks and shoes.

"Absolutely," their dad pulled the little sugar jar down and opened it and frowned. "Oh, sorry, kid. Looks like we're all out of sugar."

"Oh," Seren said. "What kind of tea is it?" Their dad paused and opened the teakettle on the stove. Then brought down the unmarked tea leaves.

"You know, I'm actually not sure.” Their dad said. “But I guess we’ll find out.” Seren giggled and laced up their boots. The kettle sang and their dad poured two mugs of the tea. He walked over with the mugs and Seren scooted over so they could lean against the wall. Seren took the mugs and put them on the ground so they wouldn’t spill. Their dad slowly crouched toward the ground but ended up falling onto the ground shakily.

“Are you okay?” Seren asked as they helped steady him.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m okay,” he said and sat up. He reached out a hand and Seren picked up a mug and placed it into his hand. They picked up their own and scooted closer and they curled up together on the floor. Blowing on the tea so that it cooled faster. Seren hesitantly sipped the tea and sat back. Their dad sipped his own mug and made the same face.

“Dad?”

“Hm?”

“This is terrible.”

“Yup.”

They broke into giggles which turned into laughter.

“It tastes like dust!” Seren laughed, which made them laugh harder. The laughter stopped abruptly with a loud knock on the door.