#Maynia Day16 -- Don't You Cry No More

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Maynia Day #15

Maynia -- Day Sixteen -- 936 words

“Mrs. Chipendelle! You’re here! Did you know mom’s not here anymore?” I asked as I looked up at the kind lady who I remembered always made the best grilled cheese sandwiches. I think I want some now too..

Mrs. Chip then kneeled down next to me and she looked at me with her warm brown eyes—they remind me of hot cocoa, yummy!—then she gently patted me on the head as she pulled me into a hug. I didn’t get a lot of hugs anymore. Daddy wasn’t always around to give them and even when he was here, he always said something about ‘dragon rules’.

“Oh sweetie.. That’s why I’m here. Your father will need lots of help to raise a beautiful baby girl like you!” Mrs. Chip said as she leaned away from me and pinched my cheeks. She looked like she was about to cry—I can tell cause her nose was now slightly red and it wasn’t even cold. Maybe she didn’t want to play by daddy’s ‘dragon rules’..

“Don’t you wanna play by daddy’s ‘dragon rules’, Mrs. Chip?”

“I’m sorry sweetheart, your daddy’s what now?” Mrs. Chip now looked confused and I had to explain what daddy’s ‘dragon rules’ meant.

“Daddy said I needed to be a good girl, and that I needed to train and follow his ‘dragon rules’ from now on.” I looked at Mrs. Chip and hoped she would now understand, but she only said something that sounded like ‘draconian’ and not ‘dragon’. I didn’t know what ‘draconian’ means, but I know dragons, and daddy wants me to train so I can fight dragons with him when I grow up.

But I didn’t wait for Mrs. Chip to understand because something caught my attention, there in a small box with holes in it, I heard meowing. “Kitty?” I pointed at the box and stared at Mrs. Chip with wide eyes. I always wanted a kitty! Mrs. Chip smiled and opened the box then pulled out a black kitten.

I wrinkled my nose at seeing it wasn’t really cute—its ears were too big for its tiny head and its bulging eyes were a slimy green color. “Now now sweet Shiela, be nice to the lil’ guy, he just lost his mother and other siblings in a fire. He’s the only one left.”

“He doesn’t have a mommy like me, too?” I asked Mrs. Chip then raised my arms out to hold the kitty.

Mrs. Chip gently placed him in my arms before she asked, “So lil’ Shiela, are you up for the job to help me take care of him?”

“Do you have a name for him, Mrs. Chip?”

“I was hoping you could help me with that too. What do you think we should name him?”

I looked down just in time to see him yawn then his slimy green eyes now turned shiny—like the jewelry dad liked to give mom—“Jade.. Jaden. Let’s name him Jaden.”

“That sounds like a perfect name for him Shiela.”

Jaden seemed to agree too because he started purring in my arms, making me think that living with dad and his ‘dragon rules’ wouldn’t be so bad anymore.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright alone, dear? Why do you keep insisting for me to always go ahead to the towns anyway?”

I sighed as I looked up from my paperwork only to find an upset Mrs. Chip, “Because I need you to be my eyes and ears while I still can’t be there. Besides, isn’t this the perfect excuse you can make to get away from your husband?”

“The old devil! He probably wouldn’t be signing those divorce papers 'til the day I die! Maybe I should go by Ms. Chip from now on just to spite him! HA!”

I only shook my head at Mrs. Chip’s self-ranting before I felt a warm furry body cozy up to my legs. I glanced down and saw Jaden, before I scooped him up in my arms, “Remember to bring Jaden with you.” I reminded Mrs. Chip as I felt Jaden purring whilst I petted him.

“Yes yes, you reminded more than enough, and that I should also leave before you activate the tower to its full cycle, right?”

“That right Mrs. Chip, I can’t have you forgetting about me now.” I replied jokingly at her, but she now calmed down and softly smiled back at me.

“It’s only the mind that forgets lil’ Shiela, but the heart will keep the burdens you always try to deny.”

And now I felt those burdens piling up while I could only watch Ms. Chip’s ashes be carried off in an urn, her name chiseled on its marble surface. I had her delivered to our family mausoleum; she’d dedicated so much of her life to our cursed family that she didn’t have the time to have her own. She shouldn’t have been involved.

I stood there in my doorway and took in a calming breath just as I felt Jaden wrapping himself around my legs, sensing that he needed to console me. I scooped him up and held him close, stroking his silky fur as I said, “It’s just you and me now, Jaden. Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to take good care of you.”

It was then that I heard the rumble of a car’s engine, I looked up just in time to see Jack step out of his pickup, his jaw making that familiar tick again.

I knew he’d arrive soon. I couldn’t really keep Ms. Chip’s death a secret in this small town.

to be continued...

_{Image from Pixabay, by Phan Minh Cuong An: https://pixabay.com/users/minanfotos-9565064/ (edited with dreamscopeapp)}