Glowing Night Light | agere short stories

bumps at night

regressor: Fever (regressed to 2-3)

caregiver:

kind of impure

🍼

    Pit pit pit! The rain tapped against the windows as Fever tried to sleep. They trembled, becoming worried about the sounds they were hearing. What if that's not rain? They wondered. What if it's a scary creature trying to get inside? They held their stuffies tighter and squeezed their eyes shut, trying to focus on something else. I like my stuffies, they thought. And I like this paci. It feels comfortable in my mouth and it's cute and Dada got it for me.

    The rain got heavier as a flash of lightning shone from outside for a split second. Oh no, oh no, please don't be loud!! Fever pleaded in their head. Unfortunately, the thunder that followed was loud and booming. Fever jumped and curled up underneath their blankets, tearing up a bit. Their heart skipped a beat as they heard their bedroom door open and close. Oh no, the creature got inside!! Oh no!! They felt something grab their shoulder. They whimpered in fear before they heard it speak.

    "Hey, you okay?" Levanté asked.

    Sighing with relief, Fever began to cry as they came from under the blankets. "Dada..." They mumbled with their paci still in their mouth, clinging to Levanté's shirt. "Scary..."

    "Oh, baby, I'm here." He said calmly, petting their hair. He got into their bed beside them so they were facing each other. "Hey, I'm here. It's okay."

    Another boom of thunder shook the building. Fever jumped and curled up against Levanté.

    "Hey, it's okay. You know what thunder actually is?" He asked. He figured if they understood what thunder was, maybe they'd be less scared.

    "Mm?" Fever asked.

    "It's when two rain clouds bump into each other." He explained. "That's it."

    "Mm... loud..." Fever whined, clinging to him.

    "Well, think about it this way." He started. "When you're in a crowded hallway and you're overwhelmed and someone bumps into you, what do you want to do?"

    "Mm... yell." Fever answered.

    "Exactly." Levanté responded. "Maybe rain clouds are just like you, except they have no self control."

    Fever giggled and wiped their tears. The next thunderclap was much quieter.

    "It's already going away." Levanté mentioned. "Everything is okay now."

    "Story?" Fever asked.

    Levanté chuckled. They're so cute, he thought. "Of course, little one." He gave them a kiss on their head. He told them a story about how two rain clouds were both in a big hurry to get to their homes and they kept bumping into each other and getting angry. Fever was already asleep before it was even over.

    Levanté smiled. "Goodnight, kiddo."