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You make your way down the darkened hallway, the hardwood creaking underfoot. You really need to get a rug in here. You come to a door at the end of the hall. taking extreme care not make any noise, you soundlessly turn the knob and ease open the door. In the dark, you can barely make out a human form standing over a tiny crib. The form does not hear you enter, and so you wait in the doorway, resting your body a moment against the door frame. The form is singing a soothing lullaby, the words like melanin cotton candy. You feel your eyes close automatically as you listen. Images flash before your eyes. First birthday, first steps, first words, first day of school, first bike ride. Faster. First sleepover, driving lessons, graduation. First day of college...Your reverie is interupted as you feel a tender weight on your chest. Shiki's head nuzzles your chest and she leans her tired body against you for support, fighting sleep, eyes barely open. Your turn, she whispers. You tiptoe back down hallway, guiding Shiki away from the creakiest floorboards. She collapses into bed before you can help her get undressed. As you pull the sheet over her sweet mom bod, she manages to fight exhaustion for a moment. I love you, she says before sleep finally takes her. You smile as you creep back down the hallway. As you approach the crib to take up the nigthwatch, you peer inside. a tiny meat burrito, snoozing softy, a bright shock of orange hair atop her head. You grin to no one in particular, wonder who she got that from?
