"Open it and see for yourself!" Norah walked over and shoved it into his arms.
Suspicious that she might be playing a prank on him, Henson opened it carefully and pulled out the contents, instantly rendering him speechless.
It was a porcelain nesting doll.
"This is so ugly," Henson said, his face twisted in clear disgust. "I'm not a little kid anymore. Why would you give me this? Actually, scratch that—even little kids wouldn't like this!"
Norah reached out and pinched his cheek. "It's my way of reminding you that you are, in fact, still a kid. Stop trying to act so mature all the time!"
Henson scowled and dodged her hand. "Who's acting? You're the one who's immature, and now you want everyone else to be just like you!"
Norah laughed. "What's wrong with being like me?"
Henson stared down at the doll's silly painted face, his gaze dropping as he spoke in a quiet voice. "Because if you're always going to be like this, I can't afford to be. Otherwise, who's going to protect you?"
The boy's voice, currently in the throes of puberty, cracked slightly, but it carried a profound sense of determination.
Norah found it both amusing and incredibly touching. She patted his shoulder, which was already nearly level with hers, and smiled. "I can protect myself. I really am not a little kid!"
Henson raised an eyebrow in utter disdain, turning around with the nesting doll in hand. "I'm out of here. Get some rest."
"If you hate it that much, just give it to a girl you like!" Norah called out, leaning against the doorframe.
Henson walked away without even looking back.
Give it to a girl he liked? Any girl would probably run for the hills if she saw this kind of terrible taste.
Besides, there wasn't any girl he liked anyway!


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Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Thank you for the updates....
I love it, I love it! Thank you for the updates....
Dear author Lucy, may we please have updates. Thank you....
There's a song currently playing via YouTube and TikToc by LowDii "Touch Me Softly" that makes me think of Norah and Xavier (Gonzalez). Please, I'm looking forward to updates. Thank you for your writing....
May we please have updates. Thank you....
As the plot thicken. Adrian is done for and he can't try to control Norah, so he'd probably tattle to Janice who's gone for two weeks. Thank you soooo much for the updates....
These updates were too funny. Thank you so much for the updates....
I forgot to add Amy to the group of pregnant women,since she was the first. Emily and Sylvia better be careful since pregnancy is in the air....
Wow! This is great, both Estelle and Magdalen are pregnant at the same time and I hope that Xavier is Norah neighbor. Thank you for the updates....
Author Lucy you're a blessing. Thank you so my for the updates. I hope that Norah's neighbor is Xavier she gets her memory back....