“Nana you won’t believe it, but she lost me again,” he replies with a serious look on his adorable face.
“Oh no, not again.” She says dropping him to his feet. With a stern voice, she says “You know you are supposed to stay with her.”
“But Nana, she keeps losing me! She’s an ole Meany.” He turns his brown eyes to Serenity and his mouth drops open.
“Hello, my name is Serenity,” she says smiling at the shock on his face.
He moves closer to his Grandmother and grabs her hand. “Is she the good queen or the bad one?”
“Oh!” Noel gasps surprised by the question. “She’s the good one. Serenity, this is my grandson, Sincere Nicholas.”
Relief is visible in every bone of his little body at his grandmother’s words. Serenity bends over and states, “What a beautiful name, you have, Sincere. It is very nice to meet you.”
“Thank you, the other kids like to call me mean names, sometimes. My babysitter, Mrs. Brown, says I am a sin, and that’s why they named me that,” Sincere tells her.
“That is a terrible thing to say.” Serenity says shocked that an adult would tell a child such a horrible thing. “I would surely like to meet this sitter of yours, and give her a piece of my mind,” Serenity snaps in a strong southern drawl. His little face lights up at her words.
Noel moves quietly over to her grandson, just as the bell over the shop rings again. Sincere moves closer to Serenity, and grabs her hand, just as an older woman comes storming into the shop.
“I have had it with that child constantly running off. You can tell his father, I will be handing my notice in next week.” The grey haired woman glares at the little boy and before Noel can move, Serenity strikes.
“So tell me, do you always use intimidation, humiliation, and shame with children? Or is it just this child?” Serenity asks pulling Sincere close to her side.
“Excuse me? I don’t know who you think you are...”
Serenity advances on the older woman and she falls silent.
“Every child is a gift! It is an honor to guide them, both spiritually and physically. You should be ashamed of yourself!” Serenity snaps out.
Noel watches quietly, staring at Serenity’s eyes. The blue of her eyes have shifted and changed shape. They are now the distinct shape of a snowflake!
Mrs. Brown glances at Noel, waiting for her to defend her before finally storming out of the shop, yelling, “I quit!”
Noel is stunned into silence, Serenity is a Guardian!
“Noel, I’m so sorry.” Serenity drops down to look at Sincere. She ignores the shop bell when it rings this time, determined to comfort him.
“Sincere, every child is a unique creation, like a snowflake. No two are ever the same, you are God’s snowflake.” His chubby hand touches her face as she says, “You are special, never believe someone when they speak hate. Sometimes people try to hurt us because they have been hurt, and it is all they know. Do you understand?” He nods at her with tears in his beautiful eyes and she kisses his forehead.
“Good.” Serenity stands up preparing to leave and is stunned to see a man and child watching her. She looks at Sincere, then back at the handsome man and child. The resemblance is obvious, all three have beautiful dark eyes, dark hair and similar build. She is shaking from the strength of her emotions, embarrassed to be seen like this she whispers, “Excuse me,” and hurries to the dressing room to change back into her clothes. She packs away the beautiful dress and removes the crown and boots. Her hands are trembling as she returns the boots and crown to the box. She takes a deep breath, before she returns to the shop.
When she enters the shop she is surprised to find it empty. In the back room she hears voices as she sets the boxes on the counter. Sincere comes running back out and stares up at her. “You look different now.”
“I know, these are my day clothes. It was lovely to meet you Sincere. I will be singing at the children’s hospital tomorrow at lunch time. I sing every Saturday, maybe you could come visit me sometime?”
“Okay. I will tell my Daddy.” Sincere follows her to the door and watches her leave.
His brother walks up behind him in time to hear him whisper, “I’m going to keep you.”
Chapter 2
“Sincere! You can’t keep her, she’s human,” his brother Nathan snaps. “Besides Dad’s mad, he has to work and Mrs. Brown quit. Why did you run away again?”
“Cause, Nate, she’s evil. I know you don’t believe me! But I know it, I can smell it on her. She pinches me, and pushes me, and …”
“And what, Son?” his father asks from behind.
Sincere takes a deep breath, remembering what Serenity said about him being special, “She says mean things to me, and sometimes when I am with her, I feel like I can’t breathe.” His chocolate eyes are full of tears, causing his father to pull him close in a hug.
“It’s okay now, son. She will never be near you again. Okay? I promise you,” he tells him. “Now Nana made her special cookies, why don’t you go get some.”
Michael watches the boys run to his Mother, laughing as they race to see who gets the largest one. He locks the front door, and watches as the blonde pulls away. He looks around realizing that she left her purchases. When Nathan found him and told him about Sincere running away again, he knew Sincere would find his Mom, she is his security blanket. They walked into the shop just in time to hear the young women heal his son’s broken heart. The boys have been through a lot since the
