Redamancy ✷ Simon Riley

Chap 12)

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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞
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"Bless you." Kirsty's lips curled up into a gentle smile as she looked at her granddaughter who was currently sitting on the playmat. The ten-month-old had let out the cutest little sneeze that made her button nose scrunch up. Alba cooed while kicking her small feet frantically and smiling at her nana. Every time she showed that smile and did that nose scrunch, she saw Poppy. "You're like your mummy, wee lamb. A spitting image."

"Mumma," Alba tittered euphorically. "Mumma..."

She placed her soft palms on the grey carpet to crawl across the floor. Alba was at the stage where she was perfectly able to stand up straight on both her feet. She was proficient at taking a few steps but it would take patience and time for her to walk fully without her wobbling and deciding to plop herself back on the floor.

She had achieved a lot in just a couple of months. She was no longer struggling to stand and she wasn't waddling around like a penguin. The little girl was learning to walk properly and then after that, she would learn to run. That running would turn into climbing and in no time she will be climbing trees.

Kirsty remembered when Poppy was young and adventurous.

She always found her daughter climbing something. It was either stone-bricked walls or towering oak trees in the park. It didn't matter if she was in school uniform or a sundress, she would climb up high in the trees and stain her dress in the dirt just to see the view and landscape from the elevated leafed branches.

Of course, Poppy got an earful for it as she didn't want her tumbling from the trees and hurting herself. She didn't want to be rushing her to the hospital in a taxi with a broken leg or arm.

Sauntering over to the sofa, Kirsty leaned over to pick up her coat that was laid over the back. Snatching it up, she slipped both her arms through the sleeves and shrugged it on before zipping it up to keep out the inevitable cold.

The sound of an old episode of Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom played in the background on the TV on a low volume as she headed over to Alba. The baby had stuffed her dummy in her mouth and clambered to her feet as her nana reached her arms outwards to her.

Alba was dressed in a buttoned-up black onesie that had miniature orange pumpkins with little smiles carved into them dotting the fluffy material. It was Halloween in a couple of days and it was Alba's very first Halloween. She was evidently comfortable and snuggled in ember serenity with the choice of clothing as the onesie covered her feet to keep them warm.