John was a good man. Kinda weird guy, though. Ate a lot of shellfish and seafood. Pretty long neck. But, he was a hard worker, honest, caring. He was kinda tall, too. Everything that a man needs to be a good father, he was just that. His daughter, Charlotte, lived with him on his farm. It was hard, yet simple work. Exactly what a man like John was good at. He was a real good swimmer, too, but that isn’t important. He’d start up the combine and get to harvesting his corn when autumn came ‘round every year. Then he’d tend to the animals. Charlotte wasn’t quite big enough for the heavier tasks just yet, so she got the pleasure of doing more chores inside the home than outside. Even without a mother figure in the household, the two got along just fine on their little farm.
They had all sorts of adventures on that farm. Even as busy as John was, he found the time to be a good father. His daughter spent time with him every day, and he helped out whenever he could. Homework wasn’t exactly his strong suit, but he tried. John would even take time out of his day to help Charlotte out with her own chores sometimes, despite how easy they were. The days passed with nothing of significance happening until John went into town. He had taken Charlotte with him, and they returned with a little sapling.
“It will eventually grow into an apple tree, with the sweetest apples in the whole wide world,” he told his daughter.
“How will they be so sweet, daddy?” she asked. Her gaze drifted back and forth between the tree and her father as the truck drove down that gravel road to their home.
“‘Cause they’ll be growin’ with love,” he replied. They arrived back home shortly after and the two hopped out of the truck.  Charlotte smiled, carrying the tree along while talking about how she’s a big girl now. John just chuckled, then quickly fetched some tools to plant the tree just outside their front porch. By the time all was said and done, both of them were covered in dirt, a little mud, and water thanks to Charlotte going overboard with the watering can. They called it a day, heading inside to wash up before getting into bed.
Charlotte was eighteen now and was almost out of high school. Her schedule was much tighter now, despite her only having a week or so left, but that is not the focus at the moment. John had fallen ill recently and was now in the hospital. Charlotte sat by his side quietly, thinking. The doctors had told her that John didn’t have long. She fought back the tears as she remembered their exact words, trying her hardest to focus on the good. All those chores she’d gotten help with, learning to drive and scaring her father half to death by nearly running the truck into a ditch, planting that apple tree. The tears wouldn’t escape just yet. John groaned softly, and Charlotte turned her attention to her father. The two exchanged some words and final goodbyes, causing Charlotte to begin sobbing uncontrollably and hugging her father tightly.
“Sh, shh, shhh. Don’t cry, baby doll,” he’d said. His voice was raspy and quiet, nothing like his normal tone that was deep and carried well. “It’ll all be just fine. You gotta be strong for your daddy, you hear?” Charlotte simply nodded, as words simply couldn’t escape her lips. “Now… I need one last thing from my little girl.”
After a second or so, Charlotte managed to speak, although her voice was shaky and sounded as if her voice would crack at any moment. “A-anything for you, daddy.”
There was only silence, aside from the beep of the heart monitor beside them. Finally, John spoke. “I’mma need about tree fiddy.”
“Why would you need that..?” she asked. Then her eyes widened. It was about this time that Charlotte noticed that her father wasn’t actually sick. All her life, she’d blocked out those reptilian features. ‘He has a skin disease,’ she’d say. ‘He is just really good at holding his breath.’ No one else would say anything, for fear of being rude. Those who did say anything were simply shrugged off. But she knew all along. He was actually, in fact, a creature from the Mesozoic era.
That friggin’ Loch Ness monster had tricked her!