It's that time of day again; gray clouds filled the sky, dense and thick in the humid air outside.
But it's that time of week again; the day Meenah's babysitter comes over.
Meenah paced around the living room, hands behind her back, staring at the ground and occasionally walking over to the window to peer through the curtains. Sometimes she twirls the bottom of her black shirt, or fiddles with the band of her jeans. Her feet, covered in fuchsia colored socks, make no noise on the similarly colored carpet. She does this for about half an hour before the door bell rings, alerting her mother of the babysitter's arrival. Her mother's footsteps are shadowed by the pitter patter of Meenah's tiny feet. Her mother opens the door and she hides behind her mother's leg.
"Hello Aranea. How are you today?"
"I'm fine Mrs. Peixes. And yourself?"
Aranea is wearing a new blue dress and black leggings. Mrs. Peixes compliments it and they chit chat for a bit. Meenah, impatient as she is, starts fidgeting behind her mother. It's right about then when Aranea inquires as to Meenah's whereabouts.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Peixes, but where is your daughter?"
Meenah smirks; this is the opportunity she's been waiting for. She hops to her side, hands just in front of her face and fingers curled. She lets out a loud sound and chomps her teeth down as hard as possible to make Aranea aware of her presence.
"Whale, whale, whale! If it isn't my favorite little minnow."
Meenah puts her hands to her mouth and giggles at first, high-pitched and bubbly, before realizing the implications of Aranea's words.
"I ain't no minnow! I'm Meenah! 'Sides, if I was gonna be a fish, I'd be a shark." Accordingly, Meenah clenches her teeth together and points to her incisor with pride. Aranea smiles at her fondly.
"Yes, well. Perhaps when those other teeth grow in you can be a shark."
Huffing, Meenah crosses her arms and looks to her side. Her mother chuckles and bids her farewell, shutting the creaky door with a click. Meenah's still not looking toward her babysitter but she eventually cracks a smile, her curiosity gets the best of her.
"What'd you wanna be when you was a kid?"
Aranea thinks for a couple seconds.
"I wanted to be a pira –"
"No, no! I knew that. I mean what fish."
Aranea laughs.
"Not everyone wants to be a fish."
"Why not?"
"Because some people think fish are stinky."
"Then they stink!"
Aranea grins. She places her hands under Meenah's arms, picking her up and hugging her close. As she takes off her shoes Meenah tries to climb on her shoulder; Aranea doesn't allow this. After her failed attempt, Meenah chooses to settle for having her legs around Aranea's hip, placing her head on her babysitter's shoulder. Aranea starts to walk. She scrunches up her nose while she does so.
"So do you, little miss. It's time for a bath."
"Can we play shark attack?" says Meenah, picking up her head and nuzzling her cheek against Aranea's.
"Of course."
"Can we go outside after?"
"What would be the point of bathing, then?" Aranea points out.
"Please?" the other begs, elongating the word.
"We'll see, okay?"
"Okay."
After some well-needed cleansing, and some running around the house trying to put Meenah back in a similar set of clothes, Aranea looks out the window. The gray clouds from earlier are darker than before. Drizzle starts to make its way to the Earth's dry surface. Meenah is bouncing on the balls of her feet from anticipation.
"Can we go outside? Can we?"
Sighing, Aranea turns to face her doom.
"Unfortunately not. It's raining."
"We could play in –"
"You'll get muddy. The answer is no." Aranea says a tad too curtly.
Her gaze meets Meenah's and she's immediately sorry. Meenah's lower lip is trembling with the force of her pout. She doesn't cry, though. She tries to suck it up. After a sniffle or two, she stands up straighter.
"We could'a had a tuna fun."
Aranea peeks out the window. There's no way Aranea could let her go out in this.
"We can have fun inside too, you know."
Meenah blinks and purses her lips.
"I always take you to the sprinklers in the parks."
Aranea stands there for a moment, holding her breath, hoping Meenah will be persuaded. After some thought, she nods her head. Aranea offers to play board games with her, except Meenah decides she wants to play charades first. Aranea sits on the floor, cross-legged. Meenah's four impersonations are a gold fish, a puffer fish, a shark, and a dolphin. Proper etiquette calls for three guesses each, except this time with a surprise pun at the end to make up for not going outside.
"Dolphinately a dolphin." Aranea says, smiling.
She only hears the thud of running footsteps before Meenah has her arms around her neck, squeezing her tightly.
"That was a good one!" says Meenah, beaming at her.
"Well, I have plenty more where that came from. Come on, let's find some more games to play."
Aranea and Meenah spend an hour or so more playing games together. The clock ticks and ticks without them paying any attention to it. That is, until Aranea's alarm goes off on her phone. That's the sign that it's almost bed time.
"Aw man. I don't wanna sleep."
"Now, now Meenah. How about this – I'll give you an extra half hour since you were so good today."
Meenah claps her hands together repeatedly; a tapping that creates a small echo around the room.
"You're the best."
"No, you are." Aranea says in a loving tone.
The two of them settle into their typical routine for the night. Aranea takes out her knitting needles, sitting on the plush sofa, and Meenah plops herself in front of the television on the floor; she's far enough away not to ruin her eyes, thanks to Aranea's supervision. Soon, however, there's something banging against the window. Aranea angles her head to look. Rain is coming down in sheets, pouring left and right. The brontide can be heard as a low rumble in the distance. Meenah pays it no mind, concentrating on the T.V. A louder, closer boom comes forth and a flash of lightning comes from outside the window. Meenah's body visibly shakes. Being the brave soldier she is though, she continues to stare at the T.V. Her brows furrow in concentration. The thunder constantly cracks. About fifteen minutes pass in this way when Meenah turns around to face Aranea.
