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"Five, four, three, two, one! Ready or not, here I come!" Lilian, a young woman in her early thirties, called aloud as she uncovered her eyes. She was playing a game of hide and seek with her five-year-old daughter, Lilith, in their small apartment.
"Now, where could you be?" she asked rhetorically, glancing around the sitting room—behind and beside the cushions, under the center table, behind the fridge, and everywhere else in the sitting room—with a slight look of frustration on her face.
"Honey," she called out to her baby girl. "You know you were supposed to hide only within the sitting room, and I suppose you're not here at all," she continued, her eyeballs rolling as she searched the room. From up to down, left to right, until her eyes met something that drew her attention—a small cupboard beside the all-screen TV. 'That's it!' she said to herself with joy. That's where Lilith was hiding, and she was sure her daughter could fit inside judging from her size.
Slowly, she tiptoed to the cupboard, not wanting to alert her little one of her approach, as she was sure Lilith must have by now believed she was already frustrated and accepting her loss. She smiled to herself, imagining the look that would plaster across her pretty baby girl's face when she found out she had been found.
She got close to the cupboard and flung it open with full force. "Gotcha!"
Lilith was startled at first but quickly gathered herself and let out a loud laugh. "Ha ha ha! Mommy, you found me!" She stretched out her arms for her mom to carry her.
"Of course I did, baby girl," Lilian said, taking her hands. "Come here, baby girl." She kissed her on both cheeks and tickled her.
"Mommy, ha ha," Lilith giggled as she held her mom tight and gave in to the tickles and kisses. But suddenly, her stomach growled loudly. She looked at her mom, and their eyes met. They stayed like that for about three seconds before they both burst into laughter.
"Looks like my baby girl needs feeding. It seems all the monsters in her belly have eaten all the mac and cheese she had about two hours ago," Lilian teased.
"No, Mommy," Lilith began with a pout. "I don't have monsters in my belly, and I'm not hungry; I'm still full from the mac and..." She was still speaking when her stomach growled again—this time louder than before—making her lose track of her words as her mother burst into another round of laughter.
"You were saying?" Lilian kept laughing until she heard another growl. "Now, that's the height of it," her face turned serious. "It's almost dinner time, and I'm not supposed to blame you for being that hungry. Besides, you just finished playing, and I'm sure you sweated some of your food out through your pores." She brought her down and crouched to her level. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up so we can have dinner," she said to her with the most beautiful smile.
"Sure, Mommy," young Lilith nodded and returned her mother's smile with even more life in hers. Her mother was the only family she had and knew of, as she didn't even know who her father was or what he looked like since she was born. Her mother always told her that her father was among Triven's military and defense forces against other worlds. She really didn't understand what her mother meant, but she sure believed her father was a superhero just like in her storybooks.
Lilian took her to the bathroom and gave her a thorough bath under the shower. She would have used the tub, but she knew her daughter's hunger wouldn't allow her to wait for the bath to be drawn, so she opted for the shower. She got Lilith dressed in her pajamas and changed into her nightgown as well.
"Now come here." Lilian lifted her up again and carried her to the kitchen, where she placed her on the dining table and went ahead to the stove and sink. Lilith picked up her toy that she had left on the table earlier that day and began playing with it. It was a teddy bear—a gift from her mom when she turned five last month—and it had her favorite color, purple. She cuddled the teddy bear as she watched her mother contemplate what to cook.
"Mummy, how about you set up a salad?" she suggested, salivating already at the thought of having a salad.
Lilian clicked her fingers and turned to Lilith. "You are very right, baby, and we can have it with grilled chicken!"
"Yummy!" Lilith squeaked in joy.
Lilian smiled at her and set up a salad immediately: carrots, cucumbers, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes, and lastly some flavor, smoothed with mayonnaise—plus the grilled chicken. It looked so tasty, and Lilith could hardly wait to have a taste already, and neither could her stomach, which growled louder than ever.
"Tell your monsters to calm down, baby," Lilian teased again. "Food will be served in no time—just some final touches."
"Mommy, I am so, so hungry! I want to eat already," she groaned with a pout, making her look very cute.
"Ok, ok, ok," Lilian said, dishing the food immediately into two plates—one for her and the other for Lilith. She placed the plates on the dining table, helped Lilith sit comfortably on a chair, and sat opposite her. She set the food before her with a glass of juice and handed her favorite cutlery, which also had her favorite color. Lilith dug in immediately, munching every bite of the food with sweet moans.
"This tastes really good, Mommy," she complimented without even looking up at her mother, unable to take her attention away from the food.
"Thanks, baby, but take it easy—you might choke on the cabbage." Lilian just stared at her daughter with so much affection. She reminded her a lot of her late husband, Phil. He was among Triven's forces against other worlds, standing for its dominance and existence on the planet. He died in the last war five years ago against Ravine, a world that tried to dominate Triven and wipe it from existence. Triven multiplied its forces and fought against Ravine, and fortunately, they won and wiped them off the surface of the planet. Despite the joy of their victory, the loss of her husband still left an abyss of sadness in her heart—partly healed by the birth of Lilith.
Lilith was born two days after the war, after Phil's death. He did not get to meet her or see how she took after him—his purple hair and eyes, caramel skin, and, most of all, his sweet smile. She really missed him so much but couldn't tell her poor daughter that her father was dead. So she just made her believe her dad was her greatest hero and was fighting for her right now.
"Mommy?" Lilith called, followed by a yawn that jolted her mom from her thoughts.
"What is it, love?" Lilian wiped a tear from her left eye that fell by mistake, not wanting Lilith to see.
"I'm okay, Mommy. I would like to sleep now."
"Sure." Lilian left her food and stood to carry her. She took her to her room and laid her comfortably on her bed, tucking her in properly before turning to leave—but was stopped by Lilith's yelp.
Lilian was startled. "What is it, darling?" She bent to her.
"You forgot to read me my favorite storybook," she said, obviously annoyed with a pout.
"Sorry, baby." Lilian slapped her face jokingly, which made Lilith chuckle. She walked to her shelf and took out the storybook. She stared at it for a while, wondering what Lilith saw in this particular book.
She drew out the chair from her drawing and painting table and sat by her bed before clearing her throat and beginning.
"Gorgor"...