Chasing the Sun

028

"What the hell? who's that kid?"

Tawan's voice echoed through the whole room. He was clearly confused as to why there's a kid sleeping on my bed.

"Shush! You might wake her up with your voice. And trust me, I am just as shocked as you."

I poured him a glass of warm milk and sat on the seat opposite to him.

"Her name's Nana, and she's my neighbor's daughter."

"So, did he hire you to be the kid's nanny? Are you tight on money right now?"

"Of course not. I told you I am just as shocked as you are. He just knocked on my door awhile ago and asked me to babysit his kid."

"Why didn't you say no?"

"It was 5 freaking 30 in the morning! on a Saturday! I was too dumbfounded that all I could do was nod my head.", This time, I was the one who shouted.

"Shush, you're gonna wake the earthling up."

"What should we do with your tutor session now? Her father won't be home until lunch time."

"I guess that can wait, we still have the afternoon and a whole day tomorrow to study.", He said as he finished the milk.

"You can help me take care of her then for the meantime."

"What else can I do? It's not like I can go home and fetch you later."

"You talk like that, but I'm sure you'll enjoy taking care of Nana."

And he did! When Nana woke up, Tawan instantly morphed into a friendly teenager. At first Nana was a bit uncomfortable seeing two complete strangers in front of her, but later on she got so comfortable with Tawan that I basically became a nobody.

"Do you wanna watch Peppa Pig baby? or should we just go with Shomba?", Tawan asked Nana who was sitting on his lap, his voice all soft and baby-like.

"They both get to watch while I'm here cooking food? This is unfair.", I whispered as I cooked the food. I was the one tasked to babysit, but why was Nana being so comfortable with Tawan?

"Food's ready!", I called them out as I prepared the table for lunch.

We sat on both sides of Nana and took turns feeding her. unfortunately for us, she was very kind and far from being naughty.

"We look like a family eating together like this.", Tawan said as he casually ate like what he said was completely normal.

I on the other hand, choked at what he said.

"Mommy...", Nana said as she pointed her finger to my face.

"Daddy!", Then pointed her finger to Tawan. Then, she jumped as she hugged both of us, causing our faces to rub against each other.

We laughed at Nana's cuteness, and it made me think that we actually looked like a real family in there. After eating, we sat on our bed and spent the afternoon watching kiddie shows.

"Daddy, I'm sleepy.", Nana said as she rubbed her fingers, yawning right after.

"Okay sweetie, let's sleep now."

Tawan grabbed and held Nana on his arms, swaying her to sleep as he softly sang songs to send her to slumber. Looking t the two of them, Tawan looked so much like a father. I couldn't help but imagine him a few years from now, lulling his own child to sleep. My heart melted at the thought of it, and it looked like a really sweet moment.

Just a few minutes after laying Nana down on the bed, a knock on the door was heard. I opened the door and there stood Nana's father, holding a paperbag in his arms.