Our Father Who Art a Mystery Part Four
Mosu didn’t talk much. She sang, and she drew pictures, but she told stories rarely and gossiped even less.
No, Mosu’s strength was in keeping secrets. She knew everything about the Secret Treehouse, and she kept the knowledge well. The others all knew they could turn to her if they wanted to tell something that no one else could know about, and Mosu would smile and file the secret away in her mind.
But she didn’t know all the secrets. Zelda had not even trusted Mosu with the answer to the question on everyone’s mind. It didn’t bother her. Keeping secrets had taught her that people only shared the secrets they desperately wanted others to know, and Zelda didn’t want anyone to know who their father was yet for some reason.
But Mosu still had a question, and since she had the chance, she was going to ask it, so she knocked on the door gently and waited for permission.
“Yes, Mosu?” Zelda said.
“I won’t ask who he is,” Mosu began. “But I want to know… how will we know who he is when we see him?”
Zelda nodded. “A fair question. You will know because your heart will tell you. You will look into his eyes and see something of yourself in them, and he will tell you he loves you and that he’s sorry he wasn’t known to you, and you will know. What you do with that knowledge is up to you, but you will have it.”
“That sounds awfully romantic,” Mosu said cynically.
“Well, you’ll also know because he’ll be here later today.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I just spoke with him. But don’t worry-you’ll all get to ask your questions before he arrives.”
“Oh, thank you!” Mosu squealed, and she rushed downstairs with the news. “He’s coming today!” she said gleefully as she whirled back into the living room.
“What?” everyone shouted.
“Don’t worry, she says there’s time for everyone else, so hurry! And whoever’s not asking, let’s get this place clean! We want him to love us!”
XIV. Cowgirl Xena
As the others started hastily washing dishes and dusting shelves, Xena went up to her mother. In spite of Mosu’s enthusiasm, Xena knew that this was far from over. There were always people coming to the Treehouse, always men wandering in and out, and they would never be too certain of who it was.
Or at least, most weren’t. Xena thought she knew the answer. After all, it was fairly obvious who the most fascinating of these men was, who could persuade a woman to have almost two hundred children and love all of them. In fact, Xena had often found herself just as drawn to him as every other female did. And she felt sure that the reason was because of paternal bonds. Then again, it would be very hard to prove unless she confronted Zelda directly.
She knocked on the door uncertainly, trying to breathe normally as Zelda called for her to enter.
“Yes, Xena?” Zelda said.
“Mother,” Xena said. “Is it Snob?”
Zelda looked confused. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I don’t know,” Xena said. “It’s just that he’s fascinating and we’re all drawn to him and I thought that if there was anyone likely to have that many children, he’d be an obvious choice…”
Zelda laughed. “Maybe in other circumstances,” she said calmly. “But he’s just a friend. I’ve never had any dealings of that sort with him.”
Xena nodded, not sure how she felt about this information. “I guess that makes sense,” she said finally. “And I’m sure when we do find out, we won’t be disappointed.”
“I hope not,” Zelda murmured. Xena hesitated, not sure if she should say more, but then she closed the door and went back downstairs.
“Anything?” Butterfly asked from the kitchen.
“No,” Xena said. “Just another no.”
Only when she was scrubbing the windows did relief take over.
After all, “fascinating” didn’t mean “good father.”
XV. Dodger of Zion
She wanted it to be true. She wanted all of her suspicions to be correct. After all, he was the one who had taken care of them, who had killed spiders for them, who their mother seemed to like best. Dodger’s main question was why the information was a secret.
There could be any number of reasons, she supposed. The fact that he was a superhero. He’d want to protect his children from his enemies, not turn them into cannon fodder. That would be why they were all hidden away in the Treehouse, only allowed to leave when they could fight trolls alone, never given the information that could potentially destroy all of them. Yes, it would make sense.
But if that was the case, they did a bad job of hiding it, because he was the one who most acted like a father, who visited the most often, who told stories and laughed with them, who took pride in their triumphs and shared their tragedies. He helped Zelda, and seemed to love her, and Dodger couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just get married and give them all a normal life. Well, as normal as could be expected, living in a forest of trolls and telling stories that were definitely not age appropriate.
Dodger knocked on the door politely, and entered politely when she was called. There was no need to be hostile, after all. She knew there had to be reasons.
“Well, Dodger?” Zelda asked.
