Welcome to my humble Silen Fah page. As Linguini from Ratatouille would say, "It's not much, but it's... not much."

Babysitting

This mini story takes place immediately after the last one I posted, but it's narrated by Drackio. He gets home from work and goes to the neighbor's house to pick up his baby daughter.

Zayna opened the door. “You're back late,” she said.
“Sorry.” I passed her my last silver. “How is she?”
“Just fine,” said Zayna. “Doesn't cause much trouble while she's sleeping. Probably wake up soon though. Do you have anything for her?”
“Of course,” I said. “Is your son with her?”
“Yes, he is. Come in,” she said, stepping aside. I obeyed.
Zayna's small son was sitting on the couch, cradling my sleeping daughter in his arms. He looked up when I came in and put a finger to his lips.
“It's alright; she's been asleep for awhile now,” said Zayna. “If you don't wake her up soon, she'll be a pain tonight.”
“Okay, Mom,” he said, but still softly.
“Hey, big guy,” I said, sitting next to him. “Looks like you took good care of her today.”
“Thanks,” he said. “She's gonna be cranky when she wakes up.”
“Just for a bit,” I said, holding up the bottle of milk I'd bought at Kia's. “Then she'll settle down again.”
“Can I feed her?”
“Sure,” I said, and his face lit up. He reached eagerly for the bottle, then turned to his little charge.
“Wake up, sweetie,” he said quietly, kissing her soft little forehead. She screwed up her face and arched her back, grunting in annoyance. He smiled.
Poor kid. He'd lost a baby sister to Creeping Horror the year before, and now he was desperate for a little sibling to look after. When I'd brought my daughter to his mother, he'd glommed on immediately, and since he was a natural at baby whispering, it had worked out well. Another father might've been annoyed with an over-attached neighbor kid, but, well... I couldn't do what he was doing. I had to work. And she didn't have a mother.
“Don't let her drink it so fast, Lucard,” said Zayna. “She'll get bubbles in her tummy and spit it all up.”
“Whoops,” he said, pulling the bottle away gently. Vellatra screamed – an impressive, glass-breaking note that caused both of us adults to flinch. “Shh,” he said, unruffled. “Your dad's had a long day. Let's not hurt his ears,” he added, giving the bottle back.
“You're great, bud,” I said as things settled down again. “Wanna move in with us?”
“Hmm, maybe,” he said, grinning down at Vellatra.

End