Mellisent's New Toys

Demitri stood anxious while looking at the knight's corpse as blood oozed through his injuries while turning the grass below dark scarlet red.

He shut his eyes tightly in forlornness as he whispered a remorseful prayer for the departed soul.

Demitri apologised to his former companion Evander for ending the life of the only person who had forsaken his everything to find justice for his unjustified execution.

His state of mournfulness broke when a soft sob passed through the haze surrounding his senses.

He instantly shifted and found his little daughter near the side of the backyard, stained with mud while sobbing and quivering with her petite body curled up like a bundle of a sack.

Demitri abruptly went in front of her and crouched down to her eye level while trying to reach for her hand.

Mellisent, who was utterly startled by the entire phenomenon, flinched at the slight touch of cold fingers and trudged backwards without lifting her head from the curtain of her tiny fingers.

Discerning the reason behind his daughter's unresponsiveness, he again inched in her direction and spoke in a tender voice while trying to coax her, "Melli... it's me, your father... would you not talk to me and allow me to hug you."

After hearing her father's mellow voice, Mellisent eventually lifted her head and took a peek at the burly man squatting in front of her.

As the mist surrounding her eyes cleared, she recognised her father and bounced at him. Hugging him tightly, she began to sob uncontrollably.

Demitri patted her back and whispered consoling words in her ears while gently rocking her tiny body as if it was a delicate piece of glass.

After what seemed like a long while, when her violent sobs turned to light sniffles, Demitri pulled her away from himself and took a glance at her appearance.

He gently wiped the tears from her delicate face and noticed an angry bruise due to the drastic fall at the corner of her forehead, which ached his heart. He cautiously touched it slightly while Mellisent flinched at the sharp pain.

"Are you afraid of the father, my chipmunk?" asked Demitri with a painful expression with bathed breath.

"N..oo faath...er," replied Mellisent with a hoarse voice.

Demitri nodded at her tiny voice and began to tend to her wound.

Mellisent noticed a bright red patch on the side of her father's cream-coloured shirt and asked quietly, "Father, are you hurt? There is blood on your shirt; let Melli... too aid you with your wounds."

"My sweet child, I am fine; this is just a small cut and will heal after some time; your father is a strong man; he will not be in pain because of a meagre injury," said Demitri consolingly while patting her head after hearing her concerned voice.

The little girl, after much contemplation, asked the burning question which was gnawing at her mind.

She asked hesitatingly, "Father.....that big man who was fighting with you..... did... did he die?"

Demitri, on listening to her question, turned rigid; he could not come up with phrases on how to explain the situation to her daughter.

Organising his thoughts, Demitri began explaining to her while holding her shoulders firmly and looking straight into her eyes with a passive expression.

"My child, that man lying over there tried to kill you and me because of a grudge against your father. I tried to defend us to the best of my capabilities, but I would not be able to hold on to much longer before he would have slayed me and then you too. Father... loves his daughter a lot and was left with no choice but to end his life.... to save our lives," explained Demitri with a lowered head as he could not make himself gaze into the clear orbs of her daughter.

He knew his small bundle of trouble differed from other children; she was intelligent and understanding far beyond her age.

Demitri knew she would comprehend the situation well and even provide him with much-needed moral assistance.

Still, everything apart, he lamented himself for taking away her innocence because, in the end, she was still a little child.

"Does that mean that big man was a bad person?" asked Mellisent with curious eyes after analysing the entire event to the best of her insight.

"No, my little girl, no one is born cruel; it is the circumstances that make a person take certain decisions which turn him into good or bad; as for this person, he was just blinded by his pain and rage," he said and again continued.

"So, my child, we should never hate another being for who he is and always try to reason the cause of their behaviour towards us and then make our judgement accordingly. Do you now understand my daughter?" asked Demitri promptly after taking a look at her while lovingly caressing her head.

