[https://i.quotev.com/fdomhzrgxbyq.jpg]

It was a boring, normal Saturday, and Hua sat across the breakfast table, her piece of heavily buttered toast untouched on her ceramic plate. The pale summer sunlight shone through the kitchen window, making the small sequins on her blouse shimmer. Mr. Kay gingerly drank some of his black dark roast as he stared at the newspaper gripped in his hand. It was slightly damp from the morning dew.

"Oh look, Hua, there's an art show in Brooklyn this weekend." He flipped the large paper around to show his daughter.

"That's nice dad," she responded quietly. "Look, I think I am going to move in with you."

"Oh, of course. You are always welcome here."

"No, not for me. For you."

Mr. Kay placed the collection of articles onto the linoleum table and stared at Hua with bleary eyes. "Me?"

Hua pushed her meal towards her frail father. "I know you haven't been eating. You clothes fit looser. When I came at Christmas, you looked much heavier. Not unhealthy heavy, but just not like this."

"I've just been exercising more and eating healthier."

"Dad, I know you haven't been eating regularly. Your voice has become weaker on the phone; I know something is wrong. You sound like you did before you saw Doctor Jaime."

"Hua, I'm perfectly fine."

"Then eat my toast."

"I will." Mr. Kay bit into the oily bread, and it felt like sandpaper and grit was rubbing across his dry tongue. It tasted of nothing, and it plopped into his vacant stomach like a river stone. He threw the remainder back onto the glassy plate and stared at Hua with flaming eyes, ready to defend himself.

Hua bit her small lip and shook her head. "I'm still moving in, or you are just going to come to my apartment."

"No, you have to go to college."

"College can wait."

"I'm not letting you sacrifice your education for me."

"Well, if you did care for me, you would go back to Jaime or another therapist."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I'm already seeing a new therapist."

"Oh really? What's their name?"

"Doctor Eve."

"What's their suite number? Which room do you go to to see them?"

Mr. Kay scowled and returned to his reading, trying to ignore his daughter's immense care for him. He took another sip of his bland coffee, and a little fiery kick of caffeine swept through his veins. This small cup of nothing had been his morning sustenance for the past few weeks.

"Dad, answer me."

"I don't have to answer to anyone."

"Who is Doctor Eve?"

"I just starting seeing her. You'll see improvement soon."

"I sure hope I do." Hua got up from the table, and the rickety stool feet squealed across the dusty tile floor. "I'm going to get my things. And you are going to help me clean up this filthy house when I get back, you understand?"

"Don't talk to me like that."

. . .

The vacuum screamed as it sucked up countless layers of dirt and hair out of the grayish carpets, and Hua dragged the long machine around the living room. Mr. Kay was elbow deep in sudsy, lukewarm water as he scrubbed away on his old dishes. The grime on the bowls and cups smelt horrendous, and he gagged a couple times as the waves of stench wafted over him. Hua already had to empty the vacuum three times during her cleaning, and she was already returning to the small trash can for a fourth round.

The home became quiet as she switched it off and dumped out a cloudy ball into the plastic trash bag. "How are the dishes coming?"

"Slowly," Mr. Kay grumbled.

"Good." Hua retreated back to the living room, and after putting the extension cord back into the electrical socket, she went off to the study, a duster in hand.

After she disappeared from sight, Mr. Kay ripped off his turquoise rubber cleaning gloves and stumbled to the living room. The ashy smell of the fireplace erupted in his face as a gust of wind funneled down the chimney, and he rapidly patted his palms on the back of the brick firebox. The wall gently opened, and Mr. Kay crept into White Space and viciously closed the entrance to the real world behind him.

Eve was playing with some strange, flowery insects in the connecting dimension, and her hooves petted their small heads. One of them opened its mouth to reveal a glittery blossom, and Eve purred in return. She noticed the sudden addition of the human, and she turned to Mr. Kay.

"Oh, hello," she said.

"I need to get away from my daughter."

"Why?"

"She is prying too much."

"I was listening. I hear much. I don't think she was prying; she just wants the truth. I commend anyone who seeks the truth."

Mr. Kay stomped on the floor, his dress shoe sending a great vibration through White Space. The insectoids squawked in response to the noise and dashed away, zipping through a portal to another dimension. Eve flicked her ears.

"It took me a long time to get them here," she grumbled. "Protegia dimension creatures are difficult to fool."

"Eve, I don't care! Just heal me already so my daughter doesn't think I'm a freak!"

Eve crouched down before the furious man, and she forced her face into his. She smelled like a freshly bathed horse, and a somewhat menthol odor came from her fur as well. "No one who is suffering is a freak, Mr. Kay. She wants to help you. We both do."

"Then do something!"

"Mr. Kay, we have only been talking about your depression for three days. It took you two weeks after discovering White Space to finally get used to me and understand what this all is. I am no wizard; I can't just cast a spell."

Mr. Kay threw his arms into the air before sitting on the floor in front of the great creature. "I don't want her to move in."

"I understand, but let her. She cares for you, and I think she can help you heal. We know what is causing all of this, but with her help, I think I can show you that you are safe to pursue your dream."