To Keep You

Twelve: Malachi

I shook my head as I trudged down the stairs, as flawed as Pa is; I hate to admit it, but I still care for him. He's always been a cold, harsh, and mean man, but at times when he is in a good mood, a mood where he actually laughs, smiles, and jokes around. I see the small amount of good in him, the part of him that hasn't been ruined by the hands of the devil. That is the part of him that I love.

But those 'moods' and 'moments' have happened fewer and fewer over the years. I can sense the light within him slipping into the darkness, and at times, I wish I could just reach into his soul and pull the darkness out. To say I've spent many nights on my knees praying to God to change him would be an understatement.

Stepping off the wooden steps, I ambled into the small den. Like the rest of the house, this room is covered in wood, from the ceiling to the floor. Only feet away stood a tall and wide stone fireplace. Hanging neatly on a small shelf, off to the side of the fireplace, appropriate tools to control the small flames hanged neatly from the shelf.

A few deer heads hung on the walls as well as the fur of a black bear laid on the floor before the fireplace. Tobias hated this room the most. He cared for the animals more than any of us and hated to see them harmed. Even though by natural he was quiet and preferred to be alone, he always had this connection with animals that none of us could understand. At times, it appeared he could understand them, as if they were talking to him. He hated hunting and therefore hated this room, for he saw it has nothing more than a trophy room for innocent souls that Pa had killed over the years.

There was a singular couch that was placed only feet away from the fireplace. Pa had hand carved the frame, and Ma had sewed the arona blue covers for the couch cushions, and together, they had stuffed straw into them. It was the definition of homemade, but it's nearly as old as I am and has not once needed a repair. So, I have no reason to complain.

Wandering down yet another hallway, I emerged moments later into the busy and loud kitchen. As dull as the other rooms, the kitchen was the same boring wood and rustic theme as the rest. Besides a gas stove, there were no other appliances in the kitchen. Pa didn't believe nor liked technology, hence to why there is a shower house and out house located out back by the garden. As well as an underground ice box.

Turning my attention to the left of me, I took in the long and you guessed it, wooden table. Also hand carved by Pa, the table housed eleven chairs. As well as it is long enough to hold many plates of food.

Besides Aaron, Ma, and myself, everyone was already seated at the table. As usual, Pa was seated at the head of the table, while Joshua was seated to his right, and to Pa's left, the seat was empty for Ma. Next to Joshua, the seat was also empty, but everyone, including Pa, knew better than to sit in that seat. The seat itself used to belong to a very special girl, and if you ask Joshua, the chair still does.

My eyes skipped over to Pa's left side again, seated next to the seat intended for Ma, was Enoch, who was happily buttering a wild-berry pancake. His waist length ice-blonde hair was neatly braided, no doubt Ma spent most of the morning wrangling him to sit still for her to tame his wild locks. He was the youngest of us Knight brothers. And at the tender age of fourteen, he was the most annoying, hyper, and baby-faced boy I've ever known.

Next to Enoch sat Tobias, he sat with his arms crossed over his chest and was leaning back in his chair while staring out the window with guarded amber eyes. His sharp face was littered with deep talon like scars, no doubt from trying to befriend those murderous wolves. He's spent a lengthy amount of time with the beasts as if he thought they were his friends and even once claimed to know where their den is. However, being the self-proclaimed animal protecter, he refuses to show us nor tell us where it's located.