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“Big sister?”
Her tiny silhouette barely stood out in the room swept in twilight. She was clutching her teddy bear with both arms, holding it close to her chest as she heaved.
“Barbara? What are you doing up so late? Did something happen?”
The small pitter patter of her bare feet across the wooden floor echoed until they stood still in front of the crouching older one.
“I can’t sleep… I had a nightmare.” Barbara looked hopefully into Jean’s eyes. “Could I sleep with you tonight, Big sister?”
“Ah,” she relaxed as the realization of there being no intruders sunk in, “Of course you can.” She ruffled Barbara’s hair without messing her pigtails up. “And no need to be so formal. I’m just Jean, Barbara.”
Her lips turned up into their own small sun, as she leaned into her sister’s touch. “Big sister Jean…”
Jean chuckled, as she lifted her up into her bed and tucked her in. “Yes, that’s me.”
They both didn’t utter a word more before they were fast asleep, just as the sun set behind them, plunging the world into a darkness unknown to the two.