𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕄𝕖 || ℂ.𝕐𝕁

~1~

"Alia, it's time to go!" I ordered for the umpteenth time.

She whined, still on the faded brown couch of our apartment, watching TV. Alia hadn't even gotten dressed, and I gave up, taking some clothes and pulling her small, five year old arms through the sleeves of her shirt, and pulled up her pants. Her little eyes barely focused on me, glued to the screen while some snake ate a rat.

Alia was a sucker for animal documentaries, which had been a surprise, since I didn't watch them. Apparently her father, my ex boyfriend, had been watching one when she went over to his house one weekend. Ever since, she's been obsessed.

When she didn't make a move to get up once I had finished, I sighed, picking her up, much to her dismay.

"Mama! Stop, I don't want to go!" She shrieked, pounding on my back with her clenched fists. I winced slightly. She was strong for her age.

"Baby, we have to go to the park. You need to be outside, with other kids your age. It'll be fun, I promise. And if it's not, we'll leave after half an hour," I assured, and Alia finally calmed down, begrudgingly walking with me to the park. It was a gorgeous day; the sky was clear, air crisp, and birds chirped in the wind-rustled branches of the trees as we passed.

I wasn't sure why she was so reluctant to go, why she was so content living inside. It seemed like every other kid her age always wanted to be out.

I could sense Alia struggling to keep her annoyed attitude as we neared the playground, her eyes shining while her little fingers tightened around my hand.

Despite the beautiful weather, there were only three or four other kids playing, and I watched from the edges as Alia hung back, eyeing the others with a hopeful look on her face.

I knew that feeling. You want to play with someone, so badly, but you're afraid they'll reject you, so you don't say anything.

I was ready to intervene, about to stand up, when a little girl walked over to Alia. She looked like she was of Asian descent, and she had a cute button nose, short dark brown hair. As she skipped over to Alia, I let out a sigh of relief.

Alia seemed happy to have a playmate, and the two took off, racing to the swings. I smiled, turning to the book I had brought with me.

'The Resolutions' by Mia Garcia. A wonderfully written Y/A book about four Puerto Rican teens who are all going through struggles, so instead of making New Years resolutions for themselves, they make them for each other.

I was halfway through the fifteenth chapter when a slight movement caught my eye. I looked up, eyes locking on someone sitting on another playground bench, about twenty feet away from me.

He- at least, I assumed they were a he- was watching the playground, but he seemed too young to be a parent. Maybe an older brother. I looked between him and the children, trying to figure out who looked the most similar to him. I soon gave up. From this far away, all the children looked the same.

I went back to studying the guy. He was tall, with hair so dark I was sure it was black, and lips I was jealous of. They made him look like he was pouting, even when it was obvious he wasn't. I turned back to my book and smiled to myself.

He was attractive, no doubt, and I wondered if he was single. A slight laugh threatened to escape me as I realized how dumb my thoughts were. Why should I care if he was single or not? I didn't know him, and I didn't plan on introducing myself for no reason. That'd just be too awkward.

Even still, I glanced over at him every now and then.

I was working up the courage to go talk to him, but a short scream jolted my attention back to the playground.

Alia and the other girl, the one she'd just been playing with, were practically wrestling on the floor, hands clawing at each other. The open book fell from my lap as I stood up, sprinting to the quarreling two and pulling them apart.

"Alia, what are you doing?" I asked, shock rippling through my body. It was so unlike her, fighting with the other kids.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to respond, breath shaking in and out. "I-she, wouldn't let me, play with..." she trailed off. "I wanted the toy, Mama!"

So the reason for this fight, that would have both my daughter and another girl bruised by tomorrow, was a toy?

I was ready to make Alia apologize and then take her home, when footsteps sounded behind me. I looked up, and the guy I had been subtly staring at earlier was walking towards us, his brows furrowed in concern.

He got on his knees in front of the other little girl. Oh, so that was who he was with. He gently took her face in his hands, making her look at him in the eye. "Jiho, why were you fighting?" He asked quietly in a calm voice. "You know better than that."

The girl, Jiho, was practically shaking, clothes dirty as she wiped the tears from her face. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispered. "I just got so upset, and..."

"I know. It doesn't make it right, though. Apologize to your friend, and then if she wants, you two can take turns with that toy, okay?" He suggested, kissing her forehead lightly.

Jiho slowly walked over to where Alia and I were standing. I barely had time to process that he was her dad before she was speaking. "I'm sorry for hitting you," she apologized, eyes turned downwards.

"I forgive you," Alia replied. I nudged her, and she looked up at me in annoyance before she understood. "I'm sorry too. Do you want to share the toy?"

Jiho's eyes widened in happiness at her suggestion, a smile flitting at the edges of her lips. "Yes please! That'd be amazing."

The two dashed off, best friends once more, and I was left alone with Jiho's father.