"Kyle, they're here!" Mama calls from the front window, her voice radiant with excitement.
I look up from the wooden blocks I've been stacking so laboriously....a task that appears to dazzle adults, but comes naturally to me.
My papa rushes past, smoothing a hand over his dark hair in a move that always makes me laugh.
"Do I look all right?" he asks Mama, tugging at his shirt.
"You look perfect," she laughs, leaning up to adjust his collar. "Jake, calm down. It's your brother, not the Guild Master."
My uncle