"Yes, father, Melli.. now know it well, but.... father, I heard from the Old Helios that one who kills another person is taken away by the authorities and is put into a dungeon. Does that mean you would leave Melli and would also be sent to that scary place?" asked Mellisent while clutching his shirt between her fingers while tears pooled in her eyes again.

"No, my child, I would never leave his Melli alone; this is why we need to get up now and give that knight a proper burial as our last commiseration to his soul," said Demitri as he assured her while slightly patting her shoulders.

He stood up and gazed in the direction of Idarus's dead body and decided to bury his corpse in the midst of his house's backyard.

"Melli.. go and bring the new shovel from the outer cabinet," said Demitri as he moved towards the dead body.

Mellisent at once stood up to her feet and hurried to bring forth the said item.

After a short while, the little girl returned with a mint tool and handed it to her father.

Demitri, having received the shovel from her, paused for a fraction and then began to dig the grave. He momentarily winced a little while applying the force as his injury began to ache.

In the dead of night, when celebrations for the day had long ended, a pair of father and daughter stood in the middle of their backyard amidst the sound of a shovel hitting the ground and the chirping of crickets in the deafening silence.

At the same time, the moon bestowed them with its incandescent light.

After shovelling the ground enough, Demitri gathered Idarus's corpse and laid his body in the middle of the newly dug grave. He picked up his sword from the sidelines and placed it on his chest while securing it with both of his arms.

He took a prolonged glance at him for the final time and then embarked upon filling the grave with mud again.

All this while, Mellisent kept a watchful eye on the surroundings as if afraid that someone would bounce in the middle of their ordeal and would take her father away from her.

After securing the mud properly, Demitri walked back to the house and returned with a glass container containing numerous seeds of chrysanthemum and began to sow it upon the grave.

Mellisent, confused at the strange activity of her father, pointed out to him, " Father, why are you sowing seeds of flowers on this man's burial place?"

Demitri halted in his activities and, after a pause, replied to her, "It is so that this man's grave can always surround with flowers as no one would be there to lay flowers on his burial ground because, after this night, we should be abandoning this place forever."

It was one reason for his bizarre action and the other being so that no one would efficiently be able to find the dead man's corpse.

Hearing her father's response Mellisent's ears perked up, and she hastily asked, "Are we leaving our home, father?"

"Yes, my child," answered Demitri as he successfully finished planting the seeds.

"But where are we going to live, father?" asked Mellisent again with impatience.

Demitri halted for a second before answering her question, "We would be departing for the kingdom of 'Ephanhour' at the break of dawn and from there, we would continue our journey towards the village named 'Ostos' near the outskirts of the empire."

Demitri stood up to his feet, and soon both father and daughter recited their prayers and condolences for the departed soul.

He took Melli's hand, and they both went inside the house and began their preparations for the upcoming departure.

Mellisent bought her few garments along with some adorable small hairpins as her luggage and gave them to her father to be secured.

Demitri began to place their belongings into an empty trunk after sufficiently catering to his injuries.

After being satisfied with the items they packed, he promptly secured his sword, which was cleaned again from the gore at the bottom, successfully hiding its presence and finally closing the latch.

Demitri held the hand of his daughter with one hand and, with the other, secured their luggage.

They took a last glimpse at their abode, which was their haven for the last previous years and left the house after closing its gate.

They were greeted with the faint light of dawn along with the melodies sung by robins and wrens, indicating the eventual arrival of the morning after the prolonged tiresome night.

They barely moved a few steps away from their dwelling when Mellisent stopped in her actions and squeezed her father's palm, which held her hand securely.

"What happened, Melli? Did you forget to bring an important item with you?" asked Demitri with slight astonishment.

"Yes, father, I forgot to pack my wooden dolls inside the trunk," replied Mellisent while vigorously nodding her head.

Demitri contemplated for a while before replying and then answered her with seriousness, "My daughter, from now onwards, you will not be needing your wooden dolls as your father would teach you how to play with wooden swords," saying this, Demitri promptly secured Mellisent's hand again.

They both began to descend the mound.