✏️ Big Brother / Little Sister [SummerCamp2024]

16. Baby Shoes

This bonus chapter is dedicated to Jen-Jen, for giving me a chance to spend more time writing. Thank you!

"Fancy seeing you here!"

"Oh, hi!" Laura stammered. She'd been wondering where to take Rosie to get the child some shoes, as well as struggling with Daniel's bag as well as her own. A part of her might even have been wishing for a little more help, but she hadn't expected Ben to appear so soon. "I uhh... Ben, Joy, do you two know each other? I can't remember if you do. How did you find us?"

"You sent me a picture," Ben said with a shrug. "The diaper aisle in DRŨGSTØR. I thought if you need help, it would be easier to come and join you. I was only a few minutes away, so..."

"That's great," Laura said. "But I think we better find a shoe shop, so I can put the little one down."

"Bend!" Rosie exclaimed, reaching out towards Ben with a huge grin on her face.

"Hey there, little one," Ben greeted her, stepping forward to pat her on the head. "You remembered my name! That's really clever. You look like you're ready for an adventure, too. Should I take you shopping so Laura's got a free hand?"

He lifted her from Laura's arms with the faintest grunt of effort, and Rosie waved her arms in the area like some kind of superhero as he let her soar through the air. He could keep up that game as they walked past the shops, showing her all the windows and asking her if she saw shoes. It didn't take long, though, until she was waking her arms and yelling "Shoe! Shoes!" at the top of her voice, so proud of herself for listening. And with how quickly they had gotten there, it was clear to Laura and Joy that Ben hadn't just picked a direction at random. It was clear that he knew this mall a little better than either of them.

After stepping through a pair of automatic doors decorated with cartoon characters, they found themselves in a colourful place with more cartoon characters painted on the walls, just different enough from whatever was popular on TV so that they wouldn't face any copyright complaints. There were tiny chairs scattered around, between long shelves packed with shoes of every description. Ben set Rosie down in one of the chairs, but as soon as he turned to speak to Laura she took off, wobbling towards a display of light-up sneakers.

"Rosie, wait!" Laura called, hurrying after her sister. But Rosie had already grabbed a sparkly pink shoe and was attempting to put it on her foot. But it only took a second before her feet skidded on the tiles, and it was only luck that allowed Joy to catch her before she hit the ground.

"No, sweetie, that's not how we try on shoes," Laura said, putting her bags down beside a chair and beckoning Rosie back over. "Let's ask the nice salesperson to help us, okay?"

Rosie nodded, but showed little inclination to move. She pulled herself upright again, and then insisted on following half a step from Joy.

"Is she okay?" Ben whispered. "I mean, she's supposed to be... well... your brother, right? Even if she hasn't figured out her new body yet, she should know what to do."

"The doctors said it's..." Laura attempted, just keeping one eye on Joy and Rosie. "She's got a child brain. So most of her adult memories are too complex for her to understand. So for now, they'll only be on the tip of her tongue. She knows they're there, but she can't remember them. And if she tries too hard, they said it'll slow down her growing up again and might damage those memories. I barely understood it even after Daniel dumbed it down for me, but we just need to... encourage her to act like an actual kid, so she can grow up faster until she's ready to understand this weird reincarnation thing."

"Oh, fair enough," he said with a shrug. "If the doctors say it's okay, I guess they know what they're doing."

A cheerful young man approached as Joy led Rosie over to rejoin them, smiling brightly. He was wearing what must be the shop's uniform, although the bold contrasting colours and a defined six pack under the shirt looked more like he was auditioning for the Toytown Marine Corps.