Not Playing House
"What's different?"
Grandma Tian clenched her hands.
How could she not know what was different?
This girl...
Why did it sound like she was deliberately picking a fight?
"It just is."
Her friend was certain.
"That's because you've never seen a child play house alone."
Grandma Tian blurted it out.
"No."
Her friend shook her head.
"I have."
"A child playing alone, talking to herself, or talking to dolls, or talking to characters in her imagination..."
"Don't speak yet."
Noticing that Grandma Tian was about to open her mouth, her friend spoke first.
"But Leilei is different."
"Imagination is still only imagination."
"Even if a child pretends to talk to someone, you can tell that she's playing."
"That she's pretending there's someone in front of her."
"For a child..."
"They can't make it look that real."
"But Leilei is different."
"She..."
Her friend furrowed her brow.
"She's too real."
"It's as if..."
"There really is someone in front of her."
"That person is talking to her."
Grandma Tian's mouth fell slightly open.
No...
"But you saw it too."
Her friend glanced at the child, who was absorbed in stacking blocks.
"There isn't anyone else beside her."
Grandma Tian looked at the child.
After a while, having found nothing, Grandma Tian was about to withdraw her gaze—
Huh!?
Grandma Tian widened her eyes.
The child raised her head.
She looked to the side, a smile appearing on her face.
Her mouth opened and closed...
Grandma Tian looked at the child.
Then she looked at the point of focus in front of the child.
"See it now?"
Her friend whispered.
"Isn't it..."
"Too real..."
"...She's just...playing a game."
Grandma Tian murmured.
Her friend shook her head.