The Daycare Attendant

Thunderous Night

"Mister Moon?"
"Yes starshine?"
"I can't sleep."
A young kid looks at me, tears in their eyes. I sit down next to them crisscross and smile. I make my hand warm up and put it on their shoulder.
"Why can't you sleep dear?"
They sniff. "I had a nightmare, I'm scared to sleep again. What if I see it again..."
"Oh starshine, I'm so sorry." I sit them up and place them in my lap. I gently put my arms around them to protect them.
"What was so scary?"
"Roxy scared me today, and in my nightmare she was really tall and angry and she kept chasing me."
I begin slowly swaying side to side.
"I'm so sorry dear. Roxy is very competitive and sometimes can be a bit scary. But I promise you, Roxy can't come into the Daycare. I'll protect you until naptime is over, okay?"
The kid sniffs. "Mister Moon?"
"Yes starshine?"
"Can you tell me a bedtime story?"
I smile. "Of course I can!"
The kid sighs.
"You can get comfortable in my arms, I'll tell you the story of a brave warrior, alright?"
The kid nods. They huddle to my shoulder and I make sure they can lay comfortably in my arms. I put their blanket over them to keep them warm.
"There once was a beautiful kingdom, ruled by a lovely king and queen. And one day, the queen had a daughter. They called her Jane."
The kid closes their eyes. I can feel them getting at ease.
"Jane was a lovely princess, she loved drawing on the walls. But, she loved watching the soldiers practise the most. She asked her mother if she could learn how to wield a sword, but her mother grew angry."
The kid shivers. I pull the blanket more over them and turn on my heatsensors to help them feel warm.
"Jane was confused. So, once she turned 15, she became friends with one of the young soldiers. She asked him to teach her how to wield a sword in secret. Jane was very good at it. When the king and queen would leave the castle, she would join the army's practise. Then, when she turned 17, she rebelled."
"What did she do?"
"Her mother caught her. Jane grew angry and used her sword to cut off her long red hair in one swing right in front of her mother's eyes. Then, Jane joined the army on their next mission. The queen was worried, the king even cried."
The kid sighed sadly.
"But, after a long 5 years of battling, Jane came back home. With the helmet of the enemy, and a lover! Isn't that wonderful?"
I see the kid smile.
"Jane introduced her lover to her parents together with the helmet. They were so proud of their daughter for proving them wrong and showing how strong and brave she was."
"How does it end?"
I snicker.
"Jane got married ofcourse! Her lover was a princess she saved! Her name was Edelweiss. Jane and Edelweiss moved into the mountains and built a castle there. They took in two children and together they lived happily ever after." I smile. The child has fallen asleep. Ever so gently, I place them back on their mattress and put a heated blanket over them. Over that, I put the blanket they already had.
I smile, happy to have helped another child. I look around and see that all kids are fast asleep. Time to switch into watch duty. I take a seat on a tower of cloud-shaped pillows, cross my arms and sigh. I proceed to sit crisscross and I look around again. All asleep.
I turn on the star projector; it projects a starry sky on the ceiling. I wind up my music box and it plays a lovely, gentle tune.

I sigh.
Something feels off.
I glance over each kid. All asleep.
Why does everything feel weird?
Something is not right.
I feel as if I'm being watched.
And then I feel it. A shivering shock dances through my robotic body. I don't understand how, or where it came from. But I have no time to think, before another one rolls down my endoskeleton. I can feel my thoughts reshaping. My programming is being rewritten. I need to find a nightlight. Those exist for emergencies.
I get up and begin to wander around the daycare. Then I remember; there should be one near the security desk.
I rush over there, occasionally floating to speed up and bypass obstacles. I spot one and quickly flick it on.

I sigh. My sunrays come back out. The nightlights are only a temporary fix, they can only change part of me. I do not know what just happened to Moon. I do not understand why he was... well... corrupted.
I check the time.
4:59PM. Naptime is almost over. I decide it would be better to wake the children up a minute earlier, they wouldn't notice the difference. I flick on the lights and I feel my clother take on its appropriate colors and patterns.
Relief.
The daycare music begins to play again. I walk to the sleep area and turn off the music box and the projector. I ring my bells and smile.
"Dearest sunshines, naptime is over! You can find your parents at the entrance again! Let's get you all ready to go home!"
The kids slowly wake up. I check in occasionally on kids, to see if they're alright. Luckily no children seem to be harmed by Moon. I get them all to line up by the exit. They put their shoes on one by one and I help them get their coats and backpacks on.
Some kids can't find their parents, so I wait with them until they can.
I wave each kid goodbye with a smile and slight concern. What has happened keeps making me more and more anxious.
"Mister Sun?"
"Yes sunshine?" I look around to where the question came from.
"Can I have a hug? We are moving away and this is the last time I got to see you, so I wanted to say goodbye properly." A ten year old boy looks up at me. I get to his eyehight.
"Of course dear. Bring it in!" I hold out my arms and activate my heatsensors. The kid runs into my arms and sniffles. I can feel his tears drip down my shoulder. I gently stroke his back.
"Hey, it will be okay! I'll miss you as well, so I have a gift for you!" I take a bag of sundrops and a poster out from behind my back.
"Here, have these to remember me by."
The boy sniffles even harder.
"I love you sunshine, I'll always be here to protect you when you need me to, okay? And of course I'll be your playmate! Come back whenever you get the chance, alrighty?"
"I pinky promise!"
I hook my pinky onto his for a second and we both smile.
"Now, go to your parents. I'll see you again next time dear!"
The kid smiles and walks off. I wave him goodbye. I then notice he was the last kid. I think and quickly decide to give him another thing.
"Wait, one second."
The kid stops and turns around.
"Quin, was it?"
He nods and smiles. I walk over to him. His parents seem a bit scared of me, but I don't let it bother me. They aren't my focus.
"Quin I have another gift for you, here."
I hand him a golden plushie of me, and a golden plushie of Moon.
"Listen, these are special golden plushies. These are the only ones that make music if you press the belly. They'll help you sleep. You can play with them until you see me again, okay?"
"Thank you." Quin sniffles. I gently pat his back and smile.
"When I see you again, you gotta tell me about your new house and friends! I bet they'll all like you and you'll thrive there!"
He nods and smiles. His eyes are red from crying. I smile but I feel sad for him. I wave him goodbye for the final time and close the doors of the daycare. 6PM.
I'm happy the daycare closes earlier, it gives me time to think over everything that happened. Because I definitely have to figure out what happened to Moon.