For a while, everything felt almost dreamlike. Lina leaned closer to the baby and whispered something so softly I barely heard it. Then she spoke a little louder and said, “Now I have someone.” Smiling, I assumed she meant a future playmate or a companion for games and laughter. “Someone to do what, sweetheart?” I asked. She didn’t turn around. Instead, she answered calmly, “Someone to keep the secrets with.” The words surprised me, not because they were alarming, but because they sounded thoughtful in a way I hadn’t expected from someone so young.
Curious, I gently asked what kind of secrets she meant. Lina finally looked up at me, her expression serious but not troubled. “Little ones,” she explained. “Like surprises, wishes, and things you think about when it’s loud.” Seeing my confusion, she added, “When the world feels noisy, I like quiet places.” She then turned back to her sister and whispered that she had already shown her where those calm, quiet moments could be found. The nurse at the door smiled, and the steady beeping of the monitor continued as usual. I realized then that Lina wasn’t talking about fear—she was talking about imagination, sensitivity, and the inner world children often carry without knowing how to explain it.
