DA Kiss Week 2026 - Day #2 - Injury
[Thanks a lot to @adhd-riddled-crow for co-creating LucĆa with me & also for the help with the beta-read and edition!!]
Border as usual by @aislingavry
It canāt be that difficult. It just canāt. LucĆa frowns in frustration and looks up. Sheās seen her siblings climb the trellis a million times; Mumās really good at it. Baba and Dad too, of course, but Mum? Sheās the best of them all. She likes hearing her laugh; she likes seeing her smile. And she knows how much Mum smiles when she does things well, so she wants to make her proud.Ā
But sheās scared. Very, very scared. The leaves feel strange to the touch, and LucĆa doesnāt want to do it, because although she knows thereās nothing wrong, she doesnāt like the sensation. At times like this, she feels sad. Neither Eri nor Alejandro are like her: they talk and touch everything, they can eat anything and the noise doesnāt bother them. But thatās not the case for her. Loud sounds scare her so much that she has to cover her ears, and there are other noises which, even if theyāre quiet, sheād rather not hear ā like the way Uncle Viago taps his fingers on the table when heās angry ā he gets angry very often, though not with her ā or even hearing her grandmother breathing. Sheās actually Babaās grandmother, but her siblings donāt call her great-grandmother, which is what youāre supposed to say. That irritates her quite a lot too.
LucĆa gives Mocha a big hug, just as she does whenever she needs to calm down. Mocha has been with her for as long as she can remember ā Mum says since she was born, but she doesnāt remember that ā and she likes the way it feels, even though itās getting a bit worn in places. She doesnāt want to be apart from it, even though sheās terrified of the idea of losing it, but if that happens, Spite will help her. Heās done it before, although when she thanked him, everyone around her stared at her with their eyes wide, wide open. She thought sheād done something wrong, but Mum quickly reassured her and told her, very quietly, that she was a very special girl. She also heard Eri ask Dad why she was talking to someone invisible, and afterwards Baba and Dad asked her siblings to stay after dinner whilst Mum put her to bed. Spite likes it when she calls him āPapa Spiteā and often crawls inside Mocha, as if it were a game. Not today, though, because Baba is working, and Spite has to be with him.
LucĆa looks around. Itās about to get dark and she isnāt even tried yet. She tucks Mocha inside her jacket and clings to the railing, trying to cope with the sensation. She moves very carefully, one, two rungs up. Sheās going to make it! She climbs another two, and then a few more, feeling more confident. But just as sheās about to grab hold of the next one, she feels a sharp prick in her finger ā a very sharp one ā which makes her lose her concentration so much that she slips and falls to the ground. She hasnāt hurt herself in the fall ā what does āhurting oneselfā even mean? Sheās never understood it ā but she looks at her hand and sees a few drops of blood on her palm, enough to frighten her terribly, and she runs back home.Ā
Mum is on the sofa, reading, but she stops when LucĆa comes rushing in, her eyes full of tears. She offers her arms, worried, but doesnāt make a move to pick her up, because she knows LucĆa doesnāt always like being touched.Ā
āDo you want to sit with me, ratoncito?ā she says, softly. āWhatās happened?ā
Lucia hugs her very tightly, and Mum lifts her up and sits her on her lap. She shows Mum her bloodied hand. ćI wanted to learn how to climb. To surprise you,ć she explains, pouting,Ā ćbut I wasnāt very good at it.ć
Mum asks her with her eyes if she can touch her hand, and she nods. Mumās fingers are gentle and stay away from where it hurts. They tickle her, and when she looks again, the blood has gone and the cut is better.Ā
āYou didnāt do it wrong, cariƱo. Thatās just how roses are,ā Mum smiles, just the way LucĆa likes it. āYouāre a very brave little girl, you know? Iām proud of you.ā
ćEven though I canāt climb? Even though I donāt like talking?ć LucĆa had seen the way Grandma and Uncle were looking at her at first, but Dad told them to go off somewhere and they left her in peace. She wonders what that āsomewhereā might be, but Baba says itās a very nasty word and children mustnāt say it.Ā
Mum smiles even more broadly and kisses her on the forehead, which makes LucĆa laugh in turn and hug her even tighter.Ā āOf course I do, sweetheart,ā she hears her murmur. āAlways.ā
