Celestine gently blew on Cynthia’s calf where she’d just applied the ointment.
Hearing Cynthia’s cheerful words, Celestine couldn’t help but laugh along. “You little rascal, if it hurts, you can say so. You don’t have to pretend to be tough around me.”
Cynthia looked a bit surprised.
That was exactly what she’d written in her worksheet earlier today:
Be a brave child.
Her cheeks flushed pink. “No, it doesn’t hurt! Actually… my Uncle Gideon got way worse injuries than this when he was younger. He didn’t even get any ointment back then!”
The conversation took a sudden turn, and Celestine found herself momentarily distracted, connecting the “Uncle Gideon” Cynthia mentioned with that cold, distant face she knew.
“Oh? And how do you know about that, Cynthia?”
“My mom told me! She and Dad grew up together, childhood sweethearts. She said she used to see Uncle Gideon all the time. One winter, he had to kneel outside in the snow all day in just a single sweater, and he never complained–not once! He was only three years old back then!”
Celestine’s brow furrowed.
Three years old, kneeling in the snow all day?
“Cynthia, do you know why Uncle Gideon had to kneel like that?”
Cynthia scrunched up her face, thinking hard. “I think… Uncle Gideon broke Grandma’s favorite mug by accident, and Grandma got really mad. She made him kneel as punishment. No one could get him to stand up, not even when they tried. In the end, it was Great–Grandpa who carried him back inside. They said ‘e Gideon almost died that night, but as soon as he woke up, he ran straight back to apologize to Grandma again!”
Celestine felt her heart jolt.
Who could possibly punish a child so harshly over a broken mug?
The story left her feeling deeply unsettled.
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Her mind drifted back to memories of Gideon–how young he’d once been, that stubborn little face shrinking down in her imagination until he was just a small, lonely boy kneeling in the snow.
“Grandma never liked Uncle Gideon. He was really pitiful,” Cynthia sighed softly, snapping Celestine back to the present.
“Cynthia, what about Uncle Gideon’s dad?”
Cynthia shook her head. “I never met Grandpa. I heard he died in an accident when Uncle Gideon was born. Grandma gave birth to him two months early. She said he was bad luck and wanted to throw him away. Dad and Great–Grandpa found him in the bathroom. Uncle Gideon never had a drop of his mother’s milk growing up!”
As Cynthia’s childish voice went on, Celestine’s heart grew heavier and heavier.
She never would have guessed that someone as proud and self–controlled as Gideon could have a story like this.
She thought back over everything she’d seen of him.
On the rocky shore, the first time they met, he’d looked at life with such indifference.
When the robbers fired their guns, he’d pushed her away with such force, as if he’d already given up on living.
Even his chronic stomach problems…
The more Celestine dwelled on it, the more it hurt.
She found herself growing resentful toward Gideon’s mother–a woman she’d never
even met.
How could any mother treat her child this way?
No one can predict what tragedies life will bring.
With a mother like that, Gideon’s childhood must have been far harder than she could have ever imagined.
Meanwhile, Cynthia was sheakily watching Celestine’s expression.
Uh–oh, maybe she’d gone a bit too far and made Miss Angel sad.
But never mind! For Uncle Gideon’s future happiness, she had to keep up the performance!
After all, she really wanted Uncle Gideon to understand her good intentions–and
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maybe bring her the latest limited–edition mermaid doll from America.
Celestine had no idea what Cynthia was plotting, but she was genuinely moved by the earnestness in the little girl’s voice, her own heart aching in sympathy.
“That’s why,” Cynthia declared, sprawling across Celestine’s knee, her big eyes sparkling, “when Uncle Gideon grows old, I’m going to take really good care of him!”
Celestine teased, “Aren’t you the sweetest niece in the world?”
“Of course! Otherwise, who’ll take care of Uncle Gideon when he’s old and lonely? That would be so sad!” Cynthia nodded solemnly.
Celestine bit back a laugh.
Kids really do say the darndest things.
She gently patted Cynthia’s head. “But Cynthia, how do you know Uncle Gideon will grow old alone? What if he finds someone he loves and gets married?”
