Casey Jones
Jane had by now, returned home from work, her mother and Maura had gone home when she got back, around ten PM. They had put Isa to bed, in our bed. Breaking out of my thoughts, I heard a slight sniffling noise. I slowly looked over and spotted Isa, tear streaks down her face, clutching a doll in one hand, and the blanket wrapped around her.
"Mommy?" she asks.
"She's sleeping." Her face drops, disappointed.
"Mommy is so tired. What's wrong?" I asked.
"I had a bad dream." Isa explained, dragging the blanket behind her as she came and snuggled into my side, still crying slightly, therefore getting part of my shirt wet. I awkwardly stroked Isa's hair, really not sure what to do.
Isa looked up to me, dark eyes reminding me of Jane. "Will you tell me a bedtime story, so I can get back to sleep?" My eyes widened as her lower lip pouted out and nearly begged me to.
"S-Sure?" I answered. Pout and teary eyes were immediately gone as Isa smiled slightly and sat indian style, waiting for me to begin.
"Uh..." I stuttered. Isa rolled her eyes.
"You start with once upon a time," she explained.
"Uh, once upon a time..." I scratched my neck. Isa crossed her arms.
"There was a brave young princess..." Isa supplied for me.
"Once upon a time...there was a brave young princess..." I strung together. Isa huffed a sigh.
"She was on the way to see her bunny rabbit when she..." Isa glared at me to continue.
"Once upon a time there was a brave young princess. She was on the way to see her bunny rabbit when she..."I paused, "decided to take a short cut through the forest." I think I had got the hang of it.
"It wasn't long before she got lost. She looked around, but all she could see were trees. Nervously, she felt into her bag for her favorite toy, Izzy the plush polar bear, but Izzy was nowhere to be found. The young princess began to panic. She felt sure she had packed Izzy. To make matters worse, she was starting to feel hungry. Eventually, she reached a clearing. She found herself surrounded by houses made from different sorts of food. There was a house made from carrots, a house made from Twinkies, a house made from Sugar cookies and a house made from..."
"Cupcakes!" Isa added.
I chuckled, "Yes, cupcakes. A cackle broke through the air, giving her a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Izzy! She turned to the witch. 'That's my toy!' The witch shook her head. 'Izzy is staying with me.' 'Is there nothing you'll trade?' she asked the witch. The witch thought for a moment, then said, 'I do like to be entertained. I'll release her to anybody who can eat a whole front door.' The young princess looked at the house made from Cupcakes and said, 'Promise?' 'I promised,' said the witch. The brave young princess put on her bib and withdrew a knife and fork from her pocket and ate the front door made from Cupcakes and Izzy was set free. The princess was no longer hungry and she now had her favorite toy. They lived happily ever after. The End."
Isa grinned. "Another one!"
I rolled my eyes, mirroring my daughter's earlier action.
"Okay Izzy, you need sleep." I rubbed my temples. Isa giggled.
"Okay daddy!" Isa said sweetly, hugging my stomach, cuddling the blanket and doll. I shook my head and lied back down.
Isa stood over me. "I'm hungry, will you make me something?"she asked.