Fictober Prompt 27: "You could have died!"

Snipped Bud

It hit Truman like a freight train. Cold anxiety rushed through him, chilling him to the bone. And Lili was none the wiser, sitting with her flowers, laughing when an azalea told her a joke.

Gazing at his daughter as they relaxed in her garden, everything that had happened suddenly crushed him. She could have perished in that explosion at the Rhombus of Ruin. When Maligula returned with her gale of reckoning, she could have been swept away in a current, her body adrift forever. Even at summer camp, she almost had her brain stolen and stuffed in a tank. Who was to say it couldn't have been destroyed accidentally or purposefully, leaving her a broken husk of flesh before succumbing?

In the short span of three days, Lili brushed with death. She adventured and battled with all her might against forces Truman was powerless to face, his brain trapped in a metal box. She thought it had all been fantastical, almost like a movie, and she had the starring role while everyone else had front row seats.

But when the knowledge settled in Truman's head, he froze. She could have died. Oleander's PSI blast from his tank could have caused Lili to smash her head open on rocky debris. If Milla failed to uphold the gushing ocean water, they all could have drowned as Lili clung to the body the lickspittle had stolen from Truman. The base on the Rhombus exploded, and it could have blown Lili to saturated bits. Maligula would have eagerly killed her without a second thought, a raspy laugh being the last thing Lili would ever hear if the water didn't rupture her eardrums first.

She could have been like a snipped bud, her stem and leaves withering, her petals shriveled. Truman would have been given the news after his brain had been placed in his body. He'd suffer an awful feeling up until then, knowing that something awful had happened to Lili. His brain would have tingled, and he'd try countless times to telepathically connect with her or sense her psychic presence in the Collective Unconscious. He'd begged to be answered but only the void would have responded. When the news would hit, he'd break. He'd scream until he had no more air in his lungs. He'd ask himself what it all was for.

Nothing, of course. Nothing in the world mattered more than his daughter. Even if the Psychonauts burned to the ground, if Lili was safe, then he made every right decision.

His eyes ached as he looked at Lili. She laughed, shaking her head and flicking the bulb of another teasing azalea. They asked her about her boyfriend, and she shook off their questions. She was carefree as the wind blowing through her hair.

"Oh, shush, Tilda. I told you I'm not the type of girl who kisses and tells," Lili said, tutting at the azalea. She scoffed, quickly frowning at another one. "Hey, cut that out, Shayna. I don't wanna hear that from you." She wiggled her fingers. "Not after you've been hoping to get cozy with Franky over here, you sly dog."

Lili's giggling echoed in his ears. There had been the possibility that he might have never heard it again. The last time he would have heard her was when he dropped her off at camp. He didn't remember what he had said to make her laugh, but if what he feared had happened, then her laughter as she left his car would have haunted him.

His face felt damp. When he blinked, tears trickled down his cheeks. He sniffled and wiped his eyes, but more tears continued welling up at the corners. He huffed, sucking in a shaky breath and glaring at the sun filtering in through the clouds. Scorching his retinas was far more preferable than letting his daughter see him weep after she had endeavored against several foes for his sake.

"Dad?" Lili hurried to her feet, her voice hoarse. She tugged at his thick coat, her hands small, truly child-like. "Dad, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Oh, I-" He swallowed thickly. He couldn't meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. I just - it's been, well, stressful."

Her voice softened. "I know, Dad, but-" She hesitated, and he heard the flowers whisper their encouragement to her. "Dad, it's okay. Tell me what's wrong."

Truman dipped his head. He stared at her bright eyes, filled with worry and confidence. She had always been so courageous, but determination couldn't always protect her. It wouldn't save her from cracking her skull wide open or sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Lili groaned, her lips pursed. She tightened her grip on his coat. "Dad, c'mon, please, what's the matter?"

His strength faded. Falling to his knees, Truman snatched his daughter and clutched her as tightly as he could. He didn't want to let her go. Although he heard Lili gasp and felt her arms wriggle to move around his sides, he embraced her, keeping her with him.

"You could have died!" Truman shouted in her ear. He trembled, the weight of his words crushing him. As he stroked through her hair, another sob racked his body. "Oh, God, you could have died, Lili. I could've lost you to Oleander or Loboto to Maligula. Any one of them could have taken you from me."

She uttered a confused, disgruntled hum. She insisted that she had been safe. Raz rescued her from Oleander's scheme. Together, along with Oleander, they escaped Loboto's clutches. And they unraveled the mystery of his stolen brain, and Raz stayed behind to fend off Maligula while she retrieved that wretched box.

The more she spoke, the heavier his heart sank. If she died, then everything was for nothing. He didn't care about the Psychonauts, didn't care about himself. Without Lili, he was a hollow, shallow shell of a man running an agency built on the backs of tragedy.

Lili offered a weak chuckle. "See, Dad? I was safe the whole ti-"

"No!" Truman pulled back from her and clutched her shoulders, shocking Lili. "If you died, then I-! I-!"

He couldn't finish his thought. Instead, he choked down a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Verbalizing what he feared felt like a stab in his heart.

Lili's arms wrapped around his neck. She smelled like flowers, as usual. Truman didn't want to let her go, weeping.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I wasn't thinking of it like that," she murmured, pressing her brow to his shoulder.

He knew that. She had thought everything that happened was part of a long, grand escapade full of twists and turns, monsters and mayhem. When she had finished regaling him with her story, she had such a bright, whimsical smile on her face. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen her wear one so big.

"I'll keep myself safe, I promise," she added as he quaked.

She was stronger than the average intern. She was capable, but she was still his daughter. And he couldn't imagine a life without her. Truman loosened his grip, letting her vow sink in his head, and he sighed, breathing out the last of his worries. He clutched his knees, feeling Lili's hands grip his shoulders, and he met her gaze, strong, fearless, full of assurance.

He hugged her again, letting that be his answer, and as the wind blew around them, Truman thanked her.