Just Like You

Chapter 19: Perhaps for longer

Mummy hardly spoke to you when she came home. She picked up a large woven bag which someone had once given to her as a present, and went to your room. She put all your clothes in the bag, then squeezed in as many of your toys as would fit. She paused when she picked up one of the largest, a smiling metal piglet, and asked if this was your favourite. It was, so she took out the clothes, threw the oldest away, put in the piglet and packed the newer clothes and the other toys on top of it.

She asked if you could carry the bag. You picked it up with a lot of effort, walked a couple of steps and then dropped it. Mummy said this didn’t matter. You asked if anything was wrong, and she said everything was fine, but something about the way she was behaving made you feel sad. She knelt down and hugged you very tightly, then walked out of the room. You waited for a few heartbeats before following her. She was now sitting at the table, writing a note on a piece of paper.

A younger lady came to the house. She smiled and told you her name was Alya and she was your cousin. You said you already had a cousin whose name was Perens. The lady said that lots of people had more than one cousin and it was quite natural that you did too. This seemed strange, and you were unsure about it, but the lady was nice, and her smile was friendly, so you decided to trust her.