“Is Linkara our father?” Dodger asked quickly.
Zelda looked away. “No,” she said after a moment. “Though he has done well at stepping up.”
“Yes, he has,” Dodger said. “Are you sure-?”
“Quite,” Zelda said. “For all that many of us wish he was.”
“You love him,” Dodger said.
“More than anyone knows,” Zelda confirmed.
Dodger crossed the room and hugged her mother for a moment, before turning abruptly and going downstairs.
It was too bad. He was the best father Dodger could imagine.
XVI. Toby Mobias
Toby would never be sure how he had avoided all of the torment his little brother went through. Maybe it was because he was older than many of the girls, or maybe it was because he didn’t draw too much attention to himself. Either way, he was grateful for it, and would occasionally intervene if the teasing got out of hand. But not often.
And like all of the children, Toby loved his mother, and it saddened him when his siblings told him she was leaving. He wasn’t looking for the answer of who his father was-the man hadn’t shown any interest in the role so far, and it was a stretch of the imagination to believe that he would after Zelda was gone. No, they’d have to take care of each other, comfort the little ones as best as they could, and Toby just wanted to know how long he had to prepare. He supposed he’d be taking over as patriarch of the family, unless Cy decided to come home soon, but Toby wanted to be ready anyway.
He knocked on the door and Zelda almost immediately called for him to enter. She looked faintly surprised. “Hello, Toby,” she said. “When did you get here?”
“About twenty minutes ago,” Toby answered. “I’m very sorry we were late, Astra and I had to rescue Mori and Brill from the trolls.”
“I see,” Zelda said. “So the others told you what’s going on?”
“Yes,” Toby said. “And maybe you told them but they forgot to mention it, but when are you going?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t say,” Zelda answered easily. “Actually, I should be going later today.”
“Later today?” Toby gasped. “But we don’t have time to get ready or-”
“Less of it, my son. You just said that you could rescue the little ones from the trolls. You’ve done remarkably well in defending Rampant from your sisters. And you’ve always been good at taking care of each other. You don’t need me, nor do you need time to prepare. You’ll do just fine.”
Toby stared for a moment, before smiling. “You’re right,” he said, and he went back downstairs.
“She’s leaving today,” he announced, and he didn’t say anything more.
No, Mosu’s strength was in keeping secrets. She knew everything about the Secret Treehouse, and she kept the knowledge well. The others all knew they could turn to her if they wanted to tell something that no one else could know about, and Mosu would smile and file the secret away in her mind.
But she didn’t know all the secrets. Zelda had not even trusted Mosu with the answer to the question on everyone’s mind. It didn’t bother her. Keeping secrets had taught her that people only shared the secrets they desperately wanted others to know, and Zelda didn’t want anyone to know who their father was yet for some reason.
But Mosu still had a question, and since she had the chance, she was going to ask it, so she knocked on the door gently and waited for permission.
“Yes, Mosu?” Zelda said.
“I won’t ask who he is,” Mosu began. “But I want to know… how will we know who he is when we see him?”
Zelda nodded. “A fair question. You will know because your heart will tell you. You will look into his eyes and see something of yourself in them, and he will tell you he loves you and that he’s sorry he wasn’t known to you, and you will know. What you do with that knowledge is up to you, but you will have it.”
“That sounds awfully romantic,” Mosu said cynically.
“Well, you’ll also know because he’ll be here later today.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I just spoke with him. But don’t worry-you’ll all get to ask your questions before he arrives.”
“Oh, thank you!” Mosu squealed, and she rushed downstairs with the news. “He’s coming today!” she said gleefully as she whirled back into the living room.
“What?” everyone shouted.
“Don’t worry, she says there’s time for everyone else, so hurry! And whoever’s not asking, let’s get this place clean! We want him to love us!”
XIV. Cowgirl Xena
As the others started hastily washing dishes and dusting shelves, Xena went up to her mother. In spite of Mosu’s enthusiasm, Xena knew that this was far from over. There were always people coming to the Treehouse, always men wandering in and out, and they would never be too certain of who it was.
Or at least, most weren’t. Xena thought she knew the answer. After all, it was fairly obvious who the most fascinating of these men was, who could persuade a woman to have almost two hundred children and love all of them. In fact, Xena had often found herself just as drawn to him as every other female did. And she felt sure that the reason was because of paternal bonds. Then again, it would be very hard to prove unless she confronted Zelda directly.
