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Dabria hated the rain. It had always soured her mood and made her creativity drop to zero. Normally she wouldn’t even go outside, but her art supplies were running low and a sale on her expensive paints was about to end. She shifted the heavy bag to her other hand, adjusted the umbrella against her shoulder, and tried to focus on anything besides the rain. Of course that failed when she stepped in a deep puddle that splashed her legs with the dirty, cold water. A groan escaped her as she looked down to assess the damage.
Dabria’s mood worsened when she noticed a bottle discarded in the puddle. People were always throwing their trash out of car windows as they drove by in this area. It wasn’t hard to pull over and use the trash can they often missed. She grumbled to herself about rude drivers as she crouched to grab the bottle.
As soon as she lifted it she heard the smallest noise, it almost sounded like a yelp. Her first instinct was to ignore the sound as her imagination. That died when she heard it again only louder as she brought the bottle closer. She could just barely see some small thing at the bottom of the bottle, barely hidden by the remaining liquid.
Dabria brought the bottle close to her face, another yelp sounded again. She squinted to see through the scratched plastic. Tilting the bottle slightly gave her the clear view she needed. The view of what looked to be a child barely the size of a joint on her finger curled up in a ball. Her mind emptied as she stared at the little girl, shaking in the leftover liquid of someone’s drink.
The first thing her stunned mind could consider was getting the girl out . She dropped her umbrella and carefully tilted the bottle over her hand. The contents hit her hand, but not the child. The opening wasn’t big enough. Dabria’s mind entered panic mode then. How had the child gotten inside in the first place? Was she hurt? Where were her parents?
Thunder boomed and drops of the rain fell in the bottle as she moved to hold it up straight again. In her panic she watched the bottle fill slightly from the heavy rain. The child uncurled and stood as the liquid reached her waist. Dabria’s mind caught up then, pulling the bottle close and covering the top with one hand. She sprinted home, this child had to get out of the bottle at least.
Dabria crashed into her home, the bag she still held was dropped without care. She set the bottle on her kitchen counter and ran to find her box cutter. It took her a few seconds to remember she’d just bought a new one. Running once more she dumped the contents of her bag on the ground. She quickly pushed the paints aside, finding the new box cutter, still wrapped to keep the blade from slipping out.
It didn’t take her long to free the blade. She rushed to the table where the little girl had been left, still trapped in the bottle. She crouched to try and see the tiny child’s face. Barely visible were the tiny terrified eyes. Dabria took a deep breath to try and settle her own nerves. She gripped the bottle tightly, sliding out the blade and holding it flush with the bottle.
“It’s ok sweetheart,” Dabria whispered. “We’re going to get you out of this.”
Dabria took a few more deep breaths before piercing the plastic. She slowly twisted the bottle to cut a straight line around the middle. There were muffled sobs as the bottle turned. Dabria tried to think of the best way to calm the little girl down. All of them involved her freedom from this bottle. Finally the top of the bottle fell to the side.
“There we go,” she whispered. The little girl didn’t say a word, it was the first time she considered the little girl may not speak the same language.
Dabria tilted the bottle a bit quicker than before, the little girl fell out with a grunt as she landed on the counter. The reality of such a tiny girl existing finally hit her. The tear stained face looked up at her, rain water had poured out with the child. Dabria had no idea how to even start a discussion.
The pause died in a disastrous way. The little girl climbed to her feet, her little face morphing into a glare. Then she bolted. Dabria made an alarmed noise. She couldn’t think of a single word to say. The noise made the little girl stumble. Dabria took the chance to slam her hands down, blocking the little girl from running again.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok,” Dabria mumbled. The little girl’s body was shaking as she forced herself to her feet.
“Let me go!” the little girl shouted. Dabria frowned. “You’re a bad human like all the others let me go!”
“Sweetheart, I just want to talk ok?” The little girl turned to face her. Arms crossed over her miniscule chest and a pout on the hard to see face.
“Liar! You're just gonna keep me trapped!”
Dabria sighed. It did look like she was trapping the child. As much as she hated the idea she pulled her hands from around the little girl. The child’s face turned to awe, but that again only lasted a second. The girl took off again, seeming to be more cautious of her steps. Dabria wanted to let her go, but couldn’t. The girl was running right to the edge of the counter.
Dabria slammed her hand down in front of the girl. This time the child ran right into her skin. It was a strange feeling. She could tell when those impossible hands pressed into her palms. She could feel the dull nails dig into her skin. Each movement didn’t seem real, like a dream that she’d wake up from.
