Chapter 6 - The Boundary Lines
Maya let her arms hang loose by her sides.
She stood up incredibly straight, making herself as tall as her fluffy pink slippers would allow.
"Fine."
The word was short.
It was a concession, but it was heavily armored.
She took a slow, deliberate breath.
"Half for me."
She raised her left hand, chopping the air vertically in front of her.
"Half for him."
She chopped the air again, drawing an invisible, impenetrable border down the center of the mattress.
The baby cooed, releasing his grip on the pillowcase.
His tiny hand fell open against the mattress.
Maya did not look at him.
Her eyes remained locked on the camera, hard and calculating.
She leaned slightly forward.
Her voice dropped an octave, losing the high-pitched whine of a toddler and adopting the cold precision of a negotiator finalizing a contract.
"But I'm taking the fluffiest half."
Behind the camera, the mother’s chest heaved.
A sharp, breathy chuckle broke through the silence of the room.
The camera lens shook violently for a second as the adult tried to suppress the laugh.
Maya did not smile.
She did not blink.
She reached out, grabbed the extreme left edge of the white pillow, and pulled it a single inch toward her side of the invisible line.
May you like
She claimed her geometry.
The baby kept sleeping on the flattened center, oblivious to the fact that he was now merely a tenant in her kingdom.
