"And then…he met a huuuuge sun!" The little girl smiled in ecstasy as she raised a sun card high in the air before promptly laying it beside a card that depicted a man with a wooden pole slung over his shoulder, pack attached at the end. At the bottom of the card, the words 'The Fool' were printed and clearly in Italian handwriting on the laminated card.
"Do you not fear death?" The girl puffed her cheeks and placed her hands on her hips, attempting to imitate the ferocity of the sun.
The girl proceeded to roll to the side of her bed, gathering her blanket around her as she did. The soft wooly material enshrouded her like a meat roll, making her look rather comical. Dangling a foot by the side of the bed, she glared at the clock atop of her and clutched the blanket tightly.
"Who dares to interrupt my errand?" she demanded pompously.
"I dare!" A deep gravelly voice growled playfully and from the sides of the door a man poked his head, a grin evident on his clean shaven face.
The little girl turned her half visible head towards the man and blinked her wide innocent eyes.
"Papa!" She exclaimed brightly as she abandoned the comfort of her blanket and plopped down onto the floor and ran over to her father.
"Hey there little adventurer," he greeted her with zeal and swung her around.
She giggled as she spread her arms, pretending to be soaring through the sky. This went on for some time, until he abruptly placed her back on the ground.
"Now listen, later I'm having a few…guests over," He pondered on the choice of his words carefully and then added, "Stay in your room and don't come out until I tell you to, ok?"
"No more play time?" The girl looked up expectantly at the man.
"Nope, no more play time. I promise we'll play together after today, just this once okay?" He smiled wearily, trying to make the best of the situation.
"Okay," she answered dejectedly as she wandered back to her bed and picked up her cards.
"There's a good girl," he praised and shut the door carefully behind him.
She pouted and hopped onto her bed, landing in front of her two lain cards.
"Hmph," she huffed as she placed her deck beside her. She could hear the sound of the main door creaking open, and the short crisp footsteps of people.
"I seek the fourteen treasures of the world! I am told a man who strays is lost!" She declared to the clock once more.
"That is true. But I fear you are already lost! Take this map as a gift and go on!" She imitated the sun once more.
The sound of people entering the main room next to hers interrupted her play-act.
"At last! A path to follow!" She breathed out majestically as she grabbed her blanket with zest.
The sound of glasses clinking together could be heard.
"Perhaps…things are never as simple as they seem," She whispered in deep thought.
Pausing for a moment to recollect her thoughts, she laid out the next card, the ten of wands.
"But the Fool had already left and did not hear his words," She continued to herself.
"He rested by the side of a road and took a look at the map. Suddenly…the wind blew, wooooosh!" She blew onto the cards, scattering them a slight distance away.
The incessant sound of murmuring grew louder in the next room.
"Eg,li,oc…Eg,li,oc…" she sang sadly.
"That is a strange song you sing," she began. "I've never heard it before."
"It is a spell to ward of strangers!" She shouted rudely.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know," She said in an apologetic tone.
The people in the other room began laughing loudly.
"Under a tall tower, the fool studied his map," she carefully laid down another card, the seven of wands.
"You there! Help me!" She cried out.
The laughing halted. The sounds of people discussing things in a formal tone filled her ears.
"He saw seven wands flying about a person atop the tower," she sighed in slight irritancy.
"Oh! You must be a powerful magician!" She complimented as she clasped her hands together.
The voices began to increase in intensity. The sound of it grated against her ears.
"But the man was frantic," she said in a gradually increasing tone through slightly gritted teeth.
The voices grew louder yet.
"ARE YOUR EYES—" she began to yell.
"ARE YOUR EYES BLIND!?" Suddenly she heard her father bellow at the top of his lungs.
She heard chairs being pushed over as the people stood up.
The girl immediately set down her cards and slowly crept towards her door, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"Daddy…?" She called out uncertainly as she slowly edged the door open a crack.