The girl was smart, she took advantage of Dabria’s awe. Once again the girl took off heading towards the other end of the table. Dabria rushed to slam her hand down again. Forcing her awe away she slowly curled her fingers around the little girl. The child screamed. It broke Dabria’s heart.
“Sweetheart please,” Dabria said. Tiny fists were slamming into her skin. Everything in her wanted to cry as the girl fought. “Sweetheart…”
“I’m. Not. Your. Sweetheart.” The girl grunted out as she fought against Dabria’s fingers. It did nothing to stop her from firmly trapping the girl against her skin. She brought her hands together, cupping them so the girl was trapped. Smaller than all of her fingers and Dabria was holding her in her palms. “Let me go!”
“I’ll let you go if you don’t try to run off the table.” She just wanted to keep the little girl safe. If possible she’d also like to find her parents.
“No! Mommy and Daddy said to jump if I couldn’t get away from a human! I’m listening to Mommy and Daddy! I won’t stay with a monster! Mommy and Daddy will come find me! They’ll be mad at you! Just like the other human!”
Dabria didn’t know how to react to that. The life the girl and her parents lead must be challenging. She could never imagine it. Telling your child to jump a likely deadly height in the hopes she wouldn’t be trapped with someone you saw as a monster. Although she couldn’t just let the girl go to run like that. She couldn’t just let her go on the floor either. It could turn into one horrible mistake that ended the tiny girl’s life.
“Please, I just want to talk with you. I want to find your mommy and daddy if I can,” she said. The girl returned to punching her hands instead of talking.
Dabria heaved another heavy sigh, but accepted they weren’t going to make any progress right away. She moved the girl into a single palm. Once more curling her fingers over the tiny body that wasn’t even half the size of one. She held the hand over her heart. She went searching all around her home for a box. The entire time the little girl was struggling in her hand.
Finding the box was a victory, but she hated what she was doing. Dabria took the box to her living room. It was a bit hard to fold the flaps out from the box. She wanted the box to be on the table, it was just being used for a wall. The struggles in her hand increased as she worked.
She looked at the box with a frown. This felt wrong, trapping a little girl in a box. At least this would only be temporary. She pulled her hand from her chest, the tiny fists slamming against her skin grew more frantic. Dabria tried not to rush as she set her hand on the table. The second her fingers began to unfurl the girl had climbed off and ran. It didn’t take long for her to realize there wasn’t an escape.
“Let me out!” the little girl shouted. Dabria merely shook her head. The young girl screamed again. Stomping her feet as she ran against the cardboard again and again.
Dabria climbed to her feet, leaving the girl to work out her frustration. She wanted to get something warm for the girl to sleep in, there wasn’t much she could do for clothes right now. At least not until the little girl stopped fighting her. This wasn’t going to be easy to figure out.
Dabria’s adventure to find something for the girl didn’t take long. She grabbed a small bit of fabric she had from an old project and a washcloth. For food she brought a bit of what she planned to eat, leftover pasta, and a few paper towels. Then for something to drink Dabria grabbed the new dish she’d bought for paint mixing. She filled it with water, the best option for now.
When she finally returned to the little girl, she was curled up in a corner. Dabria was silent as she got to work setting everything up. She set the water she brought down on the corner across from the little girl first. Then the washcloth which she covered with the fabric. Finally she set a warmed bit of pasta down in the box. Staring at it made her feel like a monster. She just had to protect the little girl until she was trusted.
“Sweetie, I brought you some pasta to eat,” she whispered. The girl shifted, but didn’t stand to face her. “It might be messy so I brought you some paper towels too. One is wet already so you can wipe your hands before you eat.”
The girl budged a little. Looking around the box. Dabria wanted to do something to make this better. The girl shouldn’t be trapped like this. It took some time, but eventually the child did take some of the food. It made Dabria relax at least.
Over the next day she would try and have the little girl talk. Nothing was working. Lifting the box only had the girl darting towards the edge of the table. It was clear she met someone who was just as stubborn as she was. Once it was time for bed she tried to talk again, but the little girl would only scream to be let go. Dabria just moved to be hidden behind her couch, nearby in case the girl needed her.
Most of the night she couldn’t sleep. The girl was making small noises clearly trying to escape the box and Dabria wanted to let her out. Eventually everything went quiet. It gave Dabria a little hope, maybe the child had decided to sleep. Except one loud hiccup of a sob managed to reach her, the little girl was crying again.
