“No more tears, Treasure.” My father’s soft voice was like a balm as he hurried up the alley toward me.
I swiped away the proof of my sorrow, keeping an eye on the rat until my father’s heavy stomp sent him scurrying down the alley. Papa leaned down, blocking my view of the little beast as he tucked a finger under my chin and lifted, forcing me to look into his comforting eyes. “Missed one.” His thumb rubbed my face, and likely the dirt staining it.
“I was trying to save the apple for dinner. I’m sorry, Papa.”
He reached into his coat pocket, boasting a grand smile as he wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ve got something better. Something special. Close your eyes.”
The sadness in my heart was swept away by the whimsical words of a prideful man. He didn’t have real magic like I did, but he had a different kind. The kind that made pain and worry scamper as quickly as that rat had. Maybe the gods had abandoned this world, like everyone always said, but one of them must have snuck back in and gave him something special.
I closed my eyes, unable to hide my smile as excitement swelled in my belly.
“Remember that I love you always, Treasure. Beyond the moon and the stars and every drop of rain. I’ll always be here for you.”
“I love you too, Papa,” I whispered as something small and delicate fell into my waiting hand.
“Open your eyes.”
I was terrified to let him see the disappointment melt over me. I stared down at a broken necklace, repeating hisfrequent words in my mind: emotions are nothing more than barricades.
The jewelry was lovely, with a gold shine similar to something I remember my mother wearing. But it would do nothing for the growing hunger.
“Thank you, Papa. Where did it come from?”
“Doesn’t my girl deserve fine jewelry?”
“I guess so,” I said, keeping my chin high and my eyes on the broken clasp to stave off the pressing tears.
I knew there was something wrong with me then. What kind of person gets such a lovely gift and doesn’t feel grateful? But maybe I did. Maybe it was buried under hunger.
“I think I can fix this piece.” He pulled the necklace from my hands, and sat beside me, resting his back against the brick building. “See? The clasp is just bent a bit. By the time you get back, I’ll have it good as new.”
“Get back from where?”
“We talked about this. You’ve got to find that cane.” I watched his large fingers curl around the necklace before he slipped it back into his pocket. “You find that cane and our world changes. No more cold nights out here, no more rats and rotten apples.”
“But I thought you were coming with me?”
“You’ll have to do this one alone. That’s okay, isn’t it? You can do this for me. For us?”
“No more rats?”
“Not where we’re going, Treasure.”
“Okay, Papa.”
“You bring that cane to me, and I’ll take it from there. We’ll eat like kings and queens tonight.”
I jumped from my spot on the ground. “Do you mean it? Do you really mean it?”
He stood, slid the worn, old, brown hat from his head, wrapping an arm around his belly as he bowed low with a flourish of his hand. “I would never lie to you.” A glint of joy lit his eyes as he held a palm out to me. “Is that music I hear?”
I giggled. “Papa!”
“Shh. Listen.” He swept his arms back and forth as if he conducted the world on a silent song. “Can’t you hear it, Treasure?”
I nodded, though it wasn’t really there. It was only his special magic. “I can hear it.”
Hauling me onto the tips of his toes, he began to sing, sweeping through the narrow alley as we spun and stepped, and I laughed and he laughed and there was no more pain in my belly. Just like magic.
