ø jude ø

Jude stood there for a solid ten minutes, just staring at Aura. She, holding her pony, stared right back at him.

"So... what do you want to play with?" he finally asked. It was 7:15. He had to hold out for at least another hour and fifteen minutes, assuming Aura would willingly go to bed and fall asleep.

She shrugged. Then she turned away, climbed onto the couch, and focused solely on her pony.

Well, that was good, wasn't it? She didn't even need him. She could entertain herself. Jude shrugged too, though she didn't see it, and sat down himself, leaving a respectful distance between them. For a while, he just watched her. How did you even talk to a non-communicative kid?

He briefly considered looking up advice on WikiHow, but he wasn't that desperate. This kid was three years old. He was twenty-one. No way was he letting her win.

He scooted a little closer. "What's the pony's name?" he asked.

Aura was silent for a moment. Jude genuinely wondered if she was this quiet with Rain too, or if this was just because he was a stranger.

"Pony," she mumbled at last.

"It doesn't have a name?" Jude clarified.

Aura shook her head.

"How about we come up with one for it?"

Aura lifted her gaze, looking at him without even a hint of a frown for the first time. Jude took that as progress.

Jude was a magician, apparently. Because despite everything Rain had told him about Aura and her supposed quiet nature, he managed to hold an actual several-minute-long conversation with her in seconds. Together, they brainstormed names for the pony in her hand.

"Strawberry!" Aura suddenly exclaimed, beaming.

"But it's blue! It can't be called Strawberry. How about Blueberry?"

"Ew!"

"You don't like blueberries? No? Oh, well, that changes things. How about Plum, then? That's blue, too."

"What's that?"

Yeah, it took them a while. In the end, though, Aura stuck to Strawberry, no matter how many arguments Jude made. She was very persuasive (or rather, she chanted Strawberry! Strawberry! over and over until Jude almost lost his mind). Finally, he gave in.

He almost patted himself on the back. He'd thought he'd be looking after a dog, but here he was, successfully entertaining a small child.

Later, he turned on the TV. Rain hadn't said anything about screen time restrictions, so Jude opened YouTube to find some kids' songs and videos to keep Aura busy for the next half hour—just long enough to start getting her ready for bed. That turned out to be his next fatal mistake.

Aura clearly recognized some of the songs. She grabbed his hand and clumsily tugged him into her room, which Jude entered for the first time. He'd expected a pink, princess-themed wonderland with pictures on the walls, but he was wrong. The room, like the rest of the apartment, was minimalistic, and not overly childlike—almost as if it couldn't disrupt the aesthetic of the rest of the space.

Aura led him to a big chest by her bed and opened it. Jude smiled as he saw princess dresses and accessories inside, but the smile quickly vanished when Aura held out a tiara and started bouncing excitedly. "On your head! On your head!"

Jude's grin had never disappeared faster. "Me? You're the princess here, not me."

Aura spun around and began rummaging through the chest again. "I have lots!"

So, Jude ended up not just with a tiara on his head but also a veil and a string of white beads draped around his neck. He quickly realized that Aura definitely wouldn't be asleep by nine. Instead, they were jumping in circles to the music Jude had foolishly played, and every time he tried to sit down for a moment to catch his breath, Aura would start bouncing around him, tugging him back onto his feet.

A quiet child? Really?

It was now a quarter past nine, the children's songs were still blasting from the speakers, and Aura was still dragging Jude around to dance when he turned around—and froze.

Rain was standing in the doorway to the living room, arms crossed and a questioning look on his face. He gave an almost theatrical glance at his watch. "Quarter past nine," he said quietly.

At the sight of her dad, Aura immediately stopped bouncing. Jude was startled by how sudden the change was. Maybe Rain was strict with her. Maybe she was afraid of him.

"She's not even a little tired," Jude explained. "She wouldn't sleep even for a million bucks."

It completely slipped his mind that he was still wearing a tiara and a pink veil on his head. Rain walked over to them and let out a quiet chuckle as he reached up to remove the tiara. He looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "I can see you've been having fun."

Jude couldn't read him at all. His words suggested he might be annoyed, but his tone was completely neutral.

Rain crouched down in front of Aura and removed her tiara as well. "But you have kindergarten tomorrow, princess. You really should be in bed."

Aura nodded faintly, her mood taking a complete 180-degree turn, which thoroughly confused Jude. Rain had spoken so gently to her—why did she seem like she was scared of him?

Rain took her hand and stood up. "I came back earlier than I expected. You can head home if you have a way to get there, but you're welcome to stay the night in the guest room. I'm here now, so you don't have to settle for the couch."

Jude wasn't sure if any buses were still running, and he hadn't driven. Rain, however, seemed to be waiting for an answer, so Jude gave him one. "I'll stay."

"Alright," Rain replied. "I'll put Aura to bed. I'd like to talk to you afterward."

Jude removed the necklace of beads from around his neck. "I'll tidy this up and wait here," he said.

Rain nodded and led Aura to the bathroom. Jude gathered up the tiaras, veils, and necklaces, returning them to the chest in her room. Once more, he looked around at the plain space. Maybe he could suggest to Rain that he brighten the walls with some paint or get her more colorful toys. He clearly had the means for it.

Jude returned to the living room and waited as promised. The fact that Rain wanted to talk didn't bother him; he figured it was probably about payment. It took about 45 minutes before Rain came back out, having finished getting Aura ready for bed and putting her to sleep.

Rain appeared a little after ten. "She fell asleep pretty easily," he said. "I guess the dancing wore her out after all."

Jude felt his cheeks heat up, likely flushing a deep red. After all, he'd been dancing too—wearing a tiara and a pink veil, no less. At least he'd managed to talk Aura out of making him wear one of her skirts. It wouldn't have fit anyway; he'd have needed one for each leg with how small they were.

Rain sat down beside him, wallet in hand, and began pulling out cash. "You surprised me," he said quietly. "Aura surprised me."

"She surprised me too," Jude admitted. "She didn't seem like the child you described."

Rain handed him the money, and Jude immediately noticed it was more than the amount stated in the posting.

The original rate had already been generous—enough to comfortably cover Jude's expenses for a month, considering his parents helped him financially. He appreciated the support, but taking this much felt excessive, especially for only a couple of hours of babysitting.

He shook his head. "This is more than we agreed on—"

"Jude," Rain interrupted firmly. "For Aura to act the way she did with you... I haven't seen her like that since she was with my mom. You must have connected with her somehow, and I need to know how."

Jude was confused but started to piece together that Rain likely struggled with Aura. It was clear there were challenges. "Well," Jude mumbled, "I asked her about her pony's name."

"What?"

"Her toy pony. She said it didn't have a name, so we came up with one."

Rain sighed, clearly unsatisfied with the simplicity of Jude's answer.

"Is something wrong?" Jude asked cautiously. He doubted Rain would open up, but it was worth a try. Rain didn't reply, instead setting the cash on the table and standing up. "If you want to take a shower, clean towels are in the cabinet next to the sink. I work from home, so wake up whenever you like. It's not like I'll be heading out to work or anything. Goodnight."

With that, Rain disappeared into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Jude glanced down at the money on the table. He took only the agreed-upon amount, tucking it into his wallet, and left the rest where it was. Then, he made his way to the guest room.

He felt a pang of sympathy for Rain. It was clear he struggled to connect with Aura in the way Jude had, and Jude couldn't help but wonder about Aura's mother.

Still, tomorrow morning he'd leave, and he'd likely never see either of them again. It wasn't something he needed to worry about.

ø

i hope yall will appreciate my music taste in the media