Closing her eyes Dabria accepted this wouldn’t work. There had to be something she could do to figure this all out. She didn’t even have the child’s name… she’d never even asked for the girl’s name. Biting back a groan she realized how badly all of this started. She just panicked when she found the girl. They had to start over.
The next morning Dabria made some eggs and toast. She brought it to the table where the girl was curled up on the washcloth. The child quickly stood and glared up at her, it had been that way every time. Honestly she was amazed by the bravery the girl showed. She wanted to reward it, she just had to hope this would work. She set the food on the table, took a seat in front of the box, and took a settling breath.
“Sweetheart,” she started. The girl moved to stand in the middle of the area the box gave her. Arms crossed and a stern glare. “I think we got started wrong. How about you promise not to go running off a table and I promise to get rid of the box?”
The girl tensed up. Dabria prepared for another bout of screams, but they never came. The brave child deflated, eyes full of fear staring up. “I promise I won’t run anymore…”
“Then let’s get rid of this.”
Dabria tried to offer a reassuring smile as she lifted the box. She kept a careful eye out for the girl to dart away again, but she stayed. She was a truly amazing child. Dabria set the box off to the side, once they were figured out she’d fold it up. She wanted to be trusted.
Next she brought the food she’d made closer. The plate made the little girl look even smaller. There were so many things that made her heart hurt. The way the girl was shaking now out in the open. The muffled cries she had heard. The dejected manner the child walked near the plate. It was clear there was some fate the girl expected that Dabria didn’t understand.
“Why don’t we try having breakfast together ok?” she asked.
The little girl’s shaking didn’t stop, but she did nod. Dabria grabbed a piece of the toast she made and held it out to the child. The girl looked at her with more fear than before. She was expecting some pain or punishment was Dabria’s best guess. A reaction for doing something wrong.
“Ok, new idea,” Dabria set the toast down and held out a finger near the little girl. “We haven’t actually introduced ourselves. I’m Dabria, can you tell me your name?”
There were a few painful seconds of silence. A period where the child didn’t move and a fear she had no name popped into Dabria's head. The girl eventually looked up, tears streaming down her face. “I’m Alessia… you’re going to change it right?”
Dabria’s jaw fell open. The child, Alessia, thought she was going to be renamed. She couldn’t think of a single reason why that would happen. Shaking her head and trying to smile warmly she stared at the girl. Brown eyes glimmering, she just noticed how much grime was on Alessia’s skin. Her hair was matted, but she thought it might be a dark blue like the sky at night. She wanted to paint her.
“Of course not,” she whispered. She pulled her hand back, clearly there wasn’t a handshake happening. “It’s the name your mommy and daddy gave you. The only person allowed to change that is you.”
“B-but I’m a pet right? Mommy and Daddy always said if a human keeps us or puts us in a box that we’re their pet. They change our names and do all sorts of stuff. Sometimes we don’t even get to be people anymore.”
“Oh sweetheart,” Dabria brought her hand close, tempted to scoop the tiny girl up. Instead she just kept it close enough the girl could close the gap at any time. “I’m not making you a pet. You’re a little girl who doesn’t have her mommy and daddy right now. I’m just trying to keep you safe until we find them or someone else you know.”
“R-really?” Dabria could see the innocent hope on Alessia’s face. At that moment Dabria never wanted it to break. She would do anything to keep it there. “You aren’t keeping me as a pet?”
“I promise Alessia,” this time Dabria brought her other hand up and held out her pinky. “I’ll do one better, I pinky promise that you are not a pet. You are a little girl, the same as one the size I’m used to.”
Alessia had a new stream of tears cascade down her face. She wiped at her eyes, but Dabria was fine to wait. Eventually the little girl looked up, a sheepish expression. “What’s a pinky promise?”
“It’s an extra special promise that we should never break or we hope something bad happens to the one who breaks it. So I’m promising you’ll always be a normal person to me and if it changes I hope I get punished for hurting you.”
Alessia’s tiny brown eyes were sparkling. Dabria couldn’t hold her own smile back as the girl seemed to love the idea that Dabria was willing to be hurt to keep this promise. Alessia stared at her hand before grabbing Dabria’s pinky. Once again the human woman was left in awe at the size of the child next to her. She’d do anything to keep her safe.
Dabria pulled her hand back when Alessia let go. This time the tiny girl went right up to the plate, grabbing some of the food to eat. It made her smile, but there was a lot more to talk about. A sign to the girl’s parents’ whereabouts, where her home was, how she got out there. All things that she’d at least wait on Alessia getting cleaned up to ask.
