| s e v e n | - Naive
Scarlet's father dropped her off at her uncle's house in the next hour. He had told her to pack her bags, and she'd put all of her stuffed animals, most of her favorite books, and a few clothes in her red suitcase with the little hearts on top.
"Bye bye, Daddy! I'll miss you and Mommy!" She waved at him after she stepped foot in the house.
Her uncle shook his head and smiled sadly at her. "You are so naive, my child, so naive."
Scarlet cocked her head to the side in a curious manner. "Uncle Tommy, what does 'naive' mean?"
"Naive means . . ." he paused suddenly. "Never mind--you'll find out soon."
The girl shrugged, then left to find her cousin's room.
"Ava?" Scarlet peered through her older cousin's door. "Are you there?"
Ava waved her younger cousin over, patting her on the shoulder. "Let's play something, okay?"
"Wait, Ava," Scarlet started, "do you know why everyone is acting so weird today?"
Ava hesitated for just a moment before laughing slightly. "Scar, it's alright. Everyone's fine. You don't have to worry about it, okay? Just have fun with me. Now, come on! Let's play dress-up!"
Scarlet jumped up and down happily and skipped towards Ava's closet.
Unbeknownst to the little girl, however, her uncle sighed deeply outside of his daughter's door and whispered to himself, "My idiotic brother and his wife . . . if only this poor, carefree child had known the truth, she would not be so carefree anymore. . . ."
YOU ARE READING
Reflection
General Fiction"S-Scarlet." "Arion." The staring begins. She swallows and begins to speak slowly, carefully, to not scare him, though she's already scared out of her wits. "How do you do?" Silence. Scarlet tries again, but this time slower. "I'm--" she points to h...
