Ascending Winter, 3, 1816
Espoir would not come out of her room today. I grounded her yesterday and she really hates when I do that. I tried this morning to talk to her but she would not even let me into her room. The one time I tried to enter I felt something in front of her door. I think she actually pushed her toy box in front of the door. I could easily have moved it or broken down the door, but that would have made her even more mad.
I let her be today, even though it killed me to know how mad she was. I spent most of today outside, testing my new bow. Gavner, my best friend, went on a long journey with Koli and Drake to get me it, and this was the first time I actually used it more than once.
I set up a target, one that was not too hard to hit, but not too easy. I notched an arrow on the red string and aimed. Upon release, a deep base sound emanated from the bow. It was beautiful. The arrow reached the target almost instantly, cutting clear through it. I then heard a sound of something falling to the ground.
I walked up to where the sound came and noticed a deer. My arrow had cut through the deer and stuck into the tree behind it. I needed to go hunting anyway, so this was going to be our dinner. I dragged the deer to the fence out back and began to clean and gut the deer. Espoir's window is right beside the fence, so I took a quick peek at her. She was curled up into a ball, facing the window. The sight of that killed me inside. I quickly finished and then placed it on a block of ice outside the front door.
I tried again to talk to Espoir but she still would not let me in, so I had an idea. I took my bow and pulled a chair right outside her door. I sat down and began to pluck the strings of my bow, knowing that with each string there was a different sound. I played soft enough to hear her if she spoke, yet loud enough so she could hear it. I played for close to an hour, nothing coming from her. I hoped that she would come out and talk to me, but it did not work. After a few minutes I had to go, it was time for me to cook dinner. I plucked the last note of a song I knew from when I was a boy, then stood and placed my bow down.
"Daddy?" I heard Espoir say. "Please don't stop."
I smiled, picked up the bow, and continued to play. I played for a half hour then heard Espoir's tiny voice faintly.
"Don't you cry
I'll be here soon
To take this pain away.
Don't you worry
about one thing
For I will save the day.
And I will be here today
To take away this pain
And I will love you evermore
And make you feel okay."
I stopped and opened the door. She had moved everything from in front of the door and was standing there, tears dripping down her eyes. "Dad... I love you," She said, beginning to cry and giving me a hug. I bent down and hugged her back. We stayed there for a couple minutes, me comforting her, before I picked her up, looked her in the eyes, and mouthed "I love you too. "I then took her to the kitchen and made dinner.
I ungrounded her for tomorrow, put her to bed, and went to bed myself.