Chapter 8 - The Child's Logic
A small, quiet figure appeared in the hallway just behind Elara.
Lily, five years old, stood in oversized, faded pink pajamas.
She was dragging a stuffed brown bear with a severely torn left ear by its arm.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes with the back of her hand, watching her mother shake with absolute fury.
Lily looked at the wide-open, empty freezer, frost still spilling from its mouth.
Then she looked at the thick stack of green money clutched in her grandmother’s wrinkled hand.
She walked over, her bare toes padding softly, almost silently, on the floor.
"Grandma," Lily said.
Her voice was incredibly small, yet it pierced cleanly through the baby's deafening cries.
Martha glanced down, her brow furrowed in deep irritation at the interruption.
"If you sell Leo's food for green paper," Lily said, tilting her head to the side.
Her brow furrowed in genuine, innocent confusion.
She squeezed the broken bear tightly against her small chest.
"Does that mean we can sell you to the hospital when you get old and we need a new house?"
The kitchen fell dead silent.
Even Leo paused his crying for a fraction of a second to catch a ragged, wet breath.
May you like
Martha’s face instantly drained of all color, turning a sickly, pale gray.
Her grip on the cash loosened, the edges of the bills slipping against her palm.
