Sitting Ava

CATCH ME!

You pass the the playground as you stop again. And this time you don't feel confused. This time suddenly all is clear. As if all pieces of a puzzle just fall at the right places and you finally can recognize the picture.
You know exactly what you have to do.

You walk over to the little girl who's sitting on the swing and sit down at the second one next to her.

"Hey", you greet. "Is everything alright?"
She looks up, a little bit confused but then she recognizes you and smiles.
"Hello", she answers in a happy voice. Then she tells you :"I thought I'd never see you again! I'm happy you are here. But what are you doing at the children's playground, your an adult! " She giggles.

You can't stop yourself from smiling about that pretty cute statement.
"I'm working in the shop there, you know? ", you tell her and point at it, "You can see it, look there between the trees. It sells crafting material and today I build a whole clay castle with a group of boys. They were around your age. It's a great job, but always inside, so I like to walk through the park when I go home. ".

After you explained that, she is quiet for a moment. Then she asks : "And where do you live? What do you do when there are no castles to make? How old are you? Do you like swings? And cats? I love cats! "

You laugh. "Wow, that was a load of questions, but I'll try to answer them all, okay? First I live in some kind of hotel right now. I'm still new here and didn't find an apartment yet. Secondly I craft things with the material, that you can buy in the shop. And then the owner can use it to get new customers for his shop. It's fun, really. You know, a true lady never asks anyone for their age", at that point you smirk and allow yourself a little wink, "And the swings were always my favorite plaything. But play catch is nice too. Last one, I love cats! They're just great. "

You stop. As you look at the little girl, her eyes are totally focused on you, she seems to be interested. Motivated by this fact and happy that you managed to start a conversation with her, without being creepy, you keep talking.

"Now it's my turn to ask some questions! "
She nods, not making a sound.
"Do you have a cat? And what do you want to do when you are grown up? Oh, and I still don't know your name!"
Her smile turns to a frown in seconds as you speak.

"No, I don't have a cat! Daddy won't get me one! But we have dogs, they're really cute too. I love them! But I still want a cat! "
You laugh again. She keeps telling you about the tragedy of not owning a cat, but soon starts to answer your other questions.
"I don't really know what I want to be when I'm older, daddy told me princess is not a job, so I have to try something else... "
And she makes you smile once more.
You really like her company. Maybe you can find a way to play with her more often...

"And my name is Ava! ", her voice gets you back from your thoughts.
"That's a great name!", you say.
"Daddy often tells me the same thing ", she smiles. "And I will call you Chipmunk! "
"But that's not my name, that's not a real name for anyone at all! ", you protest.
She frowns again. "I don't care" she tells you with enormous confidence. "For me, you are my Chipmunk! Or shorter Chip! " You shake your head.

"Please...", she says, this time it sounds almost like a question. She looks at you, making big sad puppy eyes.
You know exactly that she is doing that on purpose. But that doesn't stop it from working. You sigh. You know you don't have a choice. "Okay, but only you can call me this! ", you surrender.
Her smile returns, widely as before.

Suddenly she jumps up and runs away.
You are confused. Did you say something wrong?
But than she turns around, laughing, and shouts : "Catch me! " Then she starts running again.
You laugh and shake your head. Little cheeky monkey!
You get up too and chase after her.

After a while (you caught her a few times, but that little girl is fast as hell) you lie down in the grass to catch your breath. Ava slowly walks to you, not sure if this is a trick to catch her or not. But as you raise your hands she smiles. "So you surrender? ", she asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes! Please your majesty, grant me some rest. ", you answer laughing.
She comes to you and lays down too.

"See that cloud? ", you ask her, "it looks like a lion! "
She points at another one, joining your little game. "That's a turtle! ", she says.
"And this one is a dragon", you keep going.
"And the one over there looks like a - HEY", she screams as you start tickling her. You got her by surprise.
She giggles and giggles, rolling around in the grass. You start laughing too, not stopping your little attack.

"I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU "
A voice suddenly disturbs your fun.

I hope you like this one too.
I'm sorry for always stopping at interesting points, but I don't want to make too long chapters, so I can update more often.