"Hey, 'Ranea?" she says, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"Yes, Meenah?"
"The thunder's loud. Can't watch T.V. Make it stop."
Putting down her needles, Aranea knits her brows instead. She knows that Meenah's tired by now, and when she's tired she becomes cranky and even more impatient. It'll be easier to put her in her room to sleep. But she promised Meenah an extra half hour. Then, an idea pops into Aranea's head.
"I can't. But if you want, I can tell you a sto –"
"Again?" Meenah whines.
"Oh come now, my stories aren't that bad." Aranea replies, a slight frown on her face.
"But they're so long. 'S gonna make me tired."
"You're getting sleepy anyway, little miss."
"Am not." Meenah replies defiantly.
"Well, then. Why don't you prove it? If you can stay awake during my story you're not tired." Aranea challenges, a smirk creeping upon her features.
Meenah's face twists as she ponders. She puts her thumb to her lip, the rest of her hand in a loose fist against her chin. After a while, she gives a lazy smile.
"Deal."
She makes her way onto the couch, grabbing at the cushions for extra leverage. She lays her head down on a pillow and her legs and feet on Aranea's lap. Then, she wiggles around to find a comfy position. When she's settled, Aranea clears her throat.
"Meenah, do you know what the word 'fate' means?"
"Shore I do. Means sumfin's gonna turn out a certain way. Right?" she answers smugly.
"Right. Now, my parents told me this story when I was younger. The spider in this story is the creature who controls Fate. Understand?"
"Got it."
"Once, long ago, there was a girl. This girl was feminine but stronger than most boys in her village; in fact, she could outrun and beat any person her age in a fight. Her academic skill was about average and she couldn't do anything when it came to household chores. If she wasn't in a contest of athleticism she was actually rather clumsy. However, her bruises from falling over and over became a symbol of her pride. Her confidence made her very popular amongst the boys, but the women of the village scorned her, saying she was vain and would be nothing without her strength. They teased her, made fun of her behind her back, until the confidence shown on the outside was, in all reality, fake. Because of this, and natural inclination, she expressed her wish of not wanting to get married. Her parents, of course, wished the best for her. They respected her wish. Women of the village kept pressuring her, though. They told her she was nothing without a man. And after something is told to you many times, even the most confident start to believe it. She ran away to a nearby lake. She cried and wailed to no one, the – sleeping already?"
There was a slight snore coming from Meenah's direction. Immediately after Aranea addresses her, Meenah, startled, raises her head a bit.
"Nope." she manages to slur.
"If that's the case, I'll continue. Sure you don't want to go to bed?" Aranea asks, crooning.
"Nah. But you're usin' too many big words." Meenah says, drowsiness evident. She puts her head on the pillow once more.
"These are words you should learn, Meenah." she chastises jokingly, wagging a finger. Aranea carries on.
"Where was I? Ah, yes. She cried and wailed to no one, the earth beneath being beaten by her fists. Then, there came a voice from below. 'Be careful where you throw those fists,' the voice said. The girl looked around below her and saw nothing besides a large black spider. The spider spoke once more, inquiring as to why she was sad. She was shocked at first, yet, having no one else to turn to, she told him of the people in the village. She told him how the men treated her as a prize to be won and how the women said she was worth nothing more than the man she is to marry. The spider touched his two front legs together and rubbed, contemplating how to answer. 'My dear child,' the spider said, 'I have seen what your fate is. I wove it myself with the silk I spin. You are the only one who decides your worth. You are destined for greatness, if only you make it so.' The girl questioned the spider, asking how she, of all people, could be destined for greatness. After all, how could she be worth it? He simply replied 'You are if you follow what you think is right. If you don't, then you will have given up on yourself. Will you think you're worth it then?' She looked away for a brief moment, thinking of a proper response. But when she looked back, the spider was gone. She let the spider's words sink in, and with that in mind, the girl ran back to her village, her vigor renewed, and – ...asleep, huh?"
Aranea didn't notice that the snoring became louder and louder. She was too engrossed in the story. With a half smile and a sigh, she carefully moves Meenah's legs off of her lap. She slides to the other end of the couch and stands to dust off her knees, as well as stretch. She walks over so that she's in front of Meenah. She's making fish lips in her sleep; adorable is the only thought that comes to Aranea. She bends, puts her arms under Meenah, and lifts her up. By the time Aranea has her in a position where she could be held easily, it's 9:00 PM. Meenah's head is lolling on her shoulder. There's already some drool on her shirt. Raising her up more so that she can have a better grip, she walks to the little girl's room; it's a mix of even more fuchsia and gold. The bed isn't made. No one can ever make the kid make her bed. In this case, it comes in handy. Aranea places her on the bed gently, trying not to disturb her too much. Taking her to the blanket, Aranea tucks her in. Not too snug, yet not too loose. She leans down and kisses Meenah on the forehead.
"Good night, Meenah."
She walks away from the bed. Her hand goes to touch the door knob, when she hears Meenah say something softly.
"Night, 'Ranea."
Smiling to herself, Aranea walks out the door and shuts it; she tries to make as little noise as possible. She walks back to the living room to notice Mrs. Peixes had come in without her noticing it. She greets her, tells her about how Meenah acted, and is sent off with her payment. She leaves the house, her heels clacking against the pavement. Placing the money into her purse neatly, she begins to think. It's that time of night again for Aranea. That time when she realizes that one day Meenah won't need a babysitter anymore. When will that time be? It won't be for years yet the thought is still daunting to her. It's that time of night when she wonders how Meenah will be when she grows up. Will she still be obsessed with the ocean? Fish? Aranea glances up to the sky – at a bright moon and the gray clouds surrounding it.
In the end, only time will tell.