Birds In the Sun
Xion's eyes open, but her ears hear more even when she is dozing. She doesn't know what is going on, only that Uncle Riku is up there at the front of the room with a lady. The lady is all in black, and she reminds Xion of the pretty birds that sometimes are on her window when she wakes up. The birds sing to her when she goes to take a nap when Mommy tells her to. Xion smiles sleepy as she snuggles into her Uncle Axel's tummy. Mommy says that the birds are sunlings, pretty little birds that dance like living shadows in the light, and they sing good little girls to sleep and give them pretty dreams.
Xion isn't sure she is a good girl, but the sunlings sing to her so she must be, right? She opens her eyes more and stares at the sunling lady with Uncle Riku. Her black hair is the same color as the wings of the birdies, and this realization makes her laugh out loud with sheer delight. Her mommy's words echo in her head, and she giggles in excitement and repeats them to herself.
'In the darkness, there will always be the brightest light.'
Uncle Riku and the woman look over at her, each one smiling in amusement. She notices how Uncle Riku smiles at her, and it's the way he does whenever he pats her head and tells her that he loves her. Xion waves to her friend before Uncle Axel slaps her hand down to his lap. She looks up at him in confusion, not understanding why he had grabbed her like that. His hand is pressed tightly on top on hers, keeping it stuck on his lap. Axel smiles at her, making a shushing noise as he wraps his other arm around her waist.
Xion whimpers, feeling tears prickle in her eyes. The slap had hurt a little, but she is a strong girl and it had stopped hurting a little while ago but... there is something funny in Uncle Axel's eyes. The pretty green happiness is gone, and there is something funny in its place. He hugs her close, snuggling into her soothingly as he begins to rock her. But there is still something funny in Axel's eyes and it scares her.
There is a moment in every life when a child realizes a painful reality. It is then that they understand the limitation of human strength, and that it is no longer infinite. No, it is finite, and adults are no different. They have their strengths and their weaknesses, their moments of knowledge and foolishness. They learn that their parents cannot protect them, and that their parents can know fear. Fear is the strongest emotion that a person can feel, and it is the one emotion that drives them to accomplish the impossible in order to keep those that they wish to protect safe. Fear and love intertwine together to create a human being. All human beings love, no matter in what shape, and all human beings fear.
It is fear that Xion sees in her Uncle Axel's eyes, and that knowledge scares her.
The sunling lady looks at Xion and her dark brown eyes crinkle into what looks like a smile. Xion smiles back but the fear is still there. The woman turns to Uncle Riku and asks him a question but Uncle Riku keeps looking at Xion as if he wanted to go touch her. Xion knows that Uncle Riku doesn't like it when she cries, so she tries to keep quiet and listen to the grownups talk.
Axel keeps holding her, the fear for the little girl growing in his heart. But she is safe for now, Riku is on the stand... and away from her.