Florecer

Homes

        It was late when dinner was over and everyone was winding down from over-stuffed bellies in the living room, a board game laid out at Christina's insistence. Lily was sitting on the floor, legs sprawled out, upper body held up with an arm. June, having changed into comfortable pants and shirt, was sitting cross-legged, and Christina was on her knees, bent over the board excitedly.

     "That's cheating," Lily grumbled, flicking her piece across the board.

     Christina giggled while June clucked her tongue, grabbing the rules, and said, "No it's not. It says right here. I'm completely within my rights. You're just a sore loser."

     Lily scowled and Christina fell back, laughing. Lily stretched over the board to jostle Christina until the girl was rolling around to get away. Lily huffed and lowered herself to an almost flat position, holding her head up with a hand, her elbow digging into the carpet. "You two cheated and now are trying to make it seem like I'm the one who's nutter."

     "Nutter!" Christina repeated with a grin. Lily poked her.

     June, moving to her knees, chuckled softly. "Alright, alright. I won, game over. It's getting late, though." Christina groaned, but June kept on, "It's late so it's time for bed soon. You know what that means." Christina groaned again. "Get into your jammies and brush your teeth. Please?"

     Fighting only for a minute, Christina went on upstairs to do as she was asked. Lily dropped to her back, stretched, then got up to help pack up the board game. Her and June boxed it back up but Lily was the one who took it upstairs to put away. June stayed downstairs to do last minute clean up.

     As Lily reached Christina's room, she saw the little girl already in her jammies. "Brush your teeth?" she asked, moving to the little shelf where there were other board games jammed one on top of the other.

     "No, Miss Lily."

     "Better hurry before your mom gets up here."

     "Will you tell me a story before bed?"

     "After you brush your teeth."

     Christina went off to the bathroom, so Lily stayed and sat at the foot of Christina's bed. She turned when she heard someone approach, and smiled when she saw June come into the room. June sat at the foot of the bed, too, on the other side. "She want you to read her a story?"

     "Well, she said 'tell' so I assume she wants me to make something up."

     "Do you have another story?"

     "I do not. I'm trying to think of one."

     June chuckled. "I can't wait to hear it."

     Lily puckered her lips just as Christina came bounding into the room. She jumped on her bed and dug under her covers until she was comfortable and looking down at the adults sitting there. She smiled and waited for what was to come. June smiled, too, and waited expectantly for Lily to start. Lily blushed under those gazes and rubbed the back of her neck.

     "Alright, well..." she started awkwardly. She made odd noises until an idea came to her. "Okay, have you heard the one about the girl in the graveyard?"

     "No," Christina said. June shook her head.

     "If you ever pass a graveyard, and you're extremely lucky, you'll see her." Lily shifted her position to better tell her story so that both Christina and June could absorb it fully. "She'll be dancing among the stones as if she were twirling on air. If you catch her... boy, if you catch her, you'll be mesmerized. Always, no matter what, the night will be just for her, and you're only a lucky bystander. And if you're strong and get closer, you'll see that maybe she's not a girl after all."