"Good Lord, Siku, you're making enough noise t'raise the dead. You're gonna wake your daddy if you keep it up."
"Aw, shoot, your not gonna stop cryin' unless Ah pick you up, are ya? Well... okay... just please, don't grab for my hair or try t'touch my face okay? Ah don't think you want me to absorb your memory, do ya?"
"There, there, that's better, isn't it? Hm... your not wet... I don't think it's time to feed ya... so why are you cryin?"
"Oh look, you stopped. Aw, you've got such sweet blue eyes Sikudhani. They look like a couple of sapphires, shinnin' on a blue velvet background. An' such a sweet little smile. Look at you, already got all your teeth. Hank must be so proud of you."
"Know what Ah think Sugah? Ah think you were cryin' cause you were lonely. Oh, don't give me that funny look. Ah'm not gonna tell anyone. Trust me Siku, Ah know exactly what you mean. There have been times Ah've cried because Ah was lonely. Times when Ah wanted to scream for someone... anyone t'hold me."
"Let's go downstairs, okay? It's a beautiful mornin' an we can sit in the rocking chair by the window an' watch the sun finish rising. Does that sound good to you?"
"Here we are, little one. All safe and cozy. See all those colors outside? That's the sunrise. When Ah was a little girl, not much bigger than you, my Momma used t'tell me that every night an' every morning, God painted pictures a'cross the sky to remind us what a special place the world is."
"You an' me got somethin sad in common Siku. We both lost our Momma's when we were young. We also found other people to love us an' raise us.. but comparin' Hank with Mystique, Ah'd say you got the better end of that bargain."
"Aw, what a cute smile. Ah like it when you smile Siku, it makes me feel special. Not too many people can make me feel that special, that loved."
"When Ah was a little girl, all Ah ever really wanted when Ah grew up was to marry a good man an' have children. Strong healthy babies that Ah could love an' cuddle, an' watch em' grow up into fine adults. Ah never thought it was too much to ask for either... funny how life can take some awful twists, so even the simplest of dreams just can't come true."
"Oh, this is not a mornin' for complainin' though. It's too nice a day, the sunrise is too pretty. Bad thoughts can poison a perfectly good day. So, why don't we just sit together an' enjoy the sunrise an' ah'll try not to bend your ear with mah problems."
"But Siku... would you mind very much, that while we sit here together, if Ah pretend, just for now, that you're mah little girl? That this is a nice little house in the country an' we're just spendin' some time together until it's time to make breakfast? Ah promise you darlin' when the sun is up, and your daddy is awake, Ah'll turn you back over t'him. It's just for now... since it's just you an' me.. let me pretend. Ah can't make my dreams come true, all Ah can do is spin new ones."
"Oh that? Don't mind that Siku. It won't hurt you. It's just a tear."
The End
