Eclipse

Adventures In Babysitting

I woke up ungodly early the next day, no doubt due to the unfamiliar environment. I showered and spent some mindless hours watching the muted tv while I waited for Mira to wake up. Naturally the first thing she did was insist that she repaint my hair and I do half of hers this time. I didn't see why not. It would, after all, be washed off tonight like it was last night. I made the kid and I some oatmeal with cut up blueberries and a portion of hashbrowns, halfheartedly listening to Mira's retelling of the dream she had. Apparently she rode a wolf through a river, but the river didn't wet them at all.

She mentioned something about a scarecrow with a black witch's hat and a pink umbrella at some point, but I had tuned out. When I tuned back in, she was passionately making explosion sounds and crying out 'nooo, my umbrella!' I didn't even ask. I just nodded when she told me that her rainbow duck boots allowed her and the wolf to win the day and avenge the umbrella. Kids are something else, man. I'm just glad Mira didn't try to make me participate more in this tale. Luckily for me, she seemed to like talking a lot more than active participation.

I took our dishes to the sink to wash, noting that Mira shifted gears from talking about a dream she had to talking about wanting to have a puppy. I'm pretty sure her dad is firmly in the: no pets allowed category, so I'm not even going to make it seem like that's something she can get with me.

"What are we doing today, Mira?" I asked as I put the dishes on the drying rack.

"Pet store!"

"We're not buying anything," I shut her down.

Mira pouted, trying to pull herself up onto the counter and failing miserably.

"Just to look? Pleaseeeee," she begged.

"Just to look and only for an hour."

Mira nodded eagerly. I dried my hands on my shirt and gestured towards the front door.

"Go put on your shoes so we can head out."

Mira raced forward, eagerly tugging her shoes on. I hid a yawn behind my hand before following her to the door. To her credit, going to a pet shop in the morning was a great call. It really lifted my mood. The hamsters in particular were cute as hell, but I had to keep reminding Mira to keep her hands to herself. I was done admiring all the animals the store had to offer about twenty minutes in, but I promised the kid an hour and I would stick to that.

We went to the library afterwards. I found myself aching for the familiarity of church in the morning and brunch afterwards, but catholicism was long behind me. I'd probably never feel that leather bound book again and the verses I bothered to learn would fade in time. I wonder if godparents were a thing here. Well, whether it's for better or worse, the bible and the culture that formed around it would be lost to this place. I had no intention of introducing it to the polytheistic land I lived in.

It was interesting to read up on the holy strictures that this world had to offer. They were seemingly verified by people who were able to record them approximately five hundred years ago, just about three hundred years older than the village itself. Human history before then was very rarely written down. It was a confusing timeline, to say the least. Especially when you took into account the fact that a lot of animals in this land were able to access a different plane in the same world. How the hell does this work?

"Nii-san, I'm bored," Mira said quietly, putting down the story book she was paging through.

"Kay," I yawned. "Want to go to the park or something?"

Mira nodded. We spent most of the day there, having stopped at a convenience store to pick up some picnic foods. Hey, if all I have to do is sit on my ass, then I'll take it. I watched the kid run around and show off her hair to anyone who would spare her the attention, my fingers itching for a phone.