𝐁𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞

"Mummy told me she had a friend who was sick so I made you this." Young Rosie Allen-Gray said as she marched up to the strange man lying in the hospital bed.

Michael looked at her. He noticed her eyes. Wide and brown. They were every shade of brown you could imagine, a raw umber and caramel mix, dotted with bits of dark chocolate. They glowed with humor and playfulness that gives you shivers and wraps you in a warm embrace at the same time.

Just like her mothers.

"Thank you." He whispered, his smile soft and voice cracking as he tried to hold back a sob after seeing his little girl for the first time.

She looked at him with furrowed brow her head tilted. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked her voice full of curiousity as she rested her chin on her folded arms that were upon Michaels hospital bed.

Michael laughed. A sound Evelyn hadn't heard in a thousand years and it was a sound she would wait another thousand years to hear again.

"Yeah I'm alright." He continued to smile.

"I'm Rosie!" She said, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Michael." He said as he shook her hand. His swallowing hers due to the considerable size difference.

They soon got to chatting. His arm wrapped around her shoulders. It didn't take Rosie long to become friends with people. Her smile and attitude often drew people to her. But Michael... Michael was different. You could see the bond. Almost as if he had always been in her life.

Her giggles filled the room and Michaels smile brightened it.

Evelyns body shook as she brought her hand up to her mouth, trying to hold back a sob that was yearning to be set free. Her eyes were glazed with tears. The smile on her face couldn't be brighter. She laughed. A sound Michael hadn't heard in a long time.

It caused him to look up from his conversation with his daughter and look at her. Really look at her. The small rings of hair the still cascaded down her face. The light freckles that continued to dust along her nose and cheeks. Her eyelashes, that after all these years, still curled towards the heavens.

And in that moment he was happy. She was happy. They were happy.