No answer came...like always.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I turned and went inside. A set of worried eyes fell upon me, with Vio no longer moving and Thea just standing silently. While it feels good to have people worrying about you, under such a situation, I would rather have them ignore it. Alas, some things will never change and I hope they never will.

Displaying my best smile, I went and sat down on the wooden stool, patiently waiting. Moments later, Vio came by and sat as well while Thea brought some bowls of her labor.

To say it was a marvel is the understatement of the century. A thick broth filled to the brim with soft, melting venison and speckled with fresh aromatic herbs, my soul was immediately captured. Tentatively, I reached out and took a spoonful of the magical mixture. The taste was overwhelming, powerful enough to make me nearly forget all my worries. The moment I swallowed, was the moment my hunger calmed immediately soothed, and laid to rest for the first time in a long while. It was during such moments I would wonder, just how did I get such a wonderful partner for life.

It had been a lucky find, a still-living deer in this part of the forest. Maybe I should have left it alone so that more would come. I didn't of course.

I turned and looked at Vio, who was eating her portion rather slowly and with intense focus, something uncharacteristic of her. Glancing at Thea, I could see that even she was secretly enjoying her meal, only feigning composure to act as a role model for Vio. I did it for them. Anyway, it is uncertain if more would decide even to approach this area, the one I caught seemed young and naive.

Hurrying my pace, I ate the rest, savoring the taste occasionally. I developed this habit early on in my life, and to date, it is still here. Some things never change.

I noticed that Vio's portion was greater than both of us, which made me feel relieved. That child needed it way more than we did. Perhaps she will lose some of her paleness? One can only hope.

Time passed, and the meal drew close to its end. I had sat silently, taking joy in their joy. Vio suddenly looked up and opened her mouth as if wanting to speak. Thea and I both looked at her, wishing to know her thoughts.

...

Mouth open, Vio stayed quiet. It seems she can't build enough confidence to speak. Encouragement was in order.

"What's wrong, Vio?" Thea spoke up first.

Vio closed her mouth and hunched a little. Ah, Thea. She had spooked our daughter into hiding. That is not the correct way.

"Yeah, what do you want to say, Viora?" I called out by her full name.

Vio perked up. She had always wanted us to call her Viora and not her nickname. She wanted to be taken seriously, and the nickname didn't help.

"So uh, I wanted to ask something..." Vio gave a shy look, asking for our further approval.

Hah, children. Sometimes get all worried over a simple question and other times innocently say the most hurtful things. A true enigma. I gave her a nod in reply.

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"This week is soon coming to an end, and uh, my birthday is super close," Vio spoke slowly as if making sure we understood her meaning.

Her birthday. She is worrying about her birthday. I am surprised I didn't expect this. What other thing of significance would children be this worried about? I have failed as a father.

I glanced over at Thea and found her glancing at me. We are both failures huh...

"I want a present! A special one..." Vio spoke up loudly with closed eyes, wanting to get things over with at once.

We both slowly frowned. This was highly unusual, to say the least. Never once had Vio asked for something from us. Even at times when we actively encouraged her to ask, she would only do so reluctantly after numerous rejections. Vio had always been content with what she had, even if we wished for her to have more. This change should make us happy but to ask for something so bluntly, it must be something important to her. We had to take this matter seriously.

"....what is it, Viora?" I asked, making sure to take things slowly.

"I will be a grown girl soon...so I want to go out...out towards the city!" Viora spoke up, her words freezing the atmosphere.

Silence. All that remained was silence and the faint rumbling in the distance. Time stretched on.

" Are you serious?" I spoke calmly, a trace of seriousness leaking out into my tone.

Further silence. Viora suddenly seemed smaller under the pressure of this conversation, but I wasn't letting her off. I needed to know.

...

No reply.

"Are you serious?" I spoke with no emotions.

Viora cowered further and backed away. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes, with hints of fear swirling within her gaze. I was not swayed.

"Stop it, Barry. You are scaring her...this isn't like you. She is our daughter, not them." Thea gripped tightly onto my arm, pulling me back and speaking firmly.

I turned and looked directly into Thea's eyes. Clear and firm, they had never wavered. They made me calm. The tension in the air relaxed and I realized my mistake. I thought I was over this. I guess, old ghosts never die...I looked back at the poor girl in front of me. Seeing her shiver at my gaze, pierced my heart. I had sworn that I would never take out my anger on her. Today, I failed.

"I..." I tried to speak up, but my shame got the better of me.

Silence once more. Thea remained silent. Vio remained silent. I remained silent. The world remained silent.

"I am sorry, Vio" I spoke up softly, after what seemed like a long while.

I had contemplated deeply over my actions and knew that I had taken the wrong direction from the start. I shouldn't have reacted like that. Not to what was just an innocent request. She is just a child...my child.

"I am sorry for what I did." I continued, "I didn't...I was wrong in what I did. I won't excuse myself. It is up to you if you want to forgive me, but I won't demand an answer from you. You can tell it whenever you want."

I said it. All in one go. The sinking feeling in my heart lessened.

"I am serious. I want to go outside." Vio spoke up suddenly, looking directly at Thea, ignoring me.

"...Why?" Thea asked in my stead.

"I have been trapped in this house for years, only going as far as the fence gates! I could only look beyond the fence from the attic and stare at the city far away that always shined in the sun. I want to go there! Meet people..." Vio cried out, her desires on full display.

"We have talked about this Viora. The outside is not safe, especially for a child like you. There is a reason we are living so far from the city. It is not a good place to be. The people are not as nice as you think them to be..." Thea tried to reason with Viora.

"But you don't know that. Since I was born I haven't had anyone other than you both. So how can you say that people are bad? You probably haven't met them in a long time. Maybe they changed." Viora fought back.

"Hah...we will discuss this later. Your father will explain some things to you, in fact, he will explain everything" Thea turned and looked me straight in the eye, a slight warning hidden in them.

"While we can't bring you out much, I promise I will bring an even more fulfilling meal than today for your birthday" I finally spoke up, having regained some confidence.

Viora went quiet, reluctantly nodded her agreement, and finished the last remnants of her meal. The ordeal was officially over.

|=====================|

Viora rushed out the entrance towards the house, seemingly back to normal. Barry looked at her, watching her go off. He looked up at the sun and stepped out of the shack.

He began moving with a brisk pace towards the cottage. Then muffled footsteps spread out from behind him. Barry turned towards the source, confused at its presence.

"We need to talk" Thea spoke sternly to Barry.