[[OLD]] A Handful of Daffodils (Forgotten Series, #7)

Prologue

"You can't do this. She's sick!" The words from uncle Oboo had me blinking and clutching my stuffy tighter to my chest. I didn't know what was going on but I knew that he was mad and my mummy was sad. She hadn't stopped crying. I wanted to crawl into her lap and hold her tight but she told me to sit and be a good girl. I wanted to make my mummy happy so she would stop crying.

"And that is precisely why we are doing it. She is incapable of taking care of-"

"And I said I would do it! You can't just take her away from us!" At the words I looked over at uncle Oboo and the policeman he was talking too. I didn't know why we were with the police. I didn't understand it but my mummy said we needed to go so we did. I wasn't sure if something had happened or if someone had been bad. I hoped it wasn't me. I tried really really hard to be good. I wanted to be a good girl for my mummy, she wasn't feeling well.

"That is a conflict of interest, Obediaus. We knew you were getting attached but you know that isn't protocol." The words were hard and I hunkered underneath them, gripping my stuffed animal tighter to my chest. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home to my bed. It was pink. My whole room was pink. Uncle Oboo let me pick out the colours. He painted it for me. I liked my bedroom.

"Hey my baby baboo." My mother's soft voice was soothing as she knelt on the floor in front of me. My bottom lip trembled and I stared at her, wanting to crawl into her arms. She was safe, she made everything safe. "You know I love you, right? More than anything." I nodded as I looked at my mummy, watching her wipe at her eyes. Her head scarf was tilted slightly and I reached out, tugging it to make it sit right as I gave her a smile. She gave me a bright smile that I returned, unable to help myself. I liked it when my mummy was happy, she was so sad a lot now. I didn't like that. I missed her smiles.

"Do you know how uncle Oboo and I told you I was sick?" At the soft question I nodded. She had told me her parts inside had gotten mixed up and had gotten sick. It made her hair fall out and made her sick sometimes and really tired. "Well I'm not getting better. I wish I was, my sweet baboo, I wish I never got sick so I could keep you with me forever and always." She grasped my arms and I blinked at her, I didn't know what that meant.

"But we can go home. It's okay, mummy." I said it as I reached out and wiped at her face, giving her my brightest smile. "We can go home and uncle Oboo can make pancakes!" I wanted pancakes, especially when uncle Oboo made them. He always made them the best! "You can't be sad with pancakes!" I wiped at her face again and she grasped my hands in her own, holding them gently. "Right, mummy?" Uncle Oboo's pancakes made everything better.

"You are so right my smart little baboo, but we can't go home right now." She said it softly and I frowned.

"Then we go home tomorrow?" I wanted to go home. I wanted uncle Oboo to make pancakes and I wanted to eat them off my favourite green plate with my purple fork. That always made everything feel better.

"The thing is, baby... I'm getting really sick and I can't-" She gave a cough and I shook my head. She was fine. My mummy was fine. "I'm getting really sick and I can't take you home." Her voice cracked and I blinked and wiped at my face. I didn't want to cry. I wanted to be a big girl.

"Was it because I coloured on the walls? I'll wash it up! I promise!" My chin wobbled and my eyes burned. I had wanted to make pretty pictures and I couldn't find the paper. I knew it was bad but I wanted to make her pictures to make her smile because she had been sick and laying in bed.

"Oh honey." She opened her arms and I fell into them, wrapping my arms around her neck tightly. I didn't want to be away from her. I wanted to go home, I would be a good girl and eat all my vegetables and not colour on anything that wasn't supposed to be coloured on.