4: He Who Shall be Named

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The little girl just got done being scolded for bothering her mother while she was making an important phone call

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The little girl just got done being scolded for bothering her mother while she was making an important phone call. She is always making an important phone call. Isn't she important enough to drop everything and play with her?

It hurt her feelings at the thought that her mother didn't want to spend time with her. Even though she was eight now, she still liked her mother asking if she wanted to have a tea party.

The little girl flew the red blanket that was hanging on the back of her grandmother's wicker porch furniture and straightened it out on the grass.

Her heart fluttered with joy when a familiar voice spoke to her not too long after setting up her tea party. She was hoping he would show up to keep her company.

She has become rather attached to the deep voice that seemed to appear when she most needed it over the past few summers.

"You look sad," The deep voice observed.

The little girl paused only for a moment when the voice seeped through the leaves. She picked up her teapot and poured two cups of tea that her Granny made for her before she went into town to sell her harvest. She told her she could come with her tomorrow.

"Do you think I am strange?"

This must have taken the voice off guard because he chuckled mildly. "Very."

The little girl couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her lips no matter how much she forced the corners to stay down. "In a bad way, though?"

"No. I think you are wonderful."

Her smile grew more. "Really?"

His answer was another deep rumble of laughter. The sound practically shook her tiny bones.

"Are you going to come out today?" She asked as she picked up her teddies and pretended to have them sip the tea.

There was no answer and she took that as a no with a shake of her bouncing red curls. "Are you a nudist or something? Gran said she went to a retreat where they took their clothing off to jump into a lake. I told her she was bonkers for letting people see her bum."

Deep laughter rang through the trees at the little girl's words. He had never met another soul with such a light to it. He found it amusing how her facial expressions only became more animated over the years. He enjoyed the way her nose crinkled when she spoke of something she found foul or how her hazel eyes widened when she was telling an exciting story such as how one of her grandmother's horses bucked off one of the stable hands the other day because his shoelaces resembled snakes.

She always talked about her liking of the animals of the farm. That's what drew him to her the most. She had a certain empathy for things humans normally don't understand. It was abnormal for a human her age but nonetheless, he was intrigued.

She kept calling him her friend throughout their chats and though it made him uneasy to have such a title to something so innocent, he couldn't stop the spread of warmth that the word brang.

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