The Dragon King

Katherine had a wonderful childhood, filled with memories of her father Thomas working at a car dealership and her mother Ava baking and selling delicious cookies, cakes, and cupcakes from home. Katherine's happy life was evident in the picturesque bungalow they called home, nestled in a suburban neighborhood with three cars parked in the driveway. During their Florida vacation, one day took a turn for the worse when her mother fell ill, plagued by a high fever and chills.

They immediately took her to the hospital for a thorough examination, but the doctors were unable to find any conclusive results, despite taking her blood for testing. The doctors diagnosed her illness as food poisoning, specifically from something she had ingested. Despite only consuming fruit salad, Ave's symptoms worsened to the extent that she became unable to retain any food or liquids, necessitating her immediate return to the hospital. Despite multiple doctors' opinions suggesting that it might be a stomach bug or the flu, they refused to conduct any tests and disregarded their concerns.

Thomas paid for their ticket and decided to take his wife back home. Upon arriving home, her father decided to take his wife to a different hospital, with the doctors once again attributing her illness to food poisoning. However, this time they kept her there for two weeks to observe any improvements. Specialist doctors conduct multiple tests for various diseases, repeatedly asking the same question, until it feels like they are going in circles.

Initially, the doctor might suspect that Thomas is intentionally making his wife ill, leading to a nurse or doctor asking an odd question such as "Have you noticed any unusual smells or tastes around your food?"

"Does your husband cook for you, Ms. Smith?" asked the doctor

No, doctor or nurse, I do all the cooking and cleaning. While my husband just work and come home, that all," said Ava.

"Doctors, you suspect that my father is deliberately causing harm to my mother. In Florida, all she had was a fruit salad before feeling sick with a fever and chills from playing in the water. The same thing is being said by the hospital we were in," Katherine asked the doctor to investigate her mother's situation.

Ava has spent an additional week in the hospital before her body fails. The first organ to be impacted was her kidneys. Her treatment involved the use of a dialysis machine. Ava experienced a complete shutdown of her heart, liver, and even her lungs within days. The doctors have no choice but to use a breathing machine to sustain her life. The doctor took blood multiple times and made unsuccessful attempts to clean the blood machine. Day after day, Katherine witnesses her mother's decline, the toll of her illness becoming more evident with each passing moment, until the doctors admit defeat and declare that nothing more can be done. Desperately trying everything in their power to save her, they were met with heartbreak. One fateful night, as Katherine peacefully slept in the chair in her mother's room, her heart flatlined again, but this time, there was no hope left. As Thomas entered the room, the weight of his emotions settled upon him, and he sought solace on her bed, letting out a heartbreaking cry.

Katherine holds her mother's hands as her hand goes cold knowing that she is no longer in this world, the nurse turns off the machine but the doctors give the room. Katherine thanks them for trying to save her mother. After fours hours being in the hospital, Katherine helps her father on to his feet so nurses can take her mother to the morgue. Katherine drove them home due that her father couldn't do it, he cry himself in the car as she is driving once they get home she has to found her mother's "Will" to fulfilled her mother wishes.

Just keep driving. Katherine has to be close up all her mother's social media for her bakery, which means there will be no more taking orders because Katherine can't bake like her mother does. They made it home she woke up her father up by lightly shake him until he fully woke.

"Dad we are home, come on, we make to do the funeral arrangement,"

Katherine could see her father's face, stained with tears and his eyes red from crying, as she helped him out of the car and closed the door behind them. As they walked towards the house, she unlocked the door for her father to enter. With a heavy heart, Thomas walked over to his favorite chair. He picked up the pictures of his wife, holding them close to his chest, and let the tears stream down his face. The scent of her mother still lingers in the house as if she never left. Quietly, she climbs the stairs towards her parents' bedroom, hoping to find her mother. "The Will" enters the closet and retrieves her shirt, taking a deep breath to smell it. She couldn't find it in the closet, so she went to her mother's nightstand, notice there is a keyhole, now she has to find the key. Just sit on the bed and start to think of where her mother keeps her secret. Then Katherine saw a picture on the wall that her mother Ava didn't like as she went over to take it off the wall she turn around the picture frame. It was a key to the nightstand. She took the key and head back into the nightstand and open it. Spotting a white envelope, she decided to take it, carefully closing and locking the drawer to keep her father from finding out. Katherine restored everything to its original position. She brought the envelope to her room and concealed it in a secure location to prevent her father from finding it.

She walked out to the back and descended the stairs to find her father still sitting there, holding pictures of his wife, and she approached him slowly.

"Dad, do you want something to eat?"

"Perhaps later, not at the moment."

