Warnette Short Stories

Bedtime Stories

Hey guys! This story is kind of a continuation of the first story I wrote on here, so go read that one first. Besides these two stories, the rest of my writings don't go in any sort of chronological order, so you can just imagine the timing of them as you please. Enjoy!

"Why are your lights still on? It's nearly midnight, sweetheart."
"I'm not tired Daddy," she says while rubbing the obvious sleepiness from her eyes. "I don't want to go to bed!"
I sigh and rub my hand down the length of my face as I sit on the edge of her bed.
"I thought Mommy put you to sleep hours ago. Why are you still up?"
She giggles as she picks up a book sitting on the edge of her bed.
"I was reading a story about a dragon. That's my favorite animal."
Immediately, all my frustration melts away and it's my turn to laugh.
"Dragons are your favorite animal, huh?" I say as I reach forward to tickle her stomach. She squeals and tries to shove my hands away in the midst of her giggling fit.
"Daddy stop!" she yells, but her tone is full of delight.
"Only if you promise to go to sleep."
"I'll go to sleep if you tell me a bedtime story."
I look at her in astonishment. Six years old and my daughter already knows how to negotiate. I taught her well.
"Uh uh. You can go to sleep without assistance from me."
I start to walk away, but then I catch a glimpse of her eyes.

She has her mother's eyes. They are deep blue like a lake in the middle of summer yet glassy like ice. They are the living embodiment of the expression "the windows to the soul."
Yet, most of her other features are mine. Her hair is the same light blonde color as mine and her skin is just as fair. She is beautiful, inside and out.

"Ok, fine. What story do you want me to read?" I ask, heading over to her bookshelf.
"No! I want you to make one up."
I freeze in place. I am notorious for many things, but being creative is not one of them. I don't know the first thing about coming up with a story. I don't understand how she expects me to do this.
"Sweetheart, remember when I told you daddy was good at everything?"
She nods eagerly.
"That's not true. I happen to lack creativity."
She rolls her eyes at me. Literally rolls her eyes at me. That she probably learned from Kenji.
"It's not that hard! Just tell me a story about anything! Please."
And that very simple word, anything, sparks an idea.
"Alright, lay back and get comfortable. This is going to be a long one."

"Once upon a time there was a very beautiful woman, and she had super powers of a sort, but many people thought her magic was dangerous, so they hid her away from the rest of the world. She spent almost a year in complete solitude until another man was forced to move in with her where she was being kept. They became very good friends, and they enjoyed each other's company, until something unexpected happened. Darling," I cut off in the middle of the story. "Are you alright? Your clenching Mr. Snuggles," I say, referring to the stuffed tiger currently squashed between her hands.
"Yes I'm excited! I wanna hear the rest of the story!" she responds.
I nod my head and continue.

"One day, something unexpected happened. The two of them were escorted from their seclusion into a lavish building full of every amenity the girl could ever dream of. The man, however, actually knew about this building because he lived there. Turns out, he had been faking all along!"
"No! Daddy, is this a sad story?"
I ignore her question and continue.
"The girl was very upset with the man, but she was even more upset with the owner of the building. She thought he was trying to use her as a weapon, so she ran away with the other man and they fell in love."
"Yay! It's a happy ending!"
"No, sweety, I'm not finished. Even though she had run away, the owner of the building was still very set on having this girl in his life, so he tracked them down. After he had found them, the owner confessed his love to the girl, so she shot..."
I look down at my daughter's innocent face.
"...shouted at him. She shouted at him and ran off again with her lover. The end."
She smiles at me, eyes wide.
"I love that story."
"It's all true."
She gasps in adorable disbelief.
"Really?"
"Yes. It is the story of how I met your mother," I say as I pull the covers up to her neck.
"Oh! So you were the man she ran away with!"
"No," I responded as I turned off the lights.
"Wait. So then, how did you meet her?"
I shrug as I plant a kiss on her forehead.
"How about I tell you when you're older?"
She makes a small humph sound as I walk towards the door.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Goodnight."
I smile as I slowly exit the room.
"Goodnight, Emmaline."
And with that, I close the door.