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(Page 2 of 4) Undecided - Chap 1 by Katherine Campbell
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| Her father had proposed the adoption, it was not unusual for fishermen to have mountain cats as companions. They were excellent fishers, ratters on large ships, and a warm comfort to those who fished alone. Caring for Fantha as he grew had soothed Kanas loss somewhat.
"Kana, Are you coming for breakfast?" Darran, Kana's father called. Kana scratched Fantha behind the ears and received a friendly headbutt for her trouble. Then she went downstairs, aware that she had lingered over dressing as she thought about the dream, which was unusual for her. She was usually the first up and had breakfast ready for her father. They were a small family, Kana's mother had left the small fishing village when the twins were two, missing the city life she had been brought up to before running off with Darran. Kana and Darran had never heard from her again.
"You're up early Dad." Kana said as she sat down to toast and fried kippers. Not her favourite, but she could pass the kippers to Fantha under the table and enjoy the toast with some of her home made blueberry jam.
Darran raised his eyebrows at Kana, "I'm not up early, you're just late for once," he teased. "Bad dreams?" He enquired.
"I guess." Kana muttered. "Just the usual, about Starran..." She trailed off, the jam going sour in her mouth. But as she turned the dream over in her mind, it didn't seem as usual as it had. She couldn't remember any other time where Starran had called out to her in her dreams. "Rescue me." The words thrummed in her mind, but Starran was gone, dead, she couldn't be rescued. And how could she even call out from underwater?
"It's just a dream Kana, it's not real. Don't let it bother you so much." Darran tried to sound bright although he could see Kana was troubled.
"I know it's not real Dad, it was just, different." It always bothered Kana when he tried to brush things off as inconsequential. Fantha huffed under the table, clearly wanting some attention. Kana smiled at the distraction and fed him some of her kippers.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Kana could see Darran look away as he said it though. They weren't a talkative family, they said what mattered though, and she could see he was just giving her an opportunity to air her thoughts.
"No. Thank you though." She smiled and put her hand on his. He returned the smile and stood up.
"Time for me to get to work. Would you like to come with me today?" Darran was a shipwright, and was good at his job. He fixed up local boats and ships for the village, he had built the ill-fated dinghy for his two small daughters. He also often got called away for larger projects, working on traders ships in the larger ports, or even for the navy. Mainly for the larger jobs he worked in a supervisory capacity, he had a way with people, and always got the best out of them. Kana loved the smell of the wood her Dad worked with, and occasionally sat in the corner of his workshop carving small sculptures of her own.
"Not today, I just need to clear my head. I'll take Fantha up to Vivalen to get some fabric, we need some new curtains." Vivalen was the nearest market town to the village, about five miles inland up the river.
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