Page 4 of The Calling of Caellaias
He nodded, then let out a short sigh. “Please be careful in those woods. You don’t know what lurks out of sight. Promise me that you will be extra cautious of your surroundings while you’re out there.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to carry my bear mace with me while I walk, and I won’t go too far at first,” I said, attempting to appease him without making a full promise. To my parents, a promise was an unbreakable oath that someone should never turn their back on. I planned to be vigilant in the woods, but I wasn’t sure what was out there yet and didn’t want to promise without being sure I wouldn’t break it somehow.
Poppa leaned toward me, his eyes darkening with anger. “Anevae, I mean it. Promise me you will be careful.”
I leaned back from the table and pressed into the seat. Embarrassment coursed through me, but I still met his gaze. “I’m sorry, Poppa. I promise to be careful.”
He pushed himself back with force, stepped out of the booth, and stormed off toward the front of the diner. I lowered my gaze to my hands, tightly clenched in my lap, as a tear rolled down my cheek.
Momma reached across the table in an attempt to calm me. “My Lily, Poppa just wants what’s best for you. He also just wants you to be aware of your surroundings. He’s right that we don’t know what lurks in the woods around your new home,” Momma said in a soothing voice as Eiri placed a hand on mine to show her support.
I took an unsteady breath, and my voice cracked as I said, “I know. I don’t know what’s out there either, and I will be as careful as possible.”
We sat there in silence until Betty approached with our drinks. As she sat them down, she said, “Uh-oh. Looks like we’re missing a person. Do y’all wanna wait until he gets back?”
We all nodded again, but Momma responded, “Yes, please. Thank you very much. I’m so sorry for making you wait.”
“Not a problem! I’ll be back in a few,” Betty said, flashing a bright smile.
When Poppa returned to the table a short while later, he looked me directly in the eyes and grasped one of my hands that I had replaced on the table. “I’m sorry, Anevae. I’m concerned about leaving you in those woods alone. There can be dangerous creatures just out of sight. I won’t be around to protect you any longer. You’ll be too far away for me to come to save you in an instant as I’ve done in the past,” he explained just loud enough for me to hear. “You’ll always be my little girl, and I’ll always be concerned about you no matter what happens. I love you and just want what’s best for you.”
“I understand, but I’m not a little girl anymore. I have a lot more training and experience now, and I’malwayscautious when exploring.
“Besides, you can’t protect me from everything, no matter how much you want to. I’m a big girl and need to make my own mistakes. I will always call you if something goes wrong and I need your help, but I am capable of taking care of myself,” I said, attempting to reassure him.
Betty’s timing was impeccable. She returned right at that second to take our orders. Poppa released my hand as Betty collected our orders, retrieved our menus, and headed to the kitchen.
Thankfully, the rest of the dinner was uneventful. After eating, Eiri and I took turns discussing our plans for the next few days until the bill came. As much as I loved my family and knew I’d miss them, I couldn’t wait to have a moment to myself again following Poppa’s outburst.
I paid the bill, and then we strolled back to the dark, dimly lit parking lot, where we exchanged tearful goodbyes. After several hugsand well wishes, my family continued toward the moving truck while I turned in the opposite direction to head back to my SUV. I willed myself not to cry as I dug my keys out of my jacket pocket to unlock the car. Once I got in, I took a deep breath and broke down. Poppa seemed to have a harder time controlling his anger as Eiri and I got older, but he’d always been protective of us.
Chapter three
Anevae
Across the house, I could hear Poppa yelling at Momma in their bedroom. When Poppa came home from work that day, Momma had been telling Eiri and me a story about Caellaias.
He was fuming when he heard what she was talking about and wouldn’t let it go. Poppa had been scolding Momma for over an hour, and while I couldn’t hear everything he was saying to her that day, his main argument was always that Momma shouldn’t be telling us these stories.
That day, I’d had enough of hearing him yell at her. Momma didn’t deserve to be yelled at because she told us stories to entertain us. We asked for them, and it was her way of connecting with us—something Poppa rarely did. He was always busy with work, and when he came home, he frequently disappeared into his office.
At the time, I couldn’t have been more than ten years old; Eiri was eight and still scared of Poppa when he became irate. As I stomped across the house, she followed, begging me to leave our parents alone. I didn’t listen. I was tired of it. I walked up to my parent’s bedroom door and pounded onit as hard as I could.
I heard shuffling come from inside, and the door flew open. Poppa looked furious at the interruption. “Can’t you tell your mother and I are having a conversation, Anevae? Leave us.”
Puffing out my chest, I stood tall and glared directly into his eyes, yelling, “Momma doesn’t deserve to be yelled at like this! She’s just trying to entertain us and spend time with us. I sure can’t say the same for you!”
Poppa reached out and backhanded me. He grabbed my arm before I could hit the floor, pulling me back to my feet. “Lily, you will do what I tell you or suffer the consequences. Leave. Us. Now.” Taking a step back, he slammed the door, nearly hitting me in the face, and all I could do was stand in shock.
Poppa had never struck me before. I wasn’t sure why he had done it then, but tears welled up in my eyes. I refused to let them fall. Turning, I stumbled back to my bedroom, passing a concerned Eiri in the process. When I reached my door, I turned to look at her and just shook my head. I didn’t want to talk to her about it, so I just slammed my door closed.
As I collapsed onto my bed, I heard heavy footsteps approaching. My door flew open, and Poppa barreled in, gripping my chin tightly. “You brought this upon yourself. If you slam that door again, you will not enjoy your punishment. I expect you to be in the living room in ten minutes minus the damn attitude.” He released my chin and stomped out, shutting the door behind him.
I took a few deep breaths as tears began to fall down my cheeks. I was stuck between being upset and furious at how Poppa was acting. He’d never treated Eiri or me like that before. I lay there for what felt like an eternity when a soft knock sounded on the door.
“Go away!” I shouted, lying back on my bed as I began to sob harder than before. I knew it wasn’t Poppa; he would have just barged through the door without knocking again.
The door opened, and I looked to see who had come in. When I realized it was Momma, I sat up. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the skin around them was red and puffy—she’d been crying too. I lowered myhead so Momma couldn’t look at my face in its entirety. I was sure there was a red mark on my cheek from where Poppa had backhanded me. I wasn’t sure she’d seen him hit me, but she may have heard it. Even still, I didn’t want her to see the mark it may have left because I knew she’d be upset.
