Chapter 3

Amarantha got on the train before the last one for the day and made it to Jollyville before dinner. She got on a bus as usual, stopped at her destination and struggled with carrying her bags of food but in this case, the food weren't leftovers but freshly packed cooked and raw food bought by Jimmy. She smiled at the thought of his name and tried touching the pocket on her pants, trying to feel if the cash Jimmy gave to her was still there and it sure was. Though she was getting closer to her home, her happiness was still the same. She tried looking ahead to check if her father was waiting angrily, when her vision suddenly went blank. She closed her eyes and opened up, only to find herself standing in the midst of a dark smoke. The darkness kept growing bigger and bigger until she screamed, and back to reality she found herself. For a minute she felt dizzy, but got a grip on herself and continued walking. 

"It has been a while since I last daydreamed. Why is it suddenly back?" she wondered. 

She opened the door and walked in. The first thing she noticed was the loud snore coming from her father who was lying on the couch, followed by an awful smell of alcohol and cigarettes. She believed he was wasted. Without waking him up, she made it to her room. After washing up, she went to the kitchen, heated up the food and dished it out. She was wondering if she should wake him up or not when she heard him scream. 

"Amarantha, I'm hungry!" he cried.

"Coming, dad." Amarantha rushed in with his tray of favourite food, chicken casserole and placed it on the table in front of him. At the sight of the food, a broad smile stole his lips. He used his palm in waving the aroma into his nostrils before digging into the food. 

"Yummy." He licked his lips. "I haven't had anything like this since your mother died."

"I thought as much and that's why I bought it specially for you and you can always have more when I get a better job, dad."

Her father was barely listening to her, for his mind and soul were owned by what he had been dreaming of tasting again. 

"You will get that job as long as I keep having this," he said with his mouthful. 

"But there's something holding me from getting more chicken casserole for you, I mean, getting the job." 

"What is that?" He lifted up his head for once to look at his daughter who was standing in front of him. "Quit standing there and come take a seat beside me, baby." 

Amarantha nodded and walked towards the couch her father was sitting on. She took a seat beside him, keeping a good space between them to be on the safer side. 

"Dad, I found a really good job in Prestbridge today. They pay four times the amount I get paid in Mr. John's Pizza Shop, they give leftovers, and discounts to family members. That way, I'll be able to get an affordable chicken casserole for you every weekend."

"Every weekend? Why not everyday?" her father asked, still eating his food. "Besides all we need money for is to feed, nothing else."

"I thought you would get tired of eating it but anything for you, dad. I could get a delivery guy to get that done every evening for you."

"A delivery guy? That's a waste of money since you would be coming back home every evening. You don't gotta waste your salaries."

"Um, about coming home every evening"-she hesitated for a moment but continued once her father started staring at her-"they said to get the job, I have to be in Prestbridge or stay in their guest house everyday but the weekend when I'm allowed to go home."

"And you want to accept their offer?" 

"Um, hmm, yes? Because it is going to fetch us a lot of money and it's stress free." 

"Are you sure this isn't another lie of yours? Or another way to escape to college?"

"No, it isn't, dad. I would be so busy with my work that I wouldn't have time for college." 

"Okay, sure."

"For real?!" Amarantha asked, surprised. She never thought chicken casserole would make her father let her stay away for five days. 

"Yes, for real, baby." 

"Oh, my goodness! Thank you, dad!" She threw her arms around her father, hugging him like never before. For a minute she forgot the horrible smell of cigarettes and alcohol that emerged from his body, all she wanted was to show her sincere gratitude. "Are you going for the best dad in the world awards? Because you literally just won it. I love you so much, dad. You're the best." 

Her father chuckled, patting her back. Soon they pulled out from the hug. She couldn't remember the last time she hugged him, but she could remember vividly how much she had missed such warmth from her father. 

"But what about me?" he suddenly asked.

"What?" 

"During the weekdays without you around, what would I be doing everyday alone?" her father asked, expressing sad emotions. 

"Dad, I could get you a phone and we could always facetime in the morning, during my lunch break and even before bed." 

"That isn't good enough. I am going to be alone. I mean, I would be lonely and you should know how much I hate being alone. Plus, who would cook for me?" 

"I'll employ both a chef and a cleaner to get the necessaries done for you." 

"Alright, but I would still be lonely."

"And that's why I think you should get yourself a wife." She paused to study her father's expressions but he was blank. "Ever since we lost mum, you've been alone. It has been ten years now. I know mum wouldn't be happy seeing you like this." 

"Hmm, I'll think about it." 

"Really? You should." She smiled, mentally screaming 'My plan worked! I cannot believe I will be going to college soon!'.

"Wait, you said you found a job in Prestbridge today?" her father asked, slowly wiping away the happiness in her. She nodded in fear, as negative thoughts started to fill in her mind. "Oh, really? What did I tell you about leaving this city, Jollyville, on Saturdays?"

"Um, um… n-not to-" she stuttered.

"Are you stupid?!" her father roared, scaring her. Tears suddenly started streaming down her cheeks as she realised her going to college had automatically been cancelled. She shook her head, wiping her tears away. 

"Then why act stupid?"

"I didn't know the decision I made was stupid because I left due to the fact that tomorrow is Holy Prestbridgens Day and we don't have enough food that would last us till Monday," she responded as mildly as possible. 

"Why didn't you take permission from me?" 

"I was going to but you weren't at home." 

"I cannot even remember leaving the house today. I have been lying down on this couch all day long! I was so exhausted that I slept all day long. Who are you lying to?!" 

"No, dad, you weren't-" she quickly stopped talking, realising today was one of those rare days he would leave the house, get wasted, pass out when he came back and wake up with no memories of what had happened. She knew if she continued talking, he would end up beating her for calling him a liar.

"Good. You better remain quiet. Now, what did you do to my laundry? Where is it?" 

"Um, still in your room. I didn't wash-" Before she could finish her sentence, her father had given a slap. She placed her palm on the side of her cheek that he had slapped. 

"You worthless child! I should have known the new job you found was a fake. It was just another way for you to escape to college. Forget about that job and your dream of ever going to college, have I made myself clear, Amarantha De'flore?!" Her yelled at her face. She nodded, he stood up and walked away. Tears streamed down her cheeks without control, as she took his leftovers into the kitchen then walked into her room. 

She sat on the end of her bed that was close to the window, her favourite spot in the whole of her room, as she looked outside. For a moment she had thought her father was actually going to let her go but her day only ended like every other day. Her vision slowly started becoming blurry due to the pond of tears that was forming in her eyes. She blinked to cease it from falling but it only ended up rolling down her cheeks. She wiped her face and turned away from her window, facing her bathroom door when the same unknown voice from the previous night echoed in her head, and she flashbacked.

"W-who are you?" she had stuttered. 

"Well, child, take a guess." 

"My dad trying to scare me with strange voices?" she cried, holding onto her blanket.

"Funny, child, I am"-he paused and the bathroom door burst open and thick dark smoke filled the room-"your daydreams."

Her thoughts were pulled back to reality due to the inability to remember anything after that moment. She thought it was a dream but her mind couldn't help but wonder if those dark smokes and strange voice were in any way related to the daydream she had when she was only eight years old, her very first daydream, and the one she had today on her way home. 

"Maybe the darkness was never going to consume Blaise, because he is gone but I still get daydreams of it. What if the darkness was never actually after him but after… me?" She froze at her own thought.