Say Our Names
Early the next morning, Rosalie took the three children out for breakfast. Estie sat next to her
obediently, while the two boys fed her until her cheeks puffed up like a hamster. She was adorable.
Rosalie watched how sweet and cute she was. While her heart melted at the sight, it also ached a bit
for her.
Last night, Estie looked like she really wanted to talk…
All of a sudden, Rosalie had an idea. She looked at the girl beside her lovingly. “Do you want a chicken
nugget, Estie?”
Estie nodded.
Rosalie picked up a nugget but held it above Estie‘s plate. “If you want to eat it, tell me.” Estie blinked
and looked a little troubled. Rosalie frowned slightly, sounding disappointed. “If you don‘t talk, there are
times when I can‘t understand you. I‘ll worry if I‘m taking proper care of you or not. Could you slowly try
to talk, Estie? I‘ll stay with you, so we can take it slow. Okay?”
Lucian and Nox put down their cutlery and echoed her sentiment.
“We‘ll help too! We want to hear you talk too, Estie!”
When the three of them looked at her, full of anticipation, Estie met each of their gazes and clenched
her tiny hands into fists. She did her best to say, “Kay!”
The sound of her sweet little voice made all three of them light up instantly in delight. Rosalie was just
giving it a shot, yet she actually managed to get Estie to make a sound! Rosalie wanted to hear more,
but she knew she could not rush things. She rubbed Estie‘s head happily and put the nugget into her
plate. Estie was happy to have said something too. She kept smiling all the way to the kindergarten,
where Rosalie dropped them off. “You seem to be in a good mood, Estie!” Miss Leigh Ann could not
help but praise her when she saw Estie‘s adorable smile.
Estie nodded, still beaming.
Nox chipped in, saying, “Because we‘re going to help her learn how to talk!”
Miss Leigh Ann thought the children were just playing around. In all her years with Estie, she had never
heard Estie speak before. However, Lucian and Nox took their mission very seriously. They even
whispered to each other in class, trying to come up with ways to get Estie to talk.. Between classes,
Estie wanted to play with them as usual.
Lucian‘s attitude had completely changed, though. He looked at her with a frown. “IS something the
matter?” Estie tilted her head in confusion and turned to look at Nox. She was here to play! They
always played together, didn‘t they? Nox‘s expression was stern too. He rarely ever looked like that.
“What do you want from us? Hurry up and tell us. Lucian and I are busy.”
Their cold attitude toward her reminded Estie of how she had followed them when they first arrived
here, yet they seemed to not know her. She then remembered how much fun they had been having
lately, and the difference made her panic. She grabbed some stationary from Nox‘s table and tried to
write.
However, Lucian took the pen away from her and said, “If you want to tell us something, speak.
Otherwise we won‘t know what you want.”
Estie gripped the table, feeling hurt.
“Didn‘t you promise Mommy this morning? You gotta slowly learn how to talk!” Nox relented. “If you
won‘t talk, at least say our names. We‘ve always been calling you Estie, but we‘ve never heard you say
our names!”
Estie opened her mouth and tried to form the sounds, but she just could not. She was so anxious she
nearly burst into tears. Lucian and Nox did not dare to push her any further than that. They hastily gave
her the pen. Over the next few days, though, they clearly became more distant from Estie, be it at
home or at the kindergarten. Every time she approached them, Nox would huff, “We‘re always so nice
to you, but you won‘t even call us by our names! We don‘t wanna play with you anymore!”
Estie was heartbroken.
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