Gran'papa Owl

Character studies. The widowed Mr Goldstien knows all about raising owls; children, not so much. However, his wife, his son, and his daughter in law are all gone, leaving him to raise his two little granddaughters all on his own.


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1910

The funeral is a family affair. A union veteran of the American Civil War, Elijah has seen his share of joint burials, but burying three family members at once is beyond excruciating. Though the undertaker employed the best of spells to rid Abigail, Fyvel, and Rebecca of the scars of dragonpox, taking memento mori photographs of the family together is almost too much for the girls to bear. Eli won't let them evade the morbid practice, however—he has no other family photographs featuring all six of them and he will take whatever he can get. He wishes he had spent more money on the luxury of photographs while they were all still alive, regardless of their expense.

The girls go through almost all of their clothes, as their heritage demands that their clothes be torn every time they change during the shiva period, the week of mourning. It's inconvenient, but important. Clothes can be replaced. Parents cannot be. At some point, Eli makes the decision to never shave again.

They observe the matzevah a month later. They stand in stiff silence for a while. It is Tina who steps forward first, wrapping her little fingers around a fold of white cloth and pulls the shroud from the headstone.

Freckled by the shade of an oak tree, Fyvel Goldstien's birthdate and death date are inscribed in grey stone beside his wife Rebecca. Beside her is Abigail and beside Abigail is a space reserved for Elijah later down the road, his name and birth date carved into it prematurely.

He misses his wife unbearably. He didn't realize how much he relied on her until she was gone and now he feels entirely lost. His slacks and jacket are rumpled—one day he had gone to his closet to dress and realized that he didn't know how to iron his clothes. He looks as depressed and unkempt as he feels. His short, white beard is beginning to look like an actual beard instead of just sloppy, translucent scruff.

However, the girls are washed, clean, and fed (after a month, he's beginning to get the hang of oatmeal, but it is still bland) and their hair is flawlessly brushed and adorned with bows. Their shoes are polished and their hosiery is snowy white.

Though Regina is the sister who cries the easiest, in this moment it is she who stands more firmly as Porpentina shatters and falls to her knees. She buries her face in the shroud and wails, crying for her mama and papa, for Becky and Filly. The cloth singes and chars where she touches it, her feelings boiling over through her fingers. Regina takes her older sister's head into her lap and pets her hair as she cries. Eli kneels onto the grass and his arms encircle them both, a gesture of comfort and protection he isn't sure he can truly provide. However bitterly, he knows that the grief will ease with time; he is less confident in his ability to raise his grandchildren.


Grandpa Goldstien isn't the most competent parent and he knows it, but he has lots of time to learn how to be a stay-at-home mom.

Next chapter I will explain how we get the nickname"Queenie" out of "Regina."

You can find me on Ao3 under the same old pen name. Find me on Tumblr, too.

~MegiiJ