An Ordinary Life

Chapter 5: He Returns

Warm rays of sunlight shined through the clear, glass panes of the windows inside of the kitchen, providing light to the decent sized room. Sitting at a wooden table, Mercy and her mother were currently feasting upon the breakfast on both of their flat white plates. It had been a few months since Miraz had left, but his journeys sometimes took a lot of time.

     "I received a letter from your father yesterday. It said he should be home sometime today. Your father also misses us very much, and he can't wait to see us." Clara informed Mercy with a smile. Mercy's face immediately lit up as a surge of joy reached her cyan blue eyes. "Really? I can't wait to see him! I'm so excited!" Mercy responded, her voice full of happiness, but above all, excitement. "I can tell." Clara said with another gentle smile.

     After the two of them had finished up their breakfast, Clara and Mercy carried their own plates over to a wooden basin in the corner of the room. Resting on the wooden floor beside the basin was a wooden bucket full of clear water. "Could you hold this for me, please?" Clara asked Mercy, then handed her plate over to her daughter for her to hold. Mercy kindly took the plate, proceeding to patiently hold it as Clara poured the water into the basin. Mercy watched her mother make the clear water become sudsy with a bar of soap. Bubbles began to appear on the water's flat surface, occasionally drifting around wherever they decided to go.

"I'll wash the plates, and you can dry them off with a rag. How does that sound?" Clara asked Mercy as she looked over at her daughter with a smile. "Sounds good!" Mercy happily replied as she proceeded to hand the dishes to her mother. Clara took the plates, then dipped them into the sudsy water, beginning to scrub the leftover bits of food off with a sponge. As her mother was doing this, Mercy searched for a suitable rag that was located somewhere within the depths of the kitchen. She eventually found one in a random wooden drawer, then proceeded to pick it up and head back over to the basin.

     Clara had already washed the plates, but had waited before doing anything else so she could hand them to Mercy. Upon reaching her mother, Mercy was handed the now crystal clean plates to dry them off. "Please dry the plates off quickly, since I don't want the water to dry and streak them." Clara said, then produced a soft grunt from the effort as she picked up the wooden basin full of water. Clara then began to slowly make her way to the back door, somehow managing to open it and take the basin outside to dump the sudsy water out.

By the time Clara had dumped the water out of the basin and re-entered the house, Mercy had already dried the dishes off and put them away. Clara walked back over to the corner where the wooden basin sat on the floor, then proceeded to set the said basin back down in its usual spot on the floor. "Thank you for helping me, Mercy. I appreciate the help." Clara said with a smile. "You're welcome, mom! Anything for you." Mercy responded as she returned the smile.

Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening reached both Clara's and Mercy's ears. Soft footsteps slowly drew near as whoever had entered the house steadily advanced towards the room they were in. Before Mercy and her mother could react, an individual appeared into view and was now standing underneath the threshold to the kitchen. It was a man whom had pitch black hair and baby blue irises. A gentle smile formed on his face as he suddenly spoke. "Hello, Mercy and Clara. I am home." Miraz said.

     "Father!" Mercy happily cried, then darted towards Miraz. As soon as she had reached him, Mercy had flung her arms around her father in a hug. Miraz softly chuckled, then returned Mercy's hug. He gently ruffled Mercy's light brown hair, causing Mercy to produce a laugh as a joyful smile lit up her face. "I missed you, father." Mercy said, then looked up to stare into her father's warm baby blue gaze. Her smile hadn't wavered. "I missed you too, Mercy." Miraz responded with a smile. "What about me?" Clara asked with a smile as she walked over. "Don't worry. I missed you, too." Miraz said with a smile, then pulled Clara into the hug.

     Patches, having been asleep on the kitchen floor, had awoken due to all of the commotion. The black and white collie sprung to his feet upon seeing Miraz and the others hugging, then produced a series of excited yaps. The pup sprinted over to the group, then began to jump up and down from excitement. Mercy looked down at Patches, then giggled at the sight. "What's wrong, Patches? Do you want to join in the hug, too?" Mercy asked, then briefly detached herself from the group hug in order to stoop down and pick up Patches. The border collie was now being cradled in Mercy's arms like a mother would hold their baby. Patches wagged his small tail, then suddenly craned his neck forward to lick the tip of Mercy's nose. Mercy softly laughed, then began to pet Patches with a smile on her face.

"Does Isaiah know you are back yet?" Mercy asked as she looked back over at her father. The family had stopped hugging by now. "I'm sure he'd be happy to see you." Mercy said with a smile. Miraz's happy expression fell, and his smile suddenly faded away. "Oh. No, not yet, but I'll let him know tomorrow." Miraz responded. He slightly shifted, then glanced out of a nearby window. "Excuse me. I have to unhook the horse from the wagon, and then put him back into the stable."

     With that said, Miraz turned and then left the room. Mercy silently watched as he left, a small frown forming on her face. She could easily hear her father's footsteps receding down the hallway as he walked. The sound soon faded away, and was replaced by a squeak being produced from the front door as it was opened. Mercy couldn't help sighing as she heard the soft thud that had signaled that the front door had been closed.

     Something's off. Why was father behaving so strangely? Mercy thought with her frown still etched onto her face.