Fireflies

Chapter 11: Stay

Aryah awoke to the scrumptious smells of bacon, eggs, and something distinctly sweet - maybe cinnamon rolls? Her stomach growled causing her to roll over onto it. Aryah's shoulder length locks served as drapery against the brilliant sunlight filtering through the room.

She didn't want to get up from the bed. It was just too darn comfortable. Aryah fingered the soft sheets. Then, she buried her head further into the pillow trying to drown out the sounds of her pleading belly. She was nearly successful until she heard a soft knock on the door. Her head shot up from the bed; she rested her body weight on her forearms. She held her breath and waited for the knock again - just to be sure.

Again, there was a rapt at the door. Sage! Her mind screamed. She thought about how she looked, even worse how her breath must smell and became horrified that she stayed in bed so long. Of course everyone was up, she thought. They were farming people. Didn't they get up when a rooster crowed?

Aryah catapulted herself from the bed, but failed to untangle her feet from the sheets. This caused her to become personal with the floor. Oof! Aryah groaned and rolled on to her back. She shifted her feet and kicked away the web-like sheets from her legs.

"Coming!" Aryah called, her voice strained. Aryah quickly got up and ran her fingers through her hair. She walked to the mirror and examined her face.

Gross!

Quickly, she grabbed her little cosmetic bag and grabbed her cleanser and cotton pads. Her hands were a flurry of fingers and cotton; she dipped and blotted around her face until she felt the traces of sleepiness ebb away.

Now for her hair. The scrunchy around her wrist served as the perfect contraption to tame her unruly locks. With one hand she swept up her locks and piled them high on her head while her hand worked to fit all tresses within the stretchy elastic. When the locks were safe and secure, she braided the ends into one and curled it around into a massive bun on top.

There, she thought. She looked somewhat presentable. And she liked this style. It elongated her neck and gave her the illusion of high cheekbones. Now all she need was a bit of gloss and she would be perfect.

"Aryaaaaah," she heard a whine. It wasn't the dark and deep kind that brought on butterflies. No, it was the high-pitched squeaky kind. The one that reminded her of bubble gum and bright colors.

"Lucy?" Aryah called.

"Yeah?"

"Come on in, sweetie! Sorry to have kept you waiting," Aryah said as she opened the door.

"S'okay!" Lucy responded brightly not bothering to let Aryah step aside. She pushed her little body in between the doorframe and Aryah's bare legs. "I had company." She lifted up the blonde headed baby doll so that Aryah could see.

"Oh! What a cute little friend."

"Yeah, her name is Princess Bell." Lucy twirled the doll baby around for a bit making her own little sundress flutter. The little girl looked like a sunflower in her yellow dress. Her curls were held back by a vibrant green bow and there were little bunny slippers on her feet to complete the look. Lucy was cuteness personified.