The thundering of many feet and chitter of children's laughter broke the peaceful quiet of a summer morning, in the halls of Sera's homely lair, as a lively game of chase ensued. It was hard to tell who was running after who, but at that very moment, Jack was the last to sprint past the open doorway to Sera's office.
What he saw made him pause.
He backtracked a little, leaning into the office to take a peek from behind the door frame. The game all but immediately forgotten in favour of standing there in stunned awe.
The sunlight shone through the window, encircling Sera like a golden spotlight, dust particles floating around her like dandelion seeds. Her head bowed over the papers strewn across the desk in front of her.
“You’re so pretty, Mama”, he breathed.
It was a scene so beautifully ordinary that anyone else would have spared only a quick thought. Evidently, Jack was as prone to saying what he was thinking as his father was.