Autumn had earlier planned to go to the temple to burn incense today, but now with the new chain of events leaving Cindy with her, she made a temporary adjustment and decided to go to an amusement park, where she supposed all children liked.
When she told Cindy the plan for the day and watched her eyes light up with sheer happiness and excitement, she knew she had made the right decision.
"Autumn, I want that..." Cindy demanded pointing towards ice cream. Autumn didn't have the heart to say no to such a lovely girl, but after considering Cindy's health she firmly refused despite her moment of hesitation.
"Cindy, I know you want ice cream but, you just got out of the hospital and if you fall sick after eating it, you will have to return to the hospital. Besides, if you're sick, your parents will blame me again, won't they?" she said.
"But..." While cutely tilting her head, Cindy reevaluated her options. Eventually the fear of an injection conquered the temptation of ice cream. She nodded her head helplessly and said, "Okay, I won't eat it."
"Now that's a good girl. I'll reward you with some delicious cotton candy, okay?" Once they entered, Autumn saw a vendor selling cotton candy right at the gate. The soft cotton candy looked just like clouds in the sky.
In that moment, she recalled a unique memory from her childhood. Whenever she was upset and cried, her beloved grandmother would buy her some cotton candy in a bid to cheer her up.
As a child, she loved watching cotton candy being made from scratch. Once the cotton candy machine was stepped on, the white cotton candy would get bigger and bigger, almost like silk from silkworms and butterfly pupae. It was a fluffy cloud of happiness as each bite would have pulled strands of filaments which would slowly melt in the mouth. It was a sweet delight.
Cindy took a glance at the cotton candy, and nodded happily.
This was her first visit to China and her first encounter with cotton candy here. She liked to eat cotton candy in Chinatown back where she lived abroad.
"Does it taste good?" Cindy took and gobbled down a huge chunk of the cotton candy, leaving her lips coated with sugar. Autumn looked at her and laughed.
They spent the entire day at the amusement park. They visited all the stories and covered almost all rides available. From the merry-go-round to the pirate ship, from the maze to the ferris wheel, Autumn accompanied Cindy to all the games and facilities which was safe for Cindy to enjoy.
There was also a clothes shop in the amusement park. Autumn found several beautiful princess dresses there. She couldn't help buying a couple of them as she wanted to give Cindy all things good.
She didn't know why she was so good to Cindy and fond of her, maybe one reason was that... Cindy was so incredibly cute.
"Did you have fun?" Autumn asked while straightening and fixing Cindy's dress on their way back.
"Yes!" Cindy nodded her head rather formally, and whispered in Autumn's ear, "Autumn, I have to tell you a secret..."
"Okay." Autumn replied with a wide smile. Children are so sweet and innocent. When you treat them well with all your heart, they give you the same love in return. "I think you're better than my mom, Autumn."
Cindy whispered, putting her index finger to her mouth signalling for hush. "This is a secret between us."
"Okay it is our secret, pinky promise." Autumn held Cindy. Over a short span of a day, she found that her affection for Cindy was increasing more and more, and even... began fearing the moment she would have to part ways with her.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Real Wedded Bride