A few hours later the tiny girl was laughing and playing as though nothing was wrong. She’d already taken to dragging Dabria into her game, using the things on the table as hiding places while she ‘avoided’ the human. It was amazing to see how quickly Alessia could adapt.
“Alessia,” she started. The girl was currently recovering from some made up game on the washcloth bed. Dabria wanted to make her a better one. She was good with miniatures. “Why don’t we get you cleaned up sweetheart?”
Alessia sat up, the bright look on her face dimmed. There was suspicion on her tiny face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, why don’t I set up a bath and try to get your clothes cleaned up?”
“....do you pinky promise to give them back?”
Dabria didn’t hesitate to offer her pinky to the tiny girl. “I pinky promise you’ll get all your things back.”
Alessia grabbed her finger tightly, those eyes full of fear were trusting her. The little girl stepped back and slipped off the coat Dabria hadn’t realized she was wearing. It unfolded, clearly too big for the child wearing it. That made her worried about just what the little girl wasn’t saying. That was still for later.
Dabria set her hand down and Alessia put the coat on her fingers. It was huge next to the tiny girl, more like an adult’s. Alessia started to climb on after, the nerves she held before were easily swayed. Dabria was honored by the trust, but wanted that suspicion to last. The world might not always be kind to someone so small. Although she’d make sure Alessia only saw the kindness as long as she could.
As soon as Alessia was on her fingers Dabria curled them in. The tiny girl tumbled into her palm, it got the laugh she was hoping for. Slowly she brought the child to her chest, cupping her palm against her heart. It was a relief to have Alessia giving her this trust. That she didn’t have to trap a young girl against her will.
Dabria stood carefully, waiting for any sign Alessia was afraid. That never came, in fact she only felt the girl pressing against her heart. She smiled to herself as she walked to the kitchen. She grabbed a cup that felt far too big for the tiny girl in her hand before heading to the bathroom.
Once there she quickly set up a little tub using the cup and adding a bit of soap to the water. She’d stay nearby to help the girl get cleaned up and try to wash the clothes Alessia wore. Once she was confident the bath was ready she curled her fingers in, pressing Alessia against her palm. She pulled her hand from her chest and held her palm flat next to the cup. It was so big, but the water wasn’t too high, Alessia should be safe.
“What’s that?” Alessia asked. The eyes that met her own were shining with curiosity. A curiosity that Dabria was happy to encourage.
“It’s the best bath I could give you. Go ahead and climb in, I’ll work on getting your clothes cleaned up. I’ll be careful.”
Alessia did quite literally as she was told. Climbing off Dabria’s hand dressed in everything except the jacket. It made her laugh. Dabria decided to leave her be while she took care of the coat. She turned on the sink right next to Alessia with a soft flow. She ran the coat under it, carefully trying to work out the stains. It took all her control to hold back a gasp when she found the blood staining the inside.
Alessia laughed beside her as she splashed in the water. This child had been through something much worse than she could have imagined. For now, she’d make sure Alessia felt safe, learning her past could come later. It could wait until Alessia herself brought it up. She didn’t mind taking care of a little girl who needed a family. She’d always wanted to be a mother anyway.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As time progressed since meeting the tiny girl Dabria had started to notice a few things. First, Alessia hated being alone. Any time Dabria left the room she’d find the girl staring at the door. Those innocent brown eyes blown wide with worry. Second, she often played pretend games and enjoyed using Dabria as a villain and hero. That made her smile.
The last thing she noticed were the nightmares. Alessia would often cry at night and Dabira would hold her. The tiny child rarely woke up those times. It was tempting for Dabria to just sleep with Alessia on her chest, where both could get some decent rest. That wasn’t something Alessia seemed ready for and Dabria wouldn’t push it.
Other than that their days were relatively peaceful. Dabria didn’t mind keeping Alessia close all the time. She hadn’t entered her workshop since Alessia had started to accept her. The place was too dangerous for the tiny girl. Unfortunately Dabria’s deadlines were approaching. She would need to finish her commissions soon, which meant time in the workshop. It meant time away from Alessia. Time that she wasn’t happy to use.
She waited one night for the tiny girl to fall asleep. Sneaking out of the room into the silence of the house. She made her way to her workshop. As soon as she opened the door she paused. There had to be a way to make it safe for Alessia. Eyeing the table she usually used for drying figures gave her an idea.
