A Horrific Fantasy

Chapter 5

Just as he had said, Stolas was home at six o'clock with just enough time to make dinner and he made a dish that not even Octavia could stomach. Vegetable loaf. A concoction of raw broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots that had been refridgerated in a broth. Perfectly healthy but about as tasty as cardboard.

"Stolas I don't mean to insult you or be ungrateful but I don't think even a dog would eat this." Charlie said pushing her plate away,

"A rabbit would." Stolas said.

"We're not rabbits." Charlie said. "Stolas why don't you ever cook something that's healthy and tastes good?"

"Becaus food that's healthy and delicious takes a very long time to cook and it's very expensive. Right now I don't have the time and I can't afford to spend a lot of money. Not until this matter with Stella is settled. Her complaints have led to all my accounts being frozen, the blood-sucking leech."

"Daddy this looks like slime." Octavia said poking her food with a fork and watching it jiggle.

"Don't play with your food Octavia." Stolas said. "Listen, I promise you both that as soon as I've resolved everything with Stella, things will change. I won't have to be away as much and I'll be able to make more tasty meals."

"I've got money." Charlie said. "I could handle the food."

"If you're referring to the settlement money your parents left you then the answer is no." Stolas said. "Your parents were perfectly clear about it in their will, that money is for you. Not us."

"If it's for food. I need food."

"I can provide food. I may not be able to provide food that is to your liking at the moment but that's not a reason to dip into that settlement. You're always saying that you dream about going to Julliard, that is something you can use the settlement for."

"Isn't it my choice what I use the money for?"

"Yes but you're not allowed to use a cent until you turn eighteen or until you guardian gives you permission. And I don't give you permission to use that money for your picky eating."

Charlie sighed in annoyance and drank her cup dry of juice. After that she retired to her room for the remainder of the night and started reading The Loneliest Heart again. As she read the pages, she couldn't help but feel so irritated with how Stolas had acted back at the table. He was trying to act like her father again. He wasn't her father, she had a father, and just because he was dead it didn't mean Stolas could replace him. 

Eventually the story cuased her irritation to subside and she fell asleep. Hours passed and before dawn, when it was still so very dark, she heard a tap-taping nosie that awoke her. She sat up in bed and something moved. It was little more than a shadow, perching itself on the window of her room, looking like a little patch of night. She got out of bed and approached the window while rubbing her eyes. Once her sight had become less blurry, she saw that what had come to her window sil was an owl. 

At first she just stood there, staring at the owl and waiting for it to eventually fly away. But the bird didn't move. Not even when Charlie came closer and slowly opened the window. It just kept perching there and looking at her with it's giant eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked the owl. "Go on, shoo." 

The owl lowered it's head and with it's beak, it picked up something that it had been carrying in it's talons. It was four packets, each that contained something. The owl placed the packets in Charlie's hands and finally flew away behind the trees. She watched the owl until it was gone and then looked down at the packets. They were seeds, seeds for flowers. Tulip seeds, Chysanthemum seeds, Snow-Drop seeds, and Primrose seeds.