‘Penny look!’ Penny heard a distant voice who was speaking in her dream that she had, ‘See this right here,’ came the man’s voice.
Little Penelope looked up at the man, her father who had caught a golden fish in his hand. They were in the water stream which was gushing down while bringing new fish every minute and every day.
“Papa, it is dying!” she said looking at the fish flap its fins and body. Noticing his daughter’s distress over the dying fish, he let the fish down, releasing it which joined the rest of its school in the river.
The little girl still looked worried, a deep frown that settled between her eyebrows. Her father laughed looking at her, “Didn’t you say you wanted to eat some fish for dinner?” he asked his daughter.
“I didn’t know this was how the fish came to the plate,” upon her answer which came out to be on a quizzical side, her father threw his head back. His blond hair radiating under the rare sunlight that fell on the lands of Bonelake.
“Did you think they magically appeared?” he asked her, “To eat anything you need to first catch it, let it die or kill it.”
“Kill it?” the little girl’s eyes widened. She was too young to know about it and he had phrased it as any other a.d.u.l.t would but he rectified it by saying,
“Maybe not kill. There are some foods which we need to eat, or we eat to survive. There’s plenty of food for everyone and we have been eating them like this. Catching and cooking them.”
“B-but, won’t it be hurt?” Penelope asked her father who caught hold of her hand in his and started to walk away from the river as she appeared to look upset on the thought of killing the fish.
“Some of them are born for us. To consume as it is its life’s purpose,” he answered her innocent question, “We all have a purpose too.”
“To be someone else’s food?” She was going to be eaten one day?! The young girl looked shocked and her father laughed again. She was really comical for a girl of this young age, a light in his life along with his wife. And, oh, how much he treasured them. He could only hope that things would remain the same and no harm would ever come to fall on them.
“You can choose to not be someone’s food in the future but no that is not life’s purpose. Everyone has a different purpose, the fish that we caught could have fulfilled by feeding us. Keeping your little stomach happy and it would be happy to have served you,” the father and the little daughter of his walked through the forest, making their way towards their home which wasn’t too far from where they were right now.
“Then what is mine?” she asked, looking up at her father to meet his green eyes that were similar to hers.
“Yours?” her father questioned and Penelope nodded her head vigorously, “To be a great woman when you grow up. Be an admirable one, my dear Penny. Be the good in this bad world,” he murmured the last line to himself which the little girl didn’t quite catch it, “When you grow up you will find yours without having to think of what I have told or what others want.”
The man looked down at her, knowing she was too young to understand what he actually meant and he could only hope she would be safe right now. To be away from harm and the darkness that belonged to the world which they were part of. A parent could shelter his or her child only for a certain duration. Until the little bird would learn to fly and fly away to its own adventure.
Reaching the house, he entered along with his daughter to see his wife who was cooking something in the pot.
“Welcome back home you both,” his wife smiled. He walked to where she was, kissing her on her cheek, “Hm? Where is the fish?” his wife asked, noticing their hands which had no fish but plants which were the vegetables they had picked on their way back.
“Well,” the man said, running his hand on Penny’s head to say, “We decided to have vegetables today and have the fishes for tomorrow.”
The man turned away, placing the vegetables down and going to wash his hands and legs to not notice his wife staring at the child and his back with gritted teeth. By the time he returned back, the woman smiled back at him.
“I got some things prepared as you both went out to get the fish.”
“My bad,” the man smiled at his wife sweetly, apologizing to her, “I hope it doesn’t go bad for tomorrow. I will bring some of them early in the morning,” his wife gave him a nod.
After they were done with the meal and his wife was cleaning the utensils outside the house, Penelope’s father had pulled Penny and had made her sit next to him with parchment and a slate in her hand. He was teaching her how to write the alphabet.
“Yes, you curve it like this. Just pull it around. Let me show you,” her father patiently took her hand and guided it with the piece of chalk she held in her hand, “See? It wasn’t that bad.”
Young Penelope nodded her head, her smile bright, “Yes, papa.”
“Now, let’s go to the next,” he said while reading the sentences for her so that she could memorize the words written and understand at the same time. Their family was lower than the rest of the other families which made it difficult to get a good education for his daughter. The man had received education by being tutored by one of the church members when he was young, and he had been fortunate enough to be taught.
“I got it!” little Penelope raised her hands together, looking at her father when she read the line right.
“My smart daughter,” her father patted her head.
