((OOC: Fanfiction challenge 002))
002. middles
The notches didn't lie, but he immediately knew she wasn't going to like the outcome.
"Another year down, and.." Eli Brown took a step back from the tree and snapped his carving knife shut into its leather case. "Looks like you grew again! Might need to slow down a bit there, you're going to get taller than your old man!"
His daughter sprang back from the tree and spun around. "Let me see!! How tall am I?!"
Uh oh, here it comes.
She rocked back and forth on her toes, looking over the notches in the marking tree. Her rocking motions gradually slowed dow,n and she leaned close, scrutinizing in silence.
"Papa... why am I still shorter than Juan?"
"Well...you're in the middle, you see."
"The middle?" She scrunched up her face and traced her fingertips across the fresh notch in the tree, then trailed them up towards Juan's most recent notch. "No I'm not - see? Juan's way up here!"
Eli crouched next to his daughter and placed his helmet on the grass. "I mean you're in the middle of growing," he reached out and poked her tummy, eliciting a ticklish squeal. "You can't expect to be as tall as Juan, he's a big boy!"
That answer seemed to suffice. "So... so Juan's not in the middle of growing?"
"No, he still is too."
"But you said...!"
"Yes, and Juan is still growing too. But he will probably be bigger than you, just like I'm taller than Martha," he rumpled her hair.
Cecile mused on this new piece of information for a moment, still tracing the notches in the bark. "Yes, but papa... Martha's old."
"Details, details. Come on, little one, we've got things to do," Eli stood and scooped her up in his arms. "You have plenty of time to worry about this later."
She wriggled in his arms. This was going to be one of those days, he just knew it. "But I don't want to be in the middle! I want to be finished!!"
"Cecile..." Eli took a free hand and placed his helmet on her head, the visor comically falling shut over her eyes. "No one ever truly finishes growing. Maybe they stop getting taller, but they never stop growing."
"Never?"
"Never ever. It's our responsibility as people to grow and change. And as a great guard someday, you'll be helping lots of people growing together with you," he gently lifted the visor and looked into her eyes, wide and full of trust.
This answer pleased her. "Just like you?"
"Just like me."
"Was mama still growing too?"
He wrapped his child up in a hug. "Your mama grew the most of all. Someday... I'll tell you more," he murmured, more to himself than her. She wasn't ready for that story today.