A few hours later everything was set up. A place where Alessia could be safe while Dabria worked. The tiny girl would be excited once she saw it. She’d been wanting to go into the off limits room. All the drying figures were gone, a sheet to cover anything left that might be able to hurt her. She put up one of her smaller canvases and set out a spot for paint.
All her content thoughts died when she heard a hoarse terrified voice scream, “MAMA! MAMA!”
Dabria sprinted. All her worries about being quiet for the little girl were gone when that scream reached her ears. She nearly slammed the door into the wall as she burst into the room. Honestly she expected to find Alessia asleep, crying out in a nightmare. Instead those big brown eyes were staring at her, somehow reflecting the little bit of light in the room. Almost like a cat’s eyes. The girl was leaning over the edge of the nightstand, it was clear she was going to climb down.
She rushed over, falling to her knees and cupping her hands around Alessia. Without a pause she scooped the girl off the pillow and pulled her close to her heart. She shifted her hand enough she could pet the tiny head of dark blue hair as she tried to calm the now wailing child.
“Shh, it’s ok, I’m here,” she whispered. It felt cruel to say that. She knew Alessia wasn’t calling out for her. The girl had come up with a million names for her. Dab, Miss D, Dabby, Dee, and more she couldn’t remember. None of them were maternal. For now she was going to be selfish. Selfish and use that selfish action to comfort the crying child. Her crying child.
“Where did you go?!” Alessia screamed. Dabria didn’t know what to say. “I thought you were gone like mommy and daddy! I don’t wanna lose you too Mama!”
“Oh sweetheart…” Dabria moved her finger from Alessia’s head. She covered the tiny girl with both her palms and pressed her with all the strength that felt safe into her chest. “I’m so sorry. I won’t ever leave you like that again. I was just working on something, Alessia. I’m so sorry.”
They sat together for a while. The miniscule girl cried for what felt like hours. Dabria hadn’t realized her fear of being alone was so bad. She felt like a failure, she was trying so hard to keep this girl safe and had just scared her half to death. She increased the pressure a tiny bit and pressed her head against her hands. She wouldn’t risk this girl being terrified like that again.
“Miss Daba?” Alessia’s quiet voice echoed in the silence. Another nickname, it seemed like her name was just hard for the girl sometimes. She didn’t care.
“Yes sweetheart,” she whispered.
“Can… Can I keep calling you Mama?”
Dabria almost dropped the tiny girl from the shock. She’d already considered the girl her daughter. It would be a hard day if and when they found her parents or someone like it. Hearing that question she couldn’t leave the girl out of her sight. Dabria leaned forward so Alessia would fall into her palms. She pulled them from her chest and stared down at the most amazing daughter she could have run into.
“Of course you can sweetheart, I’d be honored to be someone you can call mama,” she breathed. It was hard to see Alessia’s reaction, but the tiny girl crawled towards one of her fingers and did her best to hug it.
“Mama, I’ll tell you why I was in the bottle now,” she said. It was the first time the girl’s voice sounded as tiny as she was. “Put me down though. It’s an important talk so I should stand!”
Dabria just smiled, Alessia was headstrong and determined. A brave little girl in a world not made for her. She started to stand instead of putting the girl down, she’d cleared the table just in time. “An important talk needs an important spot right?”
Alessia’s nod was easy to see as Dabria walked into the hall. It wasn’t far to her workshop. Tiny hands started to slap at her fingers to get her attention. She just looked down with a smile at the child. Her child, she reminded herself. Her daughter.
“Isn’t this the room you said never go in?” Alessia asked. Dabria nodded as she walked in. A few steps and they were at the table. She let her daughter off her hands and sat on the ground to see her. The table was just the right height to leave Alessia at eye level to Dabria.
“It is, I slipped out to make this spot for you. So you wouldn’t be alone when I was working,” Dabria explained.
Her daughter looked around in awe. So many things that her child had probably never seen or touched before. So many things Dabria wanted to give her. Now that there was a spot she could work on some better things for her to use. A better tub, bed, maybe some clothes. She’d never been great when it came to sewing clothes though.
“Mama… will you be mad at me?” Alessia whispered. Again her voice was hard to hear, but Dabria leaned forward. She put her nose against the table and stared at her daughter.
“Why would I be mad at you?” Dabria asked. Her daughter turned around with tears on her face already.
“...I lied about mommy and daddy. They aren’t looking for me.” Dabria’s heart shattered. Of course she had suspicions after finding the blood on the coat, but she didn’t really think it would be true.
