Status: Completed so Comment
Step Love
VIII: The Little Mermaid
I helped Katie into her pyjamas and dried her hair. Katie picked out a lock of her hair and showed me how to braid it. I braided all of her hair upon her request. The end result was messy, but she didn't mind. I hoped she genuinely didn't mind and didn't actually have brain damage. After the braiding, I painted her nails with the dark blue nail polish she'd admired earlier.
Katie and I went downstairs. I finished making the worms and dirt and gave her a large helping, hoping the chocolate would keep her awake. We ate the worms and dirt and then I scoured through the CDs for something to listen to. I found a dust coated Amazing Grace: The Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Perfect.
The music roared out of the living room speakers, the bagpipes skirling and the drums pounding. Katie, brains addled and hyped up on chocolate, skipped around the room in circles, pretending she was a horse. She danced out the entire CD- taking up an hour.
After that, Katie was a little pooped out. I asked her to pick out a movie, and then dreaded what she could pick. I hoped she wouldn't pick a relaxing movie that would put her to sleep.
She selected E.T. and quoted almost the entire movie. After the movie was over, she'd been awake for three and a half hours. We watched the Bugs Bunny and Tweety show and howled with laughter because of the worms and dirt in our systems. The next movie she picked, like she could read my mind, was The Little Mermaid. By the time the climax was over, Katie had been awake for five and a half hours. It was one in the morning. She was practically dead on my lap as the movie was winding down.
The crab was talking to the King of the Ocean.
"Kids should be free, to lead their own life," He said wisely.
"Ben?" Katie sighed, her eyes in sleepy slits.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for saving me," She said.
"Oh. You're, um, welcome," I said.
"Ben?" She murmured again, her eyes closing.
"... yeah Katie?"
"I'm glad you didn't die when you fell," She muttered and then yawned, her mouth going wider than I'd thought was possible.
"Thanks," I said. Katie took a deep breath in her sleep. I hesitated and then touched her head very, very carefully, and lightly ran my fingers in her hair toward her braid. Her eyelids were lilac coloured.
"... I'm glad too," I said.
End.
Katie and I went downstairs. I finished making the worms and dirt and gave her a large helping, hoping the chocolate would keep her awake. We ate the worms and dirt and then I scoured through the CDs for something to listen to. I found a dust coated Amazing Grace: The Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Perfect.
The music roared out of the living room speakers, the bagpipes skirling and the drums pounding. Katie, brains addled and hyped up on chocolate, skipped around the room in circles, pretending she was a horse. She danced out the entire CD- taking up an hour.
After that, Katie was a little pooped out. I asked her to pick out a movie, and then dreaded what she could pick. I hoped she wouldn't pick a relaxing movie that would put her to sleep.
She selected E.T. and quoted almost the entire movie. After the movie was over, she'd been awake for three and a half hours. We watched the Bugs Bunny and Tweety show and howled with laughter because of the worms and dirt in our systems. The next movie she picked, like she could read my mind, was The Little Mermaid. By the time the climax was over, Katie had been awake for five and a half hours. It was one in the morning. She was practically dead on my lap as the movie was winding down.
The crab was talking to the King of the Ocean.
"Kids should be free, to lead their own life," He said wisely.
"Ben?" Katie sighed, her eyes in sleepy slits.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for saving me," She said.
"Oh. You're, um, welcome," I said.
"Ben?" She murmured again, her eyes closing.
"... yeah Katie?"
"I'm glad you didn't die when you fell," She muttered and then yawned, her mouth going wider than I'd thought was possible.
"Thanks," I said. Katie took a deep breath in her sleep. I hesitated and then touched her head very, very carefully, and lightly ran my fingers in her hair toward her braid. Her eyelids were lilac coloured.
"... I'm glad too," I said.
End.