"Not at all. This could be very exciting for them. It could open their horizons to a potential future in medicine."
"They're five. Their biggest horizon right now is choosing an ice cream flavor."
He sighed, finally defeated. "Okay... fine. But you remember the story, right? In case someone stops you and asks..."
"I know..." Anna said wearily. She pointed at me. "She's our mother."
"Very well." Logan looked at the other girl. "And you, Aurora? Do you understand?"
Aurora continued to wander, looking curiously around the room while completely ignoring her father. He still insisted, "Aurora?"
"She already understands, too," Anna declared. She let go of my hand, went over to her sister, and took hers. The two of them started walking ahead of me toward the food court. They seemed incredibly close, with Anna acting very protective of her sister.
I followed them, leaving Logan behind. When we reached an ice cream stand, Anna chose flavors for both of them, and the three of us found a table to sit down.
"So..." I began, trying to get a better sense of their situation. "Who brought you to the hotel? Was it your mother?"
Anna shook her head. "It was Uncle George."
"Uncle George?" I asked. "Is he your mother's brother?"
She just shrugged, as if the relation didn't matter. "It's Uncle George," she repeated, as if that explained everything.
"I see. And... you must be missing your mother, right?"
"Mommy said we have to be brave. And not cry."
"But crying is important. When we're sad, or scared, or even angry—"
"We are brave."
"But who said brave people don't cry? Even superheroes cry sometimes."
"Superheroes aren't real. Neither are fairies. Or monsters. Or Santa Claus."
"Was it your mother who told you that?"
"No. It was Grandma. Mom was mad at her, especially about the Santa Claus part. Rory and I wrotehim letters, but Grandma said it was silly because Santa Claus isn't real. Rory cried, and Mom was upset with Grandma."
Apparently, the family environment they came from wasn't exactly the healthiest. Well, at least I understood that part, since I had an extremely toxic mother myself.
“Well, I think all those things can exist in a way, if we believe in them…” I said. “What do you think, Rory?”
Aurora continued to concentrate on her ice cream, giving no indication she had heard me. Anna nudged her, and only then did she look up at me. I repeated the question softly:
“What do you think? Can superheroes and fairies exist?”
Aurora’s eyes immediately flicked toward her sister, a silent question passing between them. And in that moment, I finally understood the situation.
Amid the surprise of the realization, I felt a fresh wave of anger toward Logan.
He’d been with these children since the night before. How could he not have realized it yet?
*****
About four hours later, Logan finally found us in the food court. A small playground was tucked into the corner, and that’s where the girls were, their little faces lit up with smiles as they played on the seesaw. It was a relief to see them finally able to relax, even for a moment, amidst the chaos their lives had become.
Apparently, they weren't the only ones. Logan was smiling, too—a sight that, under any other circumstances, would have made me admire his devastating good looks even more. A smile truly transformed him.
