Birthday Present
1073 Words
"What happened to you, Jane? I've noticed you've been daydreaming for the past few days."
Andrew, seeing his daughter daydreaming for the past few days, seemed concerned. He sat down beside her.
"It's okay, Dad. I was just thinking."
"About?"
Jane took a deep breath.
"Why does marriage have to happen?"
Jane looked at her father.
Andrew fell silent, looking at his daughter's gloomy face.
"Why is there love?" Jane took a deep breath. "What if we get married without love? Is that okay?" she asked.
Andrew couldn't even answer this question, and even from childhood until a few seconds ago, this was the first time Jane had asked her father, and it was completely beyond reason.
"Why are you suddenly asking such a trivial question?"
Jane smiled wryly.
It was expected that her father would give an unsatisfactory answer. Sometimes, Jane wondered how happy she would be if her mother were still alive. Surely her life wouldn't be like this; she could be normal like other girls and have fun.
More than that, Jane knew, she'd barely seen the outside world. All Jane could do was live and grow up in the forest, which was sometimes truly boring.
Jane had no human friends her own age; she only made friends with animals she couldn't even talk to.
"You couldn't possibly be in love with that stag here, could you?"
Her father's question made Jane glare, then she snorted.
Andrew knew full well that humans couldn't possibly exist in this jungle, and Jane's sudden, strange question certainly confused him.
"Or are you reading a romance story in a book or watching a romance movie?" her father probed again.
"I just met a young man; he was very handsome and white."
Instead of believing her, Andrew immediately laughed at his daughter's statement.
"Tell me, does your handsome man have a tail?" he asked.
Jane sniffed even more.
"You don't believe me, Dad?"
Andrew still managed to laugh, even though he was trying to be serious.
Jane stood up, her face bright red, then she stomped her foot.
Without another word, Jane stepped into the container and slammed the door shut.
Amidst his laughter, Andrew fell silent and pondered.
He now felt incredibly guilty toward his only daughter.
He felt that what he had done earlier was excessive and felt like he was mocking Jane.
Andrew realized that Jane was a woman.
One who had reached adolescence and puberty.
She was no longer a clueless little girl, and most importantly, Jane must have developed feelings of attraction to the opposite s*x and a curiosity about new things.
Andrew wondered what he should do after this.
Living in the middle of the forest for decades and not knowing the outside world was certainly not a good thing for Jane. Even though she had a mission to become the first werewolf hunter to eradicate those shameless werewolves, Andrew now had to think about Jane. Now Jane's life was no longer a joke, and she had to decide whether to keep Jane in the woods and let her daughter die as an old maid, or to give in for Jane and take her back to the city to live a normal life, and more importantly, a life like a normal girl.
After much deliberation, Andrew had dinner with Jane.
The two were completely silent, as Jane hadn't said a word.
Andrew cleared his throat repeatedly, trying to get Jane to talk. But unfortunately, his daughter wouldn't.
Finally, Andrew had to speak first.
"Um, aren't you turning seventeen next week?" Andrew asked, starting the conversation.
Jane looked at her father, who only nodded slowly. Even Jane responded with a lack of interest.
"What gift do you want?" Andrew teased.
He hoped that if his daughter asked to leave the woods and return to the city, to live a normal life like a normal person, and whatever it took, Andrew would be willing to grant it.
"No," Jane replied.
Of course, Jane's answer took Andrew by surprise.
"No?" he repeated.
"You don't want to go to the city? You can go to school there, I'll find you a tutor, and you can hang out with friends your own age." Andrew paused. "You can meet any kind of man you want. A handsome man, right?" he continued.
Jane remained silent, even now placing her fork and knife on the plate with considerable force. Jane stood up.
“I’m done eating.”
“Jane, can you listen to your father for once?”
Jane paused.
“Okay, fine. I admit I was wrong for laughing at you a while ago. I take it all back, and now I regret it, please forgive me, okay?”
Jane glanced at her father.
“I know you’re all grown up now, and you definitely want a partner, right?” Andrew asked again, now even more bluntly. “Tell me, Dad, who is this person? What’s their name, and where are they from?”
Although Andrew was already starting to think Jane might be hallucinating, he still tried to get her to talk.
And sure enough, after saying that, Jane immediately fell silent. Jane looked at her father with a sad look and then sat down on a nearby sofa.
“I don’t know their name, but I think they might be the daughter of one of the werewolf hunters in this part of the forest.”
Jane said this, and Andrew immediately frowned.
"Some time ago, when I was in the forest across the way and nearly got into trouble, I was saved by that young man. He was very handsome, with a cool face and a sad, calming gaze. I forget his name, but he was a very handsome young man. His clothes seemed very expensive, and he spoke very politely. He had several friends here. In fact, I almost thought there was a village nearby. I think I should visit there sometime to see if there was one."
Hearing this certainly made Andrew even more confused, torn between believing and disbelieving his daughter's words.
He was even sure and knew that he was the only human werewolf hunter in this area, and each area was not allowed to have more than one werewolf hunter. But Jane said that the boy even had so many friends? It was clear that in this dense forest, there were no villages.
So, who was this young man?
- Writer
