A Mother's Favor
For #18: "Let the world turn without you tonight."
--
Holding his tiny body in her strong arms, the young mother offered a sad smile. She ran her fingers over the soft tufts of light brown hair knowing that this may be the last time they are ever there. She tickled his arms and legs with gentle strokes, delighting in his laughter.
She caught herself wondering how long it would be until those places she tickled would be marked.
Not tonight, she whispered to the wind. Not Tonight.
"I know you are not old enough," she began to speak. Her voice was low, a whisper, and as gentle as a mother's should be. "You are still too young, but I know you understand me." Big, storm gray eyes stared in confusion before bursting into the giggle box that was her baby.
She smiled. This was her baby tonight. Even if tonight is all we have. "But I do not want you to have to. It would be robbing you of the joys of childhood. Trust me, understanding us adults is boring. Children are the only ones who tell the truth, so do not ever grow up."
"Is he ready to depart?" The mother turned to the hunched over old monk the voice belonged to. Something about him really irritated her.
"It would be best if we came back in the morning," another, more sympathetic, monk cut in. "It is very hard for one to give up their only child. Particularly so when one was not even given a choice in the matter."
The older monk let out a 'humph' and waddled his way out of the room. The young mother smiled in the sympathetic monk's direction. "Thank you Gyatso."
"It was nothing," he smiled. Turning, Gyatso left with a soft tapping of his shoes on the floor.
The young mother turned her teary eyes back to her child, and blew a raspberry on his tummy. "Just do me one favor, little guy. Do not grow up to be like them."
--
AN: Roaming aimlessly around looking at the Avatar artwork, I ran across a picture called "Before the Title" by kimchicrusader. It was baby Aang and his mother, and it kind of re-sparked my ideas for this chapter, whose prompt has been one of my most challenging, but rewarding so far. Challenging, because I didn't want it to be what it looks like it should be, and rewarding, because I got to challenge myself to create something that I turned out to be happy with. Go me!
Drop a line, and thanks to all those who read and reviewed so far!
-mycrazylife