(6)
“That’s how I meet Ghost Archer. That is when we exchanged our first lies to each other. My father was dead before I arrived and I knew my father was not a salesman. I knew exactly what we were.”
“Ghost Archer killed your father?” asked Dr. Reichenbach.
“No, he had found him dead in a trunk. That is how he knew what my father looked like so he could take his form. I am not sure who killed him. I was a child, death was part of my life and my father had made arrangements for me in case he died. I knew I had to get to the airport. I knew what I needed to do but I just took a shine to Archer and Raven. I wanted to be one of them. To be part of an us, that would always be there.”
“Why didn’t follow you fathers instructions?”
“Because as a six year old I wanted something,” She paused thinking back, “They offered me something that at six I really wanted, a home, a family, somewhere where I could belong.”
(7)
The Seattle Hunt living room was large; with many living room chairs and extra long couch. On the television played a cartoon, the whispers of voices came from the office behind her, too faint for her to hear.
Jessy feet dangled on from the edge of the couch as her eyes stared at the cartoon but her mind thinking of the emergency plans her father had lain out. How could she follow it, she was just little and the grownups watched over her. She thought of Raven and her smile, the warmth she felt when she was near her. She was a mommy.
Closing her eyes she tried hard to think of the mommy she once had. The warm smile and the loving arms was all that was recorded in her memory. She had been too young, her mind just opening to her power, the face was blurred, the eyes of blue and the warmth of the smile. All else lost but the sky filling with fire, the last night she had been with her, her daddy crying, that was as clear as if it was that very moment.
Archer took a seat next to her and placed his arm around her shoulder. Jessy looked up into his jade green eyes, wanting to feel the way she saw Raven felt. She wanted to understand the feeling that slipped into her, when Raven shifted her attention to Archer.
“Will I get to meet Mickey?”Jessy asked.
“Yes, I promise.” He held her tight. She felt safe in his arm. “Jessy, what would you like to do? Jessy” he paused for a moment, “we would love to have you, to take care of you, would you like to join us, join our family? And we are all a little different; Fur faced Cat, Two little dragons and a tiny girl fairy,” Archer brushed back the hair from his ears, “and Elves. We’d all love you to stay with us, until you want to go somewhere else of course.”
Tears formed in her eyes, she swiped at them smearing streaks on her face. “Will you find my daddy? He needs to go in a pine box.” She added, “The only way out is in a pine box.”
“I will give him a funeral, sweetie, “Archer felt her little arms holding tight as she cried, “and we will all be there for you to say good bye to him.”
She clung to Archer, her little heart breaking. Her Daddy was dead, that was the only thing that would stop him from being with her, was death.