CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN: DIFFERENT CHILDREN, DIFFERENT WORLDS
331 Words
Ava and Liam were nothing alike.
Ava was observant.
Quiet.
Thoughtful.
She noticed things.
Little things.
The way people spoke.
The way they avoided certain topics.
Liam, on the other hand…
Was energy.
“Dad! Watch this!”
Adrian barely had time to react before Liam jumped off the couch.
“Liam—!” Hailey started.
Too late.
He landed safely… thankfully.
“I’m a superhero!” he declared.
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
“Superheroes don’t break furniture,” he muttered.
Hailey laughed.
“They do in his version.”
Despite their differences…
They balanced each other.
And together…
They filled the house with life.
It happened on a quiet night.
Rain tapped softly against the windows.
The kind of night that made everything feel still.
Ava stood at the doorway of her parents’ room.
“Mom?”
Hailey looked up from her book.
“Come in.”
Ava hesitated.
Then walked in slowly.
“Can I ask you something?”
Hailey felt it immediately.
This wasn’t a simple question.
“Of course.”
Ava climbed onto the bed.
Looked at her carefully.
“Do you ever wish you could know what people are thinking?”
Hailey froze.
Adrian looked up sharply.
The room went quiet.
For a moment…
The past returned.
Hailey took a breath.
“I used to,” she said honestly.
Ava’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Hailey smiled faintly.
“Because I thought it would make things easier.”
“And did it?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Ava tilted her head.
“Why not?”
Hailey reached out, brushing her daughter’s hair gently.
“Because knowing everything doesn’t mean you understand everything,” she said. “And sometimes… it makes things harder.”
Ava thought about that.
Then asked—
“So what’s better?”
Hailey glanced at Adrian.
Then back at her daughter.
“Trust,” she said.
Ava nodded slowly.
And somehow…
She understood.
- Writer
