2:18 Family Time

The next day the Mattells went for a family outing to the park.

Taylor met her friend, Chiquita there, she wondered whether to tell her about the night before, but as a human with no connections other than herself to the supernatural world, she decided against it and instead the girls played tag.

A girl invited Jackson and Lisa to talk on her picnic mat with her, she didn't have a lot to say except small talk and local gossip, mainly about the rising temperatures. Madison wanted some entertainment and so was a constant distraction.

Madison wandered over to a male fairy and his cat. He seemed harmless, but Jackson went into overprotective dad mode and accused him of trying to kidnap his daughter. Lisa didn't stop him, she was paranoid of things like that herself.

Taylors' friend had to go home, and she was left alone with her thoughts for a while. The witch had been so much more powerful than her. She'd told her to work on her own powers and she wasn't sure if she should. Had she said that because she had plans for her later in life?

She distracted herself by playing peekaboo with her baby sister. Whle she hid her face, she began to think about Madison. She'd be old enough to use her own powers soon, what if the witch came back and wanted both of them? She'd have to tell her parents about her encounter, she just didn't know how.

_____

Lisa looked at herself in the mirror. She could swear she hadn't aged a day since she'd been married. Jackson had laughter lines and worry wrinkles, faint but forming all the same. His life was written on his face, yet hers was still as smooth as it had ever been. She began to wonder if her body was aging on the inside. Would Jackson die when he was old and she'd still be young? Would she be stuck like this forever? She began to panic at the thought of life without Jackson, and went to the garden to tend to the few plants that had survived the temperature changes.

As she was leaving the house, she saw her children, her little girls. They were growing older too. Taylor was fast becoming a teenager and Madison would start school soon. She'd be home alone all day when she did. She'd miss the endless nappy changes and feeding times. She'd miss taking care of them and there always being someone running to her to play.

_____

It was bedtime. Taylor was a little panicky from the night before, and decided to check under her bed. She swore she saw movement and ran from her bedroom.

Jackson was just getting Madison ready for bed.
"Daddy, I saw a monster under my bed. Can I sleep with you and mummy tonight?" Jackson smiled, trying not to laugh. He quickly hid it when he saw the genuine fear in his daughters' eyes.
"Taylor, there's no monsters under your bed."
"There is, I'm not sleeping in there."
"You can sleep on the sofa if you want?" He offered, thinking she'd soon go to bed when she heard about the lumpy couch as her other choice.
"Ok." Jackson was confused, but let his little girl do what she wanted. It couldn't hurt after all.

Taylor soon fell asleep in the family room.



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