For Littles Novels & Stories

I ask confused. “Niece or nephew,” Catherine tells me. “Who, why invent a word that sounds like food to describe children?” Lillie asks laughing. “Nibble,” Colt pulls on Lillie’s skirt. Lillie reaches into her bag and gives Colt a snack. “Okay we are taking our little brother to bond, Olivia is going to practice being Granny. Consider this a mini-honeymoon,” Tabitha grabs a bag and the four ladies pack him up. “He has a little more olive skin than you three, but he still needs sunscreen” Lillie tells them.

The little ones, with their arms open wide, sprinted ahead, their tiny legs moving as fast as they could carry them. As they approached, the group enveloped us in a sea of hugs and congratulations. The children clambered up onto our laps, showering us with kisses and squeals of delight. The air was filled with the sweet scent of their shampoo and the sound of their giggles. The warmth of their little bodies and the love in their eyes only added to the sense of triumph and happiness that already filled my heart.

“Besides, it’s fun. And he’s going to look adorable in all of this.” As she held up a tiny onesie with the words “Mommy’s Little Champ” printed on it, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, that one is cute.” “I know, right? And check this out.” Natalie pulled out a toy truck with bright colors. “He’s a bit young for it now, but once he’s crawling, this will keep him entertained for hours.” Linton let out a small coo from his crib, as if approving of the toy.

The walls were decorated with light blue colors, and many different cartoons and animes like the cartoons of a power ranger, the mini-adventures of Winnie The Pooh, Nobody, Yona in the Dawn, etc. There is a bathroom on the right side of my hand; besides that, there is a huge closet, divided into three- sections. One section is for toys; another is for all baby products like baby soap, shampoo, oil, lotion, diapers, and food product, and the last one is for clothes and accessories.

My legs were shuddering,my hands were over my mouth trying to stop my loud cry of pleasure forgetting we were all alone. He fell to his side panting while I was still trying to gain control of myself. Richard turned to me with a smile of satisfaction on his face. A knock interrupted our sweet moment, who could it be? As we thought everybody has left school for home already.

“Mommy! Daddy! Look what I made for our forever wall!” She barreled into my legs first, then Dante’s, then thrust the paper at me. I knelt, heart swelling as I unrolled it. Three stick figures under a bright sun: tall dark one with a tie, small curly one with a yellow dress, and a middle one with a thick black line around her neck that sparkled with actual glued-on glitter. “That’s you, Mommy,” Lila announced proudly, pointing. “With your magic necklace that means you’re safe and happy and nobody can make you small again. Miss Turner said it was beautiful because families get to choose their happy.”

Then Lily wrapped her arms around her little sister. Fair. Holding her gently. Reasonable. Carefully. God. Then she whispered: "I won't lose you." Fair. The promise. Reasonable honestly. A quiet promise. God. One Peanut probably didn't understand. Fair. Not yet. Reasonable. Then Peanut looked up. God. Smiled. Fair. And touched Lily's nose. Reasonable honestly. The baby version of agreement. God. Outside, the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon while waves rolled endlessly against the cliffs below.

This wasn’t for me. *** I hate how short Sundays are. Is the only thing I think when I board the bus early morning the next day. I’m babysitting some kid today, a fourteen-year-old girl whose parents need a reliable person to guard their treasure for one afternoon. I swear that’s what it said. Some people just have the strangest combination of words.

Isaac blurted out, I nodded and wipe Leira's sweats on her forehead and her back. "Honey, you don't need to run," I whispered, she giggled and looked at me. "Moma! look at what I found!" She said excitedly as she extends her hands, opened her palms, and show me what she found, a close pink-colored clam I croaked my neck to the side as I pretended to look amazed by what she found.

Even while everything around us burned and we were bruised the news of his arrival brought a smile to her lips like nothing else could. And though it’s taken more than a few years to get over our loss, we’re still taking small steps to get there. I drop a flower over the small grave. To little sesame, the name Lilith calls it, because it didn’t grow old enough to have a gender. A child’s laughter echoes from behind me while a little girl turns out of her hiding spot rushing for me. Her little feet don’t take her too far before she stumbles and falls face flat on the ground and burst into tears immediately.