Moment 1: this past week
Stomp. Stomp. Stomp!
Shucks, I think to myself, I fell asleep on the couch!
My cara spoza looks at me with bleary eyes, having just been jolted awake herself, too.
She garbles out something that my addled brain eventually translates into words that says: 'Elena's bleeding.'
I rush to the scene. Mother is helping child in the banyo, child has bloody mouth and lips and is gently holding her nose closed.
Whew! It's just a nose bleed.
I tell my cara spoza I will wash the sheets and clothes right away.
Li'l Iz is asleep on the big bed.
"Isabel," I whisper, rubbing her tiny back gently, "get up, honey, I have to wash the sheets."
Eventually she comes to, too, and the first thing she sees are the black splotches on the sheets.
"What happened?" she asks anxiously.
"Elena got a bloody nose," I answer gently.
Terror enters Li'l Izzy's eyes.
"It's okay," I say quickly. "Elena's okay."
My reassurance works as the terror is replaced by relief. Li'l Iz, fully awake now, runs off, shouting "Mama!"
But the first thing she does it to confirm that her older sister is alive and okay.
...
Moment 2: one week prior.
Li'l Iz was upset and crying, holding her mother's hand during on of the daily outings.
EM walked up to her. "It's okay, Isabel, would you like to hold my hand?"
Isabel looks to her Até being so kind to her. "Yes," she whispers.
Li'l Iz lets go of her mother's hand and places it in the palm of her older sister's. Off they go, skipping gleefully, with each other.
Carefree.
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