She knocked on the door uncertainly, trying to breathe normally as Zelda called for her to enter.
“Yes, Xena?” Zelda said.
“Mother,” Xena said. “Is it Snob?”
Zelda looked confused. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“I don’t know,” Xena said. “It’s just that he’s fascinating and we’re all drawn to him and I thought that if there was anyone likely to have that many children, he’d be an obvious choice…”
Zelda laughed. “Maybe in other circumstances,” she said calmly. “But he’s just a friend. I’ve never had any dealings of that sort with him.”
Xena nodded, not sure how she felt about this information. “I guess that makes sense,” she said finally. “And I’m sure when we do find out, we won’t be disappointed.”
“I hope not,” Zelda murmured. Xena hesitated, not sure if she should say more, but then she closed the door and went back downstairs.
“Anything?” Butterfly asked from the kitchen.
“No,” Xena said. “Just another no.”
Only when she was scrubbing the windows did relief take over.
After all, “fascinating” didn’t mean “good father.”
XV. Dodger of Zion
She wanted it to be true. She wanted all of her suspicions to be correct. After all, he was the one who had taken care of them, who had killed spiders for them, who their mother seemed to like best. Dodger’s main question was why the information was a secret.
There could be any number of reasons, she supposed. The fact that he was a superhero. He’d want to protect his children from his enemies, not turn them into cannon fodder. That would be why they were all hidden away in the Treehouse, only allowed to leave when they could fight trolls alone, never given the information that could potentially destroy all of them. Yes, it would make sense.
But if that was the case, they did a bad job of hiding it, because he was the one who most acted like a father, who visited the most often, who told stories and laughed with them, who took pride in their triumphs and shared their tragedies. He helped Zelda, and seemed to love her, and Dodger couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just get married and give them all a normal life. Well, as normal as could be expected, living in a forest of trolls and telling stories that were definitely not age appropriate.
Dodger knocked on the door politely, and entered politely when she was called. There was no need to be hostile, after all. She knew there had to be reasons.
“Well, Dodger?” Zelda asked.
“Is Linkara our father?” Dodger asked quickly.
Zelda looked away. “No,” she said after a moment. “Though he has done well at stepping up.”
“Yes, he has,” Dodger said. “Are you sure-?”
“Quite,” Zelda said. “For all that many of us wish he was.”
“You love him,” Dodger said.
“More than anyone knows,” Zelda confirmed.
Dodger crossed the room and hugged her mother for a moment, before turning abruptly and going downstairs.
It was too bad. He was the best father Dodger could imagine.
XVI. Toby Mobias
Toby would never be sure how he had avoided all of the torment his little brother went through. Maybe it was because he was older than many of the girls, or maybe it was because he didn’t draw too much attention to himself. Either way, he was grateful for it, and would occasionally intervene if the teasing got out of hand. But not often.
And like all of the children, Toby loved his mother, and it saddened him when his siblings told him she was leaving. He wasn’t looking for the answer of who his father was-the man hadn’t shown any interest in the role so far, and it was a stretch of the imagination to believe that he would after Zelda was gone. No, they’d have to take care of each other, comfort the little ones as best as they could, and Toby just wanted to know how long he had to prepare. He supposed he’d be taking over as patriarch of the family, unless Cy decided to come home soon, but Toby wanted to be ready anyway.
He knocked on the door and Zelda almost immediately called for him to enter. She looked faintly surprised. “Hello, Toby,” she said. “When did you get here?”
“About twenty minutes ago,” Toby answered. “I’m very sorry we were late, Astra and I had to rescue Mori and Brill from the trolls.”
“I see,” Zelda said. “So the others told you what’s going on?”
“Yes,” Toby said. “And maybe you told them but they forgot to mention it, but when are you going?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t say,” Zelda answered easily. “Actually, I should be going later today.”
“Later today?” Toby gasped. “But we don’t have time to get ready or-”
“Less of it, my son. You just said that you could rescue the little ones from the trolls. You’ve done remarkably well in defending Rampant from your sisters. And you’ve always been good at taking care of each other. You don’t need me, nor do you need time to prepare. You’ll do just fine.”
Toby stared for a moment, before smiling. “You’re right,” he said, and he went back downstairs.
“She’s leaving today,” he announced, and he didn’t say anything more.