Late at night, under the silver glow of the moon, Blanche was perched high in the mulberry tree, her tiny chest puffed out as she declared she was performing her "ultimate move."
Can’t you just be a normal, quiet child for once? Ethan Gray thought, his heart hammer-drumming against his ribs.
He wanted to bark at her to get down immediately, but he bit back the reprimand. He was terrified that if he startled her, she’d lose her grip on the rough bark and plummet twenty feet to the cobblestones below. He had to be surgical. He had to be the "Gentle Uncle."
" Blanche... sweetheart," he said, his voice a low, soothing honey. "That’s very impressive. But why don't you come down now? It’s getting a bit chilly, don't you think?"
"Eeee-hee-hee!" Blanche let out her signature "goose-honk" laugh
