See You on Saturday

Rainy Days

Life was free of supernatural occurrences after that. Until...

Maxim Trevelyan
Writer, Squib

I knew the reason why we had done it. We just simply did not have anyone to name as the godfather of our child. My dear old brother was long gone, my wife was an only child, both our parents had passed away and none of our close friends were believers. We did not want a stranger from the congregation either. I think Tatiana was being a real smart aleck when she named Veles, the Slavic god of waters, forests, and underworld, as well as god of trickery as Gloriana’s godfather. The pastor really did not get the joke behind it and well, it was better that way I think.

First time I really remember something weird happening to my daughter was when she was a few months old. She was suspiciously quiet for a few hours, and everybody knows that when a child is quiet, mischief had been had. I went to look into her crib and found her quietly playing with a stuffed cow. Gloriana was grasping it and waving it around, giggling to her heart’s content. She became really upset when we took it away, and when we reviewed the footage from the nanny cam, the toy just seemingly appeared. We saw no harm in giving the toy back to Gloriana, at least it kept her quiet.

Life was free of supernatural occurrences after that. Until Gloriana was around nine years old. She was sitting by the windowsill late evening, watching the outside with a forlorn look on her face. When I asked her about it, she admitted that she did not want to go to school tomorrow because she had not studied for the exam. I scolded her gently for not studying, but told her she had to face the consequences of her actions. After all of us went to bed, the previously cloudless starlit sky darkened and rain began to fall, shortly turning into a heavy downpour. By the time we woke up, all the roads in our county were underwater, so the school had been cancelled for the week. I noticed it made Gloriana happy with that smirk that told us she did something and was not caught doing it.

After that flood, strange things started to occur every now and then. Girls that were mean to Gloriana suddenly woke with bad haircuts. I suddenly lost my car keys but they reappeared when it was just a tad too late to drive her to swimming lessons. She got sent home from school with a fever, but when she arrived to the house, she would be cool to the touch. When Gloriana got a place on a swimming team, the school decided to dedicate most of their funding to the swimming team rather than football. Weird things, but they always happened in Gloriana’s favor. I mentioned this to my wife and she confirmed my suspicions.

Because she was a daddy’s girl, my wife and I decided it would be best if I talked to Gloriana about it. I waited until Tatiana was out of the house and my little princess was helping me with yard work.

“Glory, I was thinking about this for a long time, you know. I would like to invite your godfather over for dinner on Saturday night. What do you think?” I asked nonchalantly, as if I was talking about inviting our neighbors.

Gloriana’s hand stilled over the small vegetable garden that she was weeding. “My godfather?” she queried, her voice strangely quiet, even though it was only the two of us outside.

“Yes. This…mischief has been going on long enough. Your mother and I need a very serious talk with him. Would you pass along the invitation?” I gave her a small smile to let her know she was not in any trouble.

Gloriana hesitated; I could see it in her eyes. She was afraid of something. I do not think she was afraid of me, but for me. Her next words confirmed it. “Daddy, I do not think that is so smart.”

“It needs to happen, Gloriana Catherine, no ifs or buts about it. Pass the message along for a family dinner on Saturday. We need to have a serious talk and to establish better communication or this will not work at all,” I stood firmly in my beliefs.

“But da-” Gloriana started when she was interrupted by a screech from up above. An eagle swooped down and released a piece of paper that it was carrying in his talons before grabbing a mouse that dared to peak from its hiding place and soaring away.

I opened the paper, four words greeting me. See you on Saturday.