"Aunty, why don't you tell me a story?" Maria switched on her "chatterbox" mode after they were done washing up.
Surprisingly, this little girl was actually very talkative and not as introverted as she initially thought her to be. In fact, she could almost rival Little Gary in eloquence.
This little girl was really eloquent.
"What kind of stories would you like to hear?" Grace remained patient and gentle as she looked at Maria lovingly, "You can think of a story that you would like to hear, but keep in mind that I'm not very well-versed with stories."
She tried her best to think of some stories that she knew, just to end up with very few stories in mind.
She had been busy dealing with life all these years, so she never really told Little Gary any stories. The little guy never requested stories from her, either.
Therefore, she wasn't a qualified mother to Little Gary in this aspect, as she could not tell him stories whenever he wanted.
She felt like there was so much more that she could have done for her child.
As for now, Grace was still a little embarrassed upon hearing Maria's request.
"I may not be very good with storytelling. Are you still okay with it?"
"Of course." Maria was not one with high expectations. "It's okay, as long as you keep talking. Aunty, please go ahead and tell me every story that you know one by one."
"All of them?" Grace was appalled as she stared at her dumbfounded, "Tell you all of them one by one?"
"Yeah, tell me all of them one by one." Maria nodded seriously. "Please tell me all the stories you know as I really love listening to them. You're so sweet, Aunty, I'm sure you will be really good at storytelling.
She was totally showering Grace with praises.
She was also very good at flattering other people.
However, Grace wailed internally as she thought of how exhausting it would be to tell so many stories at one go.
She was beginning to suspect that this child requested this on purpose. It was as if she was trying to get people who grew close to her to accompany her.
Could it be because she was too lonely and bored in the past, and that was why she really longed for a companion now?
If that was the case, Grace had no choice but to compromise.
"Aunty, I'm ready, please quickly start telling me those stories!" The little girl started rushing her.
Grace glanced at Maria and found that she was already lying down happily and comfortably on the bed.
Left with no other choice, Grace thought of a story regarding a crow that wanted to drink water, and started telling it to Maria.
She tried her best to tell the story expressively.
Maria listened attentively while playing with her fingers, then started clapping the moment Grace was done with the story.
"Aunty, you're so good at storytelling. I really enjoyed it. Can you tell me one more story?"
She had no choice but to tell another story regarding a wolf and seven little sheep, which was followed by the story of the little red riding hood. After telling three stories at one go, she felt that her throat became very sore.
"Aunty, please tell me one more story. Another one, please. I really want to listen to more stories from you! You're so good at storytelling!"
Grace asked with suspicion, "Maria, am I really that good at telling stories? Can I rest for a short while?"
"Aunty, are you very tired already?" Maria looked at her in a pitiful manner. The way her eyes blinked was as if she would immediately tear up the moment Grace admitted that she was tired.
Grace was startled for a while before saying "It's fine. I'll tell you one more story, but that will be the last story for tonight. After that, you'll have to go to sleep immediately."
Maria was stunned for a while and contemplated it hesitantly. Then, she nodded, "I guess that's fine?"
Therefore, Grace started telling another story. Once she was done, the little girl clapped excitedly and said, "Aunty, please tell me one more story! Just one more story, please! I promise that this will be the last story for the night."
Haha.
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