239. VERY SMALL

239. VERY SMALL
Lilly sat on the fluffy carpet in her room with a picture book too big for her on her lap.
When she saw her parents come in, she looked up at them.
"Someone's studying sincerely on her own," Layla commented.
"I am doing research," Lilly said. "Look. This is hill." She pointed to a picture. "This is Snow Mountain. And this is a cliff. Then there are V-shaped hills."
Layla smiled, sitting beside her. "That's a valley. It's a land between hills."
Layla and Lilly looked almost identical in that moment, both in pale yellow pyjamas, both with their red hair bundled up into messy buns, stray curls spilling out in every direction. Zaley, as always, was the opposite in his black clothes.
He was currently glaring at the Avengers toys that occupied Lilly's chairs.
Layla held his hand, and his focus shifted.
He sat on the other side of Lilly.
“Sprinkles,” Layla began softly, we need to tell you something.”
Lilly closed her book, her eyes curious. “What is it?”
“There’s a little girl,” Layla explained, “in the hospital. She’s very small, only two years old.”
“Why is she there?” Lilly asked immediately. "Is she sick like me?"
Layla glanced at Zaley, then answered carefully, “No... um...she was hurt. And… her parents aren’t here anymore.”
Lilly frowned. “Where did they go?”
Zaley spoke, his voice low but steady. “They died.”
Her little lips parted, then slowly pressed together as she thought. “So… they went to God.”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Layla whispered, brushing a hand over her daughter’s hair.
Lilly blinked rapidly, as if trying to picture it. Then she asked, “Who’s taking care of her?”
“That’s the thing,” Zaley said, his gaze fixed on his daughter. “Right now… no one. So until a proper family is found, we’re thinking about letting her stay with us for a while.”
Lilly’s brows knitted together. “Stay here?”
Layla nodded gently. “Yes, here. Just for a little while. She’s very small, Lilly, and she needs someone.”
For a moment, Lilly just stared at them. Then her attention shot to her father. “When did you see her?”
“A week ago,” Zaley said after a pause.
Lilly’s little jaw dropped. “A whole week?!”
“Yes.”
She slapped her palms onto the book, scandalised. “Why didn’t you bring her home sooner? She’s only two! What if she was scared of the dark?! Or aliens attacked her when she was alone?”
"Aliens are not real, little Lilly." Zaley tried to explain. "Maybe they are. But I am sure they won't roam on Earth."
Layla slapped her forehead.
"But, Mamma said that aliens would attack me if I don't eat my broccoli."
Zaley’s mouth opened, but no words came out. He stared at Layla, who clamped her lips together and looked away.
Lilly crossed her hands across her chest, "Now, that I think about it, I guess aliens are not real. You can't scare me like that, mamma. I am a big girl now. Six years old."
Then she turned to Zaley, "One week? You both know that she is alone?"
Looking thoroughly unimpressed, Lily shook her head slowly, like a grumpy old man. “Bad manners,” she muttered, glaring at both of them.
Layla gave in and giggled softly, hiding her face in her palm.
But Lilly wasn’t done. She straightened in her chair, eyes sharp. “Where will she sleep?”
Layla blinked. “Um… we’ll figure that out.”
“She can sleep in my room,” Lilly declared, as if granting a royal decree. “But she can’t touch my small hulk. That’s mine.”
Zaley raised an eyebrow, amused despite himself. “Fair enough.”
“And toys,” Lilly went on, ticking invisible boxes in the air. “She can play with the blocks and the kitchen set. But not the Iron Man suit. She breaks that, I’ll be mad.”
Layla leaned closer, smiling gently. “So… does that mean you’re okay with her staying here?”
Lilly huffed, crossing her arms with the gravity of a queen disappointed in her subjects. She let out a long, dramatic sigh.
“Well, somebody has to take care of her. If you two are so bad at it, then I’ll do it. I’m a big girl now. Six years old.” She lifted her chin proudly, as though her age was a badge of authority.
Zaley’s lips twitched, the corners curving against his will, a smile fighting to break free. Layla felt her heart swell so much it almost hurt, watching the tiny, fierce thing she had raised.
“Okay,” Lilly declared with the seriousness of a judge. “Let’s bring her. Daddy, make dinner for four. Mommy and I need to discuss about valleys.” She gave her order as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Baby,” Layla tried gently, hiding a laugh, “there will be a few formalities before we can bring her home. It might take a little time. How about we go shopping for her instead? We can pick out some dresses.”
Lilly gasped and clutched her chest as though the world had just collapsed.
“She doesn’t even have dresses?”
“She does,” Zaley assured her quickly. “Your mom already bought three pairs last time. But she’ll need more.”
That seemed to soothe her only slightly. With a huff, Lilly hopped down from her chair, already swinging her frozen-themed sling bag across her shoulder. She began hunting for her boots, muttering under her breath about how she was practically grown now and had to get ready on her own.
Zaley leaned back, shaking his head with a soundless chuckle. His daughter didn’t just inherit Layla's hair. She had inherited her temper, her command, and apparently her bad manners.
"Are you sure?" He asked Layla one more time.
She nodded happily. "But I am not getting up early."
"You don't have to." He kissed the side of her head. "You don't even have to lift a finger, Sprinkles. We are only fostering her. Nothing more." He reminded her again.
Layla nodded, kissed his cheek and followed Lilly into the living room.

“She is so small,” Lilly explained to Eli in a voice filled with wonder, while patting Loki's head. She pressed her little hand against her chest. “Look, I used to be small too.”
