ic's

air falling loose from the bun it was tied in and th

rs. I clenched my jaw, suppressing the irritation bubbling under the surface. Emilia. That woman was a complicat

esca's voice was small, almost like s

as used to Francesca's questions and the way her curiosity would fixate on the stranges

ened just enough for her, though I could feel her slippi

ll to the floor. A stubborn tear slipped down her cheek. She was spiralling and I couldn't control it. This wasn

ugh her small frame. She was holding back, trying to contain herself, but it was only a matter of ti

he asked, flicking his

sion and heartbreak only a child could feel, raw and unfiltered. And for a second, I felt a

voice broken. "Can we go back to her? Pl

ling my patience wear thin

n enough to know that it would take more than words to placate her. And then, the inevitable ha

er tiny but insistent punches landing harder than they should have for someone her size

mand slipping into my to

nswer. I had known him long enough that he didn't need further explanation.

and piercing, tearing at whatever remained of my patience. I had wanted to keep this simple. I told Emilia to leave

stracting her with anything and everything I could think of, but nothing seemed to reach her. Every few seconds, she would hiccup, her vo

couch, pulling out the stuffed bear she always kept close, her tiny fingers tracing its worn seams

down in front of her. "She's

it. She was already building a story in her mind, one where Emilia would walk

fter than before. I felt like a stranger to myself in that m

o find words, and then whispe

ation. I didn't know how to explain to her, didn't know how

der that calmed her on most days, her bed filled with every stuffed animal she had ever loved. I set her down on the b

len and red-rimmed, and asked,

young mind would understand. "Because she isn't your mother, Francesca. Sometim

stay?" she whispered, he

ro. She's not a pa

sounded, how harsh. But it was the truth. And I knew that if I allo

the softness of it under my fingers. She closed her eyes, her small body

l I fall asleep?" she asked

und her, feeling the warmth of her small body next to mine as her br

ainst my control. I hated when things went against my control. Emilia had come and gone, and ye

today. For how I had lost Francesca in the hospital and how she had latched onto Emilia, calling her mommy

, I got up from the bed and left