Isiginali

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUEA cool stream of air blew across Mavuto’s cherubic face. His teeth chattered at the same time his eyes squinted open. It was the middle of the night and his bedroom had a bluish black tint to it. A scant of moonlight was peeking through the window.

He opened his eyes widely and glanced below. His comforter was no longer covering him. Now he understood why he had been feeling so cold. He looked over his left shoulder and rolled his eyes. Not only had his younger brother crept into his bed—foregoing a perfectly good mattress of his own, but he had inexplicably stolen the covers on top of that. Nepthali was only a few months removed from turning three-years-old and he already was an exceptional thief.

Mavuto leaned closer to his baby brother and breathed on his face—in an attempt to force the issue. Nepthali crinkled his nose, but remained asleep. After a good minute of failure, Mavuto licked his index finger and stuck it inside the diminutive bandit’s ear. For a couple of seconds, Nepthali seemed unaffected by his counter-attack. Mavuto probed the ear canal even deeper. A few moments later, Nepthali squinted and squirmed, fanning at his ear.

In his moment of distraction, Mavuto pulled the comforter out from under his brother’s bottom and rolled himself back under it. At long last, he would be able to return to his slumber. He nestled his head deeper into the puffy pillow and closed his eyes. Just when he thought it was safe to drift back into the nirvana that was his subconscious, he could feel his little brother hugging him from behind. Mavuto released a guttural sigh and rolled his eyes.

I sure hope they don’t have any more kids. Otherwise, I’ll probably never get another good night’s sleep until I’m a grown-up. This is too much.