Through the slit of the door, she could see three men surrounding her father as they talked in angry voices. The men wore royal black English suits, the Egyptian eye of horus emblazoned in gold on their suit. A rather funny combination in her opinion.
"You know you have to give what is due," began the man on the far left.
"That's right, your previous payment is not enough! The king has in need of more to support the army against the vicious enemy," the man on the right agreed.
"You can't go back on your word! The paper here says the debt has been paid!" Her father argued fiercely as he shook the paper furiously in front of them.
"I am sorry, but orders are orders. If you cannot provide us with the goods now, then we shall take what we deem fit, that is…your lives," the man in the middle declared.
The men on both sides lurched forward and made a beeline towards her father.
"Don't touch my father!" The girl flung the door open and shouted at the men.
Everyone stopped in their tracks as they turned to face her.
"My my," the man in the middle began. "Here's something we could use."
"No! Don't you dare!" her father ran in front of her and growled threateningly.
"Men, hold him down," the middle man smiled slyly.
Her father shrugged one man off, only to have the other punch him in the stomach. As he recoiled, the other man got back onto him and they both accosted him, pinning him to the ground.
He continued to struggle valiantly, giving a hard time to the other two men.
"Don't touch her!" He snarled.
The man ignored him and bent down to get a better look at the girl who was batting at his legs.
"What's your name?" He whispered gently, his eyes narrowing onto her being.
"I'm not telling you!" She cried out in defiance.
"But you will come with us…won't you?" He gave a crooked grin and indicated towards his men.
A grunt of pain came from her father as the men increased their pressure on his body.
A look of despair came across her face as she reached for her father.
The man grabbed her arm and brought her closer to him.
"Now, let us leave," he hissed in victory and started dragging her to the door.
"No wait! Okay! I understand!" Her father shouted in resignation.
"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?" The man turned back to face him with a smug look on his face.
The men released him from their grasp and he unsteadily came to his feet.
"I…I…" He whispered uncertainly. He looked at the girl and took a deep shuddering breath.
"I will let you take her with you," He sighed in defeat, looking forlornly at the ground.
The girl's eyes were close to tears as feelings of betrayal and sadness began to overwhelm her.
"But! At least give me a little while more with her," He looked up and glared at the man with fierce determination.
He looked slightly taken aback by the ferocity behind his stare, but soon recovered with a side smile on his face.
"Sure," He relented easily as he twirled his moustache around his index finger.
With a little push, he shoved the girl towards her father. The man indicated for his men to wait outside, and he followed them, not before turning back to give a wink at the girl. As the door clicked shut, her father immediately bent down to embrace her tightly.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" He wept softly, grieving over the loss of his daughter.
"You promised me you would play with me later!" She cried out in protest as tears started rolling down her cheeks.
Her father steeled herself.
"We don't have much time left. Listen," He knelt onto the floor so that he could stare into the eyes of the girl.
"At all costs, do not offend them. Speak only when spoken to and keep it as short as possible. Don't forget to listen. Listening can save your life," He whispered, carefully wiping away the tears she shed.
"Go now, go and never forget that I'll always love you," His face contorted with pain as he collapsed onto the ground with heart wrenching sobs.
The girl, forever engraving her father's word into her mind, nodded dutifully. She ran into the room where she was just playing a while ago and surreptitiously picked up her cards.
She ran back to her father, deck of cards in one hand, the sun card in the other. She knelt on the ground before her father and kowtowed to him once.
Her father looked up from his crying and looked at her with a mixture of pride and sorrow.
She slapped the sun card onto his hand, and he blinked with surprise.
"Keep your promise okay?" She smiled through tears. "Here, let lead you to me."
Unable to bear watching her father cry anymore, she scampered to the door and took one last look back.
"I will," He promised firmly, "Wait for me, and I'll come running right after you."
"Okay!" She beamed at him and waved lightly. "See you soon Papa!"
And with that, the doors of her old home closed. Somehow the place seemed darker and more desolate than it had been moments ago.