Dahlia and the Garden of Light - Chapter 7: Chapter 7
You are reading Dahlia and the Garden of Light, Chapter 7: Chapter 7. Read more chapters of Dahlia and the Garden of Light.
That night, long after the house had gone quiet, William and Antonio sat in the study. The fireplace crackled softly behind them. On the desk lay a series of documents — one part school curriculum, one part tactical roadmap. Training programs, medical texts, old maps with notes scrawled in William’s precise hand.
“She has more than you realize,” William said, sipping from a heavy crystal glass. “It’s not just healing. There’s intuition in her. An instinct I haven’t seen since your mother.”
Antonio leaned back in his chair, one hand rubbing his temple. “She’s four, Dad. She’s a child. You’re talking about espionage, field medicine, martial arts…”
“I’m talking about survival,” William replied. “I’m talking about giving her tools, so when the day comes — and it will — she’s not helpless.”
“I won’t let her be a soldier.”
“She won’t be,” William said evenly. “But she will be hunted. That kind of power never stays hidden forever.”
Antonio looked away, jaw clenched. “I just want her to have a life. A normal one. Laughter. Ice cream. Safety.”
“She can have all of that,” William said, voice softening. “But she’ll also need to know how to stitch a wound, how to disappear if someone follows her, how to tell when someone’s lying to her face. You don’t teach her those things after something goes wrong.”
Antonio stood and walked to the window, looking out over the sleeping garden. “I already failed once. I let her power show before she understood it. She healed a wound in the open, and I— I panicked. I told her to hide it. Like it was shameful.”
“You were afraid,” William said. “So was I, when you were born. You didn’t speak until you were five. I thought I’d done something wrong.”
Antonio turned, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”
William smiled faintly. “You were just quiet. Always watching. Always thinking. I didn’t understand it until I saw you handle your first business deal. Calm. Precise. You taught me that power isn’t always loud.”
He stood and joined Antonio at the window.
“We do this the right way,” William continued. “We build a team around her. We give her knowledge, discipline, allies. But we let her be a child too. Laughter and lessons. Petal and steel.”
Antonio was silent for a long time. Then, slowly, he nodded. “Alright. We give her both.”
William raised his glass toward the fire. “To the Garden of Light. And the girl who’ll one day carry it into the world.”
“She has more than you realize,” William said, sipping from a heavy crystal glass. “It’s not just healing. There’s intuition in her. An instinct I haven’t seen since your mother.”
Antonio leaned back in his chair, one hand rubbing his temple. “She’s four, Dad. She’s a child. You’re talking about espionage, field medicine, martial arts…”
“I’m talking about survival,” William replied. “I’m talking about giving her tools, so when the day comes — and it will — she’s not helpless.”
“I won’t let her be a soldier.”
“She won’t be,” William said evenly. “But she will be hunted. That kind of power never stays hidden forever.”
Antonio looked away, jaw clenched. “I just want her to have a life. A normal one. Laughter. Ice cream. Safety.”
“She can have all of that,” William said, voice softening. “But she’ll also need to know how to stitch a wound, how to disappear if someone follows her, how to tell when someone’s lying to her face. You don’t teach her those things after something goes wrong.”
Antonio stood and walked to the window, looking out over the sleeping garden. “I already failed once. I let her power show before she understood it. She healed a wound in the open, and I— I panicked. I told her to hide it. Like it was shameful.”
“You were afraid,” William said. “So was I, when you were born. You didn’t speak until you were five. I thought I’d done something wrong.”
Antonio turned, surprised. “I didn’t know that.”
William smiled faintly. “You were just quiet. Always watching. Always thinking. I didn’t understand it until I saw you handle your first business deal. Calm. Precise. You taught me that power isn’t always loud.”
He stood and joined Antonio at the window.
“We do this the right way,” William continued. “We build a team around her. We give her knowledge, discipline, allies. But we let her be a child too. Laughter and lessons. Petal and steel.”
Antonio was silent for a long time. Then, slowly, he nodded. “Alright. We give her both.”
William raised his glass toward the fire. “To the Garden of Light. And the girl who’ll one day carry it into the world.”
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