Knowing there is nothing she can do for him, Katherine decides to let him grieve in peace. She quietly enters the kitchen, retrieves her mother's phone book, and starts reaching out to families and friends to inform them about her mother's passing. Katherine's knowledge of eating was limited to the basic food her mother had taught her.

Two week later, people began arriving at the house, their footsteps echoing through the halls as they came to pay their respects. Dishes were laid out on the table, and conversations filled the air as they spoke with my father. Additionally, she overheard them discussing "The Will" that their grandfather had left her mother, which supposedly included a vast fortune in money and stocks worth billions of dollars, yet no one had been able to locate it.

Katherine was unaware that Amy, Ava's sister, had gone upstairs. Following Amy towards her parents' bedroom, Katherine had no idea that Amy was currently searching through the closet, just a couple of steps ahead of her.

"Can I assist you with anything?" asked Katherine

"Oh, yes," she exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face. I'm curious, did my sister leave any kind of written document indicating who would inherit the house, cars, or even the money? Amy mentioned.

Amy, I want you to know that if my mother did leave something like that, I will take care of it by getting rid of it because she mentioned how you and your brothers are always so money-hungry. "You're free to leave now," she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight, a wide smile lighting up her face as she gestured towards the exit.

"I'll take legal action against you and your father, take all your assets."

"No matter how hard you try," Katherine whispered, her voice quivering, "you'll be left empty-handed, a cold chill running down Amy's spine."

Two hours later, the house was finally empty again. Katherine wasted no time in rolling up her sleeves and getting to work, scrubbing away the mess and tossing the trash into the can. As she worked, she caught a glimpse of her father heading upstairs to his room, but it was too late to stop him.

"I can't make you some soup that I made,"

"Just bring it to the room. I will eat it in there,"

"Alright, and don't sleep in your suit,"

As Katherine carefully carried the steaming bowl of soup upstairs, her hands trembled, fearing the scalding liquid might spill and burn her. Just knocked on the door before going inside. She saw her father sitting on the bed as she put the soup on the nightstand on his side, then hug him.

"Dad, we will be okay,"

"I know," he said, his voice filled with a tinge of sadness, "but your mother was my everything before you came into this world." While we dream of traveling the world, she has her heart set on being a stay-at-home mom. Instead of feeling anger towards her, I stood firmly behind her decision. As you came into the world, she continued to clean the house, bake, and cook, making sure there was food to eat, all while barely getting any sleep. You were such a wonderful baby sleeper, always content to be in the kitchen with your mother rather than being placed in front of the TV. I recall a time when you wanted to go to school by yourself in middle school. Your mother used to follow you in her car, but eventually stopped because she knew you could handle it."

"Dad, I will miss her too. Now eat your soup while I get change and make me something to eat,"

"Thank you daughter, you are the best,"

"I know dad,"

After leaving the room, Katherine closed the door and proceeded to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. She decided to change her mind and simply laid on her bed, falling asleep because she wasn't actually hungry as she had told her father.

As the days passed, Thomas resumed work and his co-workers persistently inquired about his well-being, which bothered him and caused headaches. The boss even instructed the co-worker to cease asking that question and return to work. Thomas abruptly entered the building, reeking of alcohol, as if he had been partying all night. A customer walked in, searching for a car, and they immediately informed Thomas' boss, making excuses on his behalf. His boss reached a breaking point and had to terminate him, leading Katherine to step in and make sure he stayed away from alcohol.

Thomas was a regular at the bar, where he would keep an open tab and order drink after drink until the bartender finally refused to serve him anymore. As Katherine emerges, her eyes dart from bar to bar, searching for her father. Eventually, she discovers him slouched in a corner, the table littered with shattered glass. His disheveled appearance is apparent, with his shirt undone, tie askew, and unwashed hair clinging to his scalp.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Dad," she said, her voice filled with concern.

"No," he whispered, his eyes filled with despair, "just leave me here."

"I am no longer engaging in conflicts with you." "Let's head home now," she said, her voice filled with exhaustion.

Katherine gently supports her father as he rises to his feet, placing the money on the counter to settle the bill. They exit the bar together, making their way to the car for the journey home. It's apparent that Katherine can't rely on her father to accompany her anywhere without him making a beeline for the bar and getting completely drunk.

Over the years, Katherine's relationships suffered due to her father's constant troubles, leading to multiple failures. At one point, Mark betrayed her by cheating with another woman, and when she discovered the truth, she immediately ended things with him. Thomas becomes so consumed by gambling that he resorts to selling their home in order to pay off his mounting debt. As a result, Katherine is left with no choice but to pack up their belongings and store them away, all while keeping her mother's secret safe from getting lost.

Now they had to move into a two-bedroom apartment, which they are going to be living for the rest of their lives. Clutching the white envelope tightly, she knew that one day she would unravel its contents to uncover her mother's words. But for now, she had to guard her secret.