Little Bell

This question...

Xiao Xiao thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. "Yes."

The girl's fingertips went pale for a moment.

She murmured to herself, "I really like Sky Horse."

"..."

Her parents had both agreed to let her keep Sky Horse.

The girl hesitated over the next words, but in the end, she only went over them in her mind and didn't say them out loud.

Xiao Xiao understood what she had left unsaid. "But your parents can't see Sky Horse, can they?"

The girl looked bewildered.

"Sky Horse is special. Only a few people can see him."

"Little Bell is one of them."

"But your parents aren't."

Xiao Xiao spoke gently, his expression earnest. He didn't brush her off just because she was a child.

"Does Little Bell like hospitals?"

The girl shook her head blankly.

"But if you keep Sky Horse, your parents might have to take you to the hospital often."

A helpless, fragile look crept across the girl's bewildered face.

"Just like yesterday."

"Does Little Bell like that?"

Little Bell shook her head.

She hated hospitals.

But... "Why?"

Why would her parents take her to the hospital if she kept Sky Horse?

That was so strange, wasn't it?

Xiao Xiao reached out and gently rubbed the girl's soft hair. "Little Bell, you'll understand when you're a little older."

The girl puffed out her cheeks, looking a little indignant.

That answer was too sly.

Why did grown-ups always like to fob children off like that?

"And besides—" Xiao Xiao changed from rubbing her head to gently patting it. "Sky Horse is here with me. Little Bell can come see him and play with him whenever she wants."

"Then your parents won't have to take you to the hospital, either."

"Isn't