Hollow

Twenty Nine | Fantasy

Mexico City, Mexico

We walk into an ice cream parlor and surprisingly, it's not crowded. I make my way inside when out of nowhere, someone bumps into me. I look down and see a little girl trying to fix her glasses.

"I'm sorry." She says in a little voice.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry." I reply, helping her up.

Her eyes light up and she motions for me to lean down. "Is that Killian Ferreira?"

I avert my gaze to Killian who's standing a few steps away before replying with a nod. I point to her half-eaten blueberry ice cream. "Do you want another scoop?"

She nods excitedly and we make our way to the counter.

I order her another scoop, getting Cookie Dough & Nutella for Killian and Chocolate for me before heading back to Killian. He looks up from his phone, his gaze meeting mine as I hand him his ice cream.

"There's somebody here that wants to meet you." I tell him, placing my free hand on the little girl's shoulder.

Killian smiles, reaching down to match her frame. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Mina." She replies before holding her arms out. He wraps his large arms around her little frame and lifts her into his arms.

"Look at you, you're almost a foot taller than me!"

"No." She laughs.

"A few more years and you'll be taller than him." I chuckle making her giggle.

"Mina! Ay dio mio!"

A woman runs toward us, looking worried. When she reaches us, she stops in her tracks and lets out a relieved sigh. Killian places Mina back down and she runs towards the woman who wraps her arms around the little girl. "No more running away from mamá."

Mina smiles apologetically before pointing at us. "Look, I made new friends."

"Hello." She grins.

"Can we get a picture? I wanna show it to papa." Mina asks excitedly.

Killian nods and Mina's mom takes out her phone, handing it to me. I smile and motion for them to get closer. Killian stands and scoops Mina in his arms as they all smile at the camera.

"Thank you so much, and good luck for your match." Mina's mom says as I hand her phone back. "Say goodbye Mina."

Mina's smile is instantly replaced by hurt then by happiness again and out of nowhere, Killian and I are engulfed in a bear hug. I place a kiss at the top of her head before pulling away. They wave at us one last time and walk out of the ice cream parlor. I avert my gaze at Killian who has a goofy grin plastered on his face as licks the ice cream off his spoon.

In the few months that I've known Killian, I've come to realize that he's too goofy for his own good and somehow, it rubs on whoever hangs with him. I put the spoon filled with the heavenly sent substance in my mouth before planting the spoon back in my scoop.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little nervous but I think it'll pass."

"If it makes you feel better, I think you'll do great."

He leans down and places a gentle kiss on my lips before pulling away. "Thank you for being here with me. It means more than you'll ever know."

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