#sixfallensouls

           Dawn and her mother returned to a small house with a collection of colored flowers growing near the entrance.  A few other structures of a nearby town could be seen in the distance with a sparse assortment of trees scattered around it.

           A man opened the door and stepped out to greet them.  His hair was short and brown, his eyes blueish green.  “You’re back,” he said.

           “Yes, Dustan,” said the lady.

           “Daddy!” Dawn said.

           The man was in casual attire and gave the lady a hug before waving at Dawn.  “Hello.  How’s my little girl?” he asked.

           Dawn bounced up and down on the gravel path in front of the open door.  She was smiling.  “Mommy showed me pretty colors!” she said.

           Dustan smiled and knelt down to look back at eye level.  “Did she?” he said.

           Dawn nodded again.  “I learn to make too.”

           “Uh . . . hah . . . Dawn,” the woman said.

           Her husband glanced up.  “Are you teaching her now, Kirrah?” he asked.

           “Well . . .”

           Dustan looked back at his daughter.  “Dawn, go on inside.  We’ll be in soon,” he said.  The girl’s smile had faded.  She nodded and went into the home, pushing the door shut behind her.  She stopped, leaving the door open a crack to peek through as she listened to the following conversation.

           “Children are fast learners, Dustan.  She will learn more if we start teaching her now,” said Kirrah.

           Dustan gave a half-hearted laugh.  “‘We?’  I had no say in this,” he said.  “I said ‘we’ should wait until she’s seven at least.  She’s only three years old.  She just recently figured out how to speak in sentences and you want to start guiding her with magic?”

           “You’re being unreasonable,” Kirrah replied.

           “I am?  You’re the one who . . . went out there and started teaching her this stuff after I said no.  I thought ‘we’ were in agreement.”

           The lady shook her head.  “Honestly . . . when are we ever in agreement?”

           “Rarely.  Because you’re stubborn.”

           Kirrah nodded.  “The same can be said for you,” she said.  Dawn listened, expressionless.  Yet she could feel her heart racing as the conversation quickly turned into an argument.

           Dustan stared a moment.  “Why?” he asked.  “What are you trying to prove by teaching Dawn now?”

           “That I’m right,” Kirrah said.  “Look.  I didn’t start learning magic at a young age, and look how long it took me to learn red magic.”  Dustan was shaking his head before she even finished.  Kirrah raised her voice with the next sentence.  “I know from experience!”

           “I don’t care!  That isn’t the problem!” Dustan shouted back.  Dawn took a step away a step from the door.  She was trembling.  “The issue is that you hardly do anything I say, Kirrah!”

           “And you don’t listen to me!” Kirrah said.  Dawn slowly retreated from the door as her parents’ shouting continued.

           “Well, one of us is going to have to decide to do something right for once!” Dustan said.

           Kirrah’s voice replied sternly.  “Yes, I agree.  You do it.  You’re supposed to be the example!”

           Dustan growled in frustration.  “I am trying but you aren’t making it any easier!” he said.  Dawn finally turned and ran to the back of the home, where she entered her small bedroom.  She shut the door behind her to try blocking out the angry voices.  But the effort turned out to be pointless.  She could still hear them.  The little girl sat down on her bed and sighed.  She knew this happened a lot but she wished it didn’t.  She didn’t understand why they were often upset and was usually worried she had done something wrong without realizing it.  Dawn frowned, lowered her head, and covered her ears.

           After the sun had set and the sky had gone dark, Kirrah put Dawn to bed.  She helped her get comfortable under the blankets then paused to observe the look on her daughter’s face.  Kirrah sighed.  “You look so sleepy,” she said.  Dawn nodded.  She was.  She was completely exhausted.  “Well, get some sleep and tomorrow I can explain more about magic,” said her mother.

           Dawn peered up from where she lay.  “Don’t want to,” the girl mumbled.

           “You don’t want to learn magic now?” asked Kirrah.  Dawn shook her head slowly.  “Why not?”  The girl didn’t respond.  Kirrah stared back at her child for a moment before she realized what had probably happened.  “Is it because mommy and daddy got upset?” she asked.  Dawn took a moment before nodding in response.  “Well, you don’t need to worry about that now.  We worked it out.  So it’s okay.”

           “You won’t . . . be mad?” Dawn asked.

           Kirrah shook her head.  “No, we won’t be mad if you learn,” she said.

           “Anymore?” said Dawn.

           Kirrah sighed and sat down on the bed beside her sleepy child.  “Well . . . sometimes people get upset at each other and fight.  And even if we hope we don’t . . . it can still happen again.”

           “You can be nicer,” said Dawn.

           Kirrah nodded.  “Yes, but daddy can be nicer too.”

           “Both are happy?”

           Kirrah stared then glanced away and ran a hand through her long, dark hair.  “Mommy and daddy’s relationship is . . . complicated.  It’s hard to explain.  We . . . put up with each other and . . . sometimes we do better at it . . . and sometimes we don’t.”

           “You fight a lot,” said Dawn.

           Kirrah sighed.  “It doesn’t take a lot of sense to know that.”

           “Please . . . don’t fight.”

           Kirrah stared down at her daughter’s worried expression.  After a moment, she spoke again.  “How about this?  If mommy tries harder to be nice . . . will you let me teach you more?”  Dawn finally smiled and nodded in agreement.  Kirrah smiled too.  “Then I will try, okay?”  She stood and started for the door.  “Get some sleep,” she said.  Kirrah stopped in the doorway to look back.  “Goodnight, Dawn.”

- @sixfallensouls Also said: “State Street Sadie” (from sixfallensouls and @patchprincess)!