THIRTY-ONE
"The matron gives us permission to stay another hour," she reports to Maria and Elfnein, who are in the middle of packing away the leftovers of their lunch.
Maria pauses to clap her hands, "Excellent! Elfnein wants to show us the garden. She says she helps the librarian with it, so of course we have to check it out!"
Elfnein ducks her head bashfully.
"Hard work is the basis for a fruitful life," she praises, "it is a good habit to cultivate."
"Like Hufflepuffs?"
She is proud of herself for remembering, "From Harry Potter? Yes, the Hufflepuff house ideal is the keystone to the rest."
Maria interjects, "But remember, all work and no play makes for a boring life! We don't want to be workaholics and miss out on everything else life has to give us, hmm?"
"That is why we learn balance and moderation, my dear," she retorts, but with a relaxed smile.
"I think gardening is a little bit of both," Elfnein says, looking up at her with wide eyes. "I have lots of fun but I'm also working at the same time, so it's good, right?"
She blinks, startled at the realization that Elfnein is looking for approval from her. She swallows against the emotion welling up in her chest and she says, "Of course. But please, do not take my pedantic words as an absolute truth. Investigate your world and decide for yourself what ideals you want to uphold."
For most of her childhood she tried to live and think as she thought her father wanted, regardless of her own fledgling opinions.
"We'll always be here for you, Elfnein, no matter what," Maria adds, tucking a strand of Elfnein's hair back.
Bright blue eyes flicker between herself and Maria; there is some confusion in Elfnein's expression.
It reminds her that they have yet to be completely clear with their intentions. Despite her straight-forward intentions, her actions and words are, more often than not, oblique.
"You know… um, well, Elfnein… we want to adopt you!" Maria blurts out.
Better Maria than her. Her tongue is lead, and she probably would have stuttered too much to be at all coherent.
Elfnein looks startled, recoiling before stopping.
Maria hastily backtracks, "But—if you don't want—you don't have to agree if you don't want to." She takes a deep breath, then smiles gently at Elfnein. "There's no hurry or pressure. We just want you to be happy, whether with us or here," she says.
Continuing to blink, Elfnein does not respond, other than to begin to fidget with her father's watch.
"Let us look at the garden," she prompts, forestalling the silence that threatens to consume them. "We have," she looks at her own watch, "thirty-one minutes left before we must part ways."
"Okay," Elfnein mumbles. It passes, however, as her little face brightens once again. "I want to show you the pumpkins!"
Children are pretty resilient, aren't they?
a/n: More positive, right?
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