In a small wooden cabin close to the gate of a large fenced ranch, a tiny little bell sounded. It was a subtle tingly sound carefully tuned to please the ear, but it still felt like a death knoll to the ears of Jason.
He had dreaded this day since he had sent in the request. He knew the rules. He wasn't entitled to receive such benefits, at least not until his wrongs were made right, and he had had his chance again and again. But he had failed all his little tests. They wouldn't grace his request now, and he certainly wasn't getting another chance. Not at this age.
He drops his scissors on the work table and walks slowly towards the receiver box...
But it was Laura who had asked, and for her he would do anything. His daughter was his everything, he would go to the ends of the sphere for her. Well, he couldn't, another drawback from his failures, but then he would attempt to if she asked. And she had asked for a Unicorn, a real one...
Now in front of the box, Jason pauses and takes a deep breath. Then he inserts his receiver card. All he had to do now was wait a few nervous seconds. Jason's brow was quite moist while his mind raced...
He had not been the brightest one back when he was young. Amongst all his peers, he had been the only one not admitted into the council. He had failed at every opportunity he was given. So when he had turned 26 he had given up, and had left the circle. He had married a human, and started up a ranch.
But then his badluck had followed him all the way. Clara had died at childbirth, leaving him to bring up Laura alone. So he had made her his world. And at 3, he had noticed she didn't take after her mother, she had been born with the gift...
Two pieces of clear white paper dropped out from the receiver box into the outer panel. Without trying to decipher the inscriptions on them, Jason picked them up. He was surprised there were two, he had expected just the one. Still, he wasn't eager to look.
He walked back to the work table and took another deep long breath. Then he placed the first one down and stares nervously at the words...
"Seven sevens but not a figure more..."
So that was the price, a steep but fair one to bear for Laura. But what about the other paper? He places the second on the table and for a moment he cannot believe his eyes.
"Eyes and ears, pink and bridle...
Sixteen hours, for the little..."
He was dumbfounded. This was a little test. They had offered him a shot at redemption. One that had to come from his daughter. Sixteen hours they had said, and that was more than fair for a deadline.
But deep down he was worried. First, he had kept his daughter's gift a secret. At least so he had thought. It was obvious now that the council knew about Laura. He could do nothing about that anymore.
But then came his second worry. What if she failed? What if she was more like him than he thought? What if she also took his failures alongside the gift? What if...?
"Dad... Are you okay?"
He spun around, startled, but at the same time conscious enough to plunge his hands and the papers into his pockets. Laura stood at the door, her large eyes smiling at him. He makes an attempt to appear unruffled, but clearly failing at that too.
"Laura dear, what are you doing out of the big house? You know I don't want you wandering around the horses. Some of them are wild. "
She walks up to him, a childish smile playing on both her lips and eyes.
"Dad, I've known these horses since I was a suckling. You know I'm okay. They could no more harm me than they would you."
She kisses his head, and starts to leave.
"Anyway, I came to tell you to come up for lunch. You work too hard sometimes."
Jason smiles at his thirteen year old daughter as she leaves the cabin. She was quite a fast learner for her age, but she was surprisingly taking time to perfect her cooking. Lunch was certainly not Jason's favourite meal. But he loved spending valuable time with her anyway.
His smile deepens. He knew now what he must do, no matter the cost. He had just half an hour to respond to the first note, and he knew what his response would be.
He was a little over 48 now. Seven sevens meant he would have just under a year left to teach Laura the ways before his time was up. But the smile on his daughter's face would be worth it. She would get her unicorn and a chance at the life he couldn't make for himself.
He takes out a pen and a paper from his pocket and scribbles three words on it. Then he walks towards the receiver box and inserts it next to the card slot.
He felt almost like a fulfilled man already, even though it would cost him his life...
THE END
Written for @mctiller's Twenty Four Hour Short Story Contest
