"Hi."
"Hello, baby." Eukora chuckled at her daughter, who had just popped out from inside a kitchen cabinet. "What are you doing in there?" She said as she finished washing a bowl of Denta beans.
"I'm looking for Lon." The little Twi' lek said, pushing the cabinet door further open.
"Excuse me- why would Lon be in our cabinets?" Eukora asked rather suspiciously.
"I can't find him. Maybe he got hungry."
"Maybe so, love- but please, once you find him, don't let him out if your sight."
The little girl nodded and stuck her legs out. Eukora reached out and picked her up and set her down on the floor.
"Can you help me find him?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to fix dinner. Aren't you hungry?" She turned arnd smiling.
"No."
"No?"
Silence....
"Is everything okay, Gila Monster?" Eukora's nickname for her baby, Aguilla.
"I heard you talking to the man." Aguilla turned her head away and clenched her shirt; she wasn't supposed have been listening.
Eukora felt her heart skip a beat. She waited for Aguilla to look back at her, and when she did, she pulled her into a tight hug.
"Mama-" Aguilla traced the pattern of her mother's lekku with her finger, "Am I staying here with you?"
"For now, Aguilla-" Eukora choked up, "For right now. So just hold me tight, okay?"
"Okay, mama." Aguilla squeezed her mother, tight as she could and then relaxed. Something inside her heart told her what her mother was saying wasn't true; but that was absurd, wasn't it?
"Will you help me with dinner?" Eukora smiled after wiping a tear.
"Yes, mama. Then can you help me find Lon?" Aguilla held onto her mother's dress as she was handed a big spoon and lifted onto the counter.
"Mmhmm." Her mother nodded. "He couldn't have gotten that far- he's just a snail."
"He's my snail." Aguilla whispered, "So he's the fastest one."
Eukora put her nose against Aguilla's, "Just like you're mine, and that makes you special to me."
"Only you?" Aguilla stopped fiddling with the spoon.
"For now-" Those were her favorite words, Aguilla thought, "You are special to only me, but I know that somewhere out there, in this big universe," Eukora looked up at the ceiling, as did Aguilla, imagining the entire galaxy, "Out there, is someone who will find you as special as I do."
"Who?"
"I don't know yet." Eukora, the more red of the two, shrugged her shoulders and poured the beans into a little pot.
"Then how do you know that they're out there?"
"Because I believe that you can find anyone special, as long as you're willing to try."
She smiled and motioned for Aguilla to stir the beans. Aguill quickly began on her job. For a few minutes they both worked in silence, occasionally, Eukora would hum a song, and Aguilla would hum with her.
Dinner was almost ready and Aguilla grew hungrier every time she taste-tested anything her mother gave her. She hadn't forgotten about Lon, but she felt better now.
"Mama?" Aguilla scooted up into the chair next her where her mother usually sat.
"Mmhmm?" Eukora set the pot of beans on a pad on the table and turned back to grab a basket with fresh naan. When she sat down, Aguilla touched her arm. Eukora's heart sunk a bit. Her daughter was exactly like her at her age;
Aguilla felt too much. She was only 6 but her heart and thoughts developed faster than her body. She's just growing up too fast.
Sometimes, Eukora would see her playing with the other neighborhood kids and it was like watching an adult making sure all the kids were included. She stood up for her friends and really showed some of the older bullies. But anytime she failed, she was miserable. Eukora recalled one instance when Aguilla didn't eat for 2 days because she couldn't convince her friend's family to stay in town. Those two days broke Eukora; seeing her daughter feel things that intensely.
She understood it. She had been exactly the same. We never really had a childhood, we just knew a little less then.
"What's the matter, 'Gila?" Eukora braced herself.
"Do you think someone else found Lon special? And that's why he hasn't come back?" Aguilla didn't look into her mothers eyes. Eukora could feel her daughter's heartbreak.
"Maybe so, darling. Can you imagine how happy that person must be to have a snail as wonderful as Lon?" She brushed her lekku from front to back.
"Yeah...." Aguilla choked. Her mother took her hand and rubbed it. "But it still hurts." Aguilla managed to let out before sobbing.
"I know, honey." Eukora pulled her daughter in and hugged her.
Aguilla sunk her face into Eukora's bosom.
"What if they don't think he's special anymore? Who will take care of him? What if he still needs me?"
Eukora just held Aguilla close and comforted her. She petted her head until she stopped crying.
"You're so strong Aguilla."
....
"I love you."
....
"I love you too."