Eli, lounging on the rug, only blinked at her declaration, but Lilly kept going, her words tumbling out with urgency.
“But Luna is smaller than I am. Mommy and I bought her pretty, pretty dresses. They are all small. Tiny, tiny dresses, Eli. Like they are made for dolls.”
She spun around, ready to fetch one of the dresses to prove her point, when the doorbell rang. Her eyes widened. In an instant, Eli and his dresses were forgotten. Lilly sprinted toward the door with the small puppy in her hands.
“I am a big girl now,” she told herself proudly. “I can open the door alone.”
“No,” Layla called from behind, her voice calm but firm. “You are not big enough to open the door alone.”
Lilly halted with her hand hovering over the knob, cheeks puffing in protest. But then the monitor flickered on, showing Zaley standing tall on the other side.
“It’s Daddy! I will open it,” she said, puffing her chest like a tiny soldier as she twisted the knob.
The door swung wide, and there was Zaley in a black coat, his hard expression softened by the sight of his girls, opening the door for him.
Luna's curls spilled over his shoulder, her big brown eyes peeking out nervously from behind his collar. She clutched his shirt in tiny fists, her whole body tense, as if she knew the world was too big, too strange, and maybe too cruel.
“Daddy!” Lilly exclaimed, hopping in place. Then she froze, her gaze falling on the little girl in his arms.
Her mouth parted, her excitement tangling with confusion.
“This is Luna,” Zaley said quietly, his voice low, careful, almost reverent. He wasn’t a man who softened for anyone except his girls. But now, carrying this fragile, trembling child, something in him bent.
Layla stepped forward, her yellow pyjamas brushing against Lilly’s as she crouched down to their daughter’s level. “Baby, this is the little girl we told you about. She’s going to stay with us for a while.”
Lilly leaned in, her red hair bouncing in its messy bun. She tilted her head, studying Luna. “She’s even smaller than I thought.”
At that, Luna pressed her face deeper into Zaley’s chest, refusing to look at anyone else. Zaley’s hand, broad and certain, rubbed her back in slow circles.
“She’s scared,” he murmured, almost to himself.
Lilly frowned, like a grandmother with too much wisdom in her six-year-old bones. “Don’t be scared, Luna. We’re nice. Daddy looks scary, but he makes pancakes.”
That earned a flicker of amusement from Zaley, though his eyes stayed on the little girl. He shifted her slightly, as if adjusting so she could breathe easier.
For the first time, Luna’s wide eyes lifted, not to Layla, not to Lilly, but sideways to glance at the puppy in Lilly’s hand. Her grip on Zaley’s shirt loosened by a fraction.
It wasn’t much. But it was a start.
"Bow bow," Luna whispered.
“Bow bow,” Luna whispered.
Lilly’s eyes grew as round as saucers. She looked from Luna to Loki and back again, gasping as if she had just witnessed a miracle. “She talked! Mommy, she talked! She said bow bow!”
Loki gave a high-pitched yip, wagging his fluffy tail. Lilly giggled and carefully lifted the puppy up, bringing him closer to Luna.
“See? He’s not scary. He’s just Loki. He likes kisses and biscuits.”
Luna peeked from behind Zaley’s collar again, curiosity flickering across her big eyes. Her tiny hand lifted hesitantly, but she didn’t reach for the puppy. Instead, she dropped it back to Zaley’s shirt, holding tighter.
“She’ll need time,” Layla murmured.
“Come on,” Zaley said, shifting her weight easily against his chest. “Let’s get inside.”
That evening, the house felt different. The lights were warm, the walls familiar to everyone except the tiny shadow clinging to Zaley. Luna had not left his side since the moment he carried her in.
When Layla tried offering her dinner, Luna turned her face away. She wouldn’t eat from anyone’s hand except when Zaley finally took the spoon and held it near. Hesitant, Luna leaned forward and took the bite, never once loosening her grip on his sleeve.
The moment Zaley lowered her onto the bed, Luna’s eyes went wide. She shook her head furiously and scrambled back up into his arms, clutching his collar with both fists.
“No, no, no!” she whispered hoarsely. “Stay Shep-uh. Stay.”
Zaley stilled. His arms tightened automatically around her.
Lilly, in her pyjamas, padded into the room, holding Loki like a doll. She tilted her head, watching Luna’s trembling lip. “It’s okay, Luna. Daddy stays here, always. He doesn’t go.”
Luna looked at her then, really looked. Something in Lilly’s little-girl voice must have reminded her of the other girls she’d clung to in that awful place, because her shoulders eased just a little.
“You can sleep with me,” Lilly offered brightly, patting the edge of her own blanket, which was tangled with stuffed animals. “See? I have space."
Zaley started to shake his head, ready to refuse, but Luna surprised them both. She stretched one arm toward Lilly, not fully letting go of Zaley but reaching anyway.
“Shep-uh… stay?” she whispered, looking up at him for reassurance.
He sighed, rubbing the back of her curly head. “I’ll stay.”
So they made a strange arrangement: Lilly in her bed, Loki curled at her feet, Luna tucked beside her with Zaley sitting on the floor, leaning against the bedframe, long legs stretched out, while Layla stood in the doorway, watching them with a smile on her face.
Lilly’s chatter filled the silence. Luna listened, her big eyes growing heavier with each word until, finally, her tiny fingers let go of Zaley’s shirt and curled instead around Lilly’s.