“I’m not mad at you for lying about your mommy and daddy. That was smart. If you’re in danger telling someone others are coming for you might keep you safe.” In reality it couldn’t do much for such a tiny girl, but it didn’t change the fact that she wasn’t upset at all.
“Mommy and daddy were gone one time I woke up. It was almost a whole day before I went to look. I checked a place they said not to go. Mommy and daddy were gone… I found daddy’s coat though!” Alessia flared the coat she still wore. “Daddy said it was his favorite coat. So I was super duper sure he was gonna come back for it! I was waiting and waiting… and waiting.”
“How long did you wait sweetheart?” Alessia shook her head. It was probably more than she could hope the child knew. She didn’t even know how old her daughter was.
“I dunno. But then the water was in the house again. When that happened Mommy and daddy always said to climb the human’s bag. I did that!” There was some pride sneaking into Alessia’s words.
“Your mommy and daddy taught you well.” Dabria wanted to encourage her. The pride grew, but then her face fell.
“The humans came back while I was climbing. I fell in the bottle thingy. At some point one of them were drinking it. I-I thought they were gonna drink me,” Alessia had fresh tears flood her face. Dabria couldn’t begin to imagine the terror a young girl must have felt with that. “The other said a bug was in it so the one who almost drank me threw me away… I thought you were gonna try to drink me too so I didn’t come out when you turned the bottle to pour me out.”
“Oh honey,” Dabria put her hands out in front of her. Alessia sprinted into them, tears never ending. Her daughter had suffered so much.
“A-are you mad at me? I-I don’t wanna be alone anymore mama.”
“Alessia, I’m not mad at all. You did so many smart things to try and stay safe when you were in danger. I bet your mommy and daddy would be proud too.”
Dabria pulled her face back and curled her hands around Alessia. She pulled her daughter close to her face and pressed her against her cheek. The tiny girl cried harder against Dabria’s cheek, small fingers digging into the woman’s skin. She didn’t care, her daughter had been through so much.
“Alessia, I won’t leave you alone. I’ll make sure that I never leave you alone.”
“P-Pinky promise?” Her daughter’s voice cracked on the words. Dabria pressed the girl against her more firmly.
“Pinky promise.”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a few months Dabria’s life had settled into a new normal. When she was painting Alessia would sit in her smock pocket, usually playing with a phone Dabria had gotten for her. Disconnected from the internet for safety. When it was any other project Dabria would have Alessia sitting at the station she made. Her daughter had a lot of fun when she played with the paints and the clay.
She wiped off her hands on the cloth she kept and reached into her pocket. Alessia squeaked as she pulled the little girl out into the open.
“What do you think?” she asked. Dabria held Alessia near her heart to show off the painting. It showed the two of them, walking together in a storm. In the painting they were the same size, Alessia asked for this after Dabria had sketched the version of the two at their real size difference.
“Is that really how big I’d be?” Alessia asked in awe. Dabria used a finger to turn her daughter to face her and nodded. “Wow…”
The lights went out as thunder crashed outside. Dabria had almost forgotten it was raining. Ever since Alessia showed up she had been a lot more creative during the storms. The opposite of how she’d been her whole life. Alessia always seemed nervous during them. Dabria brought Alessia close to her heart before heading out to their room. It would be best to wait it out there.
“Hey Mama,” Alessia’s quiet voice made her smile. Dabria waited until she reached her bed. She sat down before bringing Alessia to her eyes. Her tiny daughter crawled to the edge of her palm, reaching towards her nose. “I kind of think I like the rain.”
“Oh,” Dabria chuckled and brought Alessia close enough to reach her nose. Her daughter wrapped her arms around her nose, she was so small. “Why is that?”
“Cause I would still be alone if it didn’t rain.” Dabria sucked in a sharp breath. Her daughter truly was unbelievable. Strong enough to fight for her survival, brave enough to try and escape a giant who found her, and kind enough to see the good in the world around her.
“You know what?” Dabria grinned as she started to lie on the bed. Alessia yelped and giggled as she was shifted. “I think I like the rain too. Without it I wouldn’t have found my wonderful daughter.”
Alessia let out a little shriek Dabria had learned meant she was excited. Her daughter climbed down her face until Dabria pinched her sides and lifted her up. She set the little girl over her chest, someday she would be bigger. Her daughter would always fit in her hand, but someday maybe the size of a finger instead of a little bigger than a joint.
“I love you Mama,” Alessia yawned. Dabria smiled so wide her cheeks hurt.
“I love you too sweetheart.”