It was the day my mother would come back. From the expedition outside the gate.
I never knew my dad, or what he was. She just told me he fought. Fought for freedom. I didn't know what she mean by that. What freedom? Behind these gates, lie nothing but greedy bastards, too fat to pick themselves up, and the worthless servants, so skinny they could barely walk. Thanks to my mom, we were in between.
I awoke to the sound of birds chirping, and bright sunlight peeking through the curtains, as if to say hello. My eyes opened slowly, just in case the light was really blinding. Of course it was. I jumped up, growling and rubbing my eyes. As an 8 year old, mornings weren't my thing. Alas, because of my nanny, my routine was forced to awake to the roosters. I dragged myself out of bed, expecting Nanny to rush in and yell at me for getting up so 'late.' Truth was, it was probably around 7. No footsteps... That's odd. Hmm...probably just talking to the neighbors. After a few minutes of getting ready, I headed downstairs. "Nanny goat!" No answer. "Nanny goat!!" I hollered again, this time louder. Still no answer. What was going on?
I hopped down the stairs, making sure not to trip. Once at the bottom, I peeked over the balcony to see if she was at the table. She wasn't. 'Where is she...?' I wandered through the kitchen, to the front door, which was open. I was suprised. Why was it open..? I took a step outside, not noticing the tall figures surrounding the entry way. "Oof!" I bumped into their knee, falling back on my bum. "Oh! Do forgive me. I didn't see you there." I knew that voice... A hand reached down, and I immediately took it, smiling widely. "Mr. Robin!" I squelled, letting go and hugging his knee. He had gone with momma on the expedition. Speaking of which, where was momma? When he was here, momma was. They looked a bit clingy to me, but she seemed happy, so it didn't bother me. "Where's momma? Is she with nanny..?" He picked me up, allowing me to peak over his shoulder and look. She wasn't here. Where was she? He seemed to tense up. "Well...Rose...that's why I'm here." "What is it?" I leaned back some, looking into his eyes. "Well...your momma...she..." "She what? Cmon Mr. Robin, spit it out! Where's momma?!" My lips tilted downward, creating a frown. Why was he so slow at speaking? "She's not coming back." I knitted my eyebrows. "What do you mean? Did she go out again or something?" "I mean..." He pointed to the sky. "She's up there now." I looked up at the sky. He and momma used to talk about everyone up there. Mr. Holmes, Mrs. Rolf, some other folks I didn't know. "So...she flew up there?" His gaze softened, and a sigh escaped his lips. "Yes, that's it." "When will she come back?" I honestly knew some of where she went, but I wanted to see if he'd tell me. "Maybe later. Rose...I want you to know something." "Yeah?" "Whatever you do...whether if be to become a warrior or singer or whatever, don't ever give up. Not even when everyone turns on you." I set my fists on my waist, smiling widely. "I'll never give up!! I'm strong just like you!" He let out a soft chuckle before setting me down. "Yeah...just like me..." My smile disappeared, and my eyebrows furrowed. "Where are you going..?" "Oh, just going to lie down. Its been a long few weeks." I dropped my head a little. "Oh...well...come back tomorrow please? I want to play with you!" He chuckled, walking off into the street. "I will..." And with that he was gone.
Feeling my heart sink when he left, I went back inside to grab a drink. Every suspicion I had was replaced with curiousity, and happiness. I got to hang out with the second best person, and momma would come down soon. Yeah...soon.
The next day came, but Mr. Robin never came over. The news I got was enough to make my happiness vanish.
He had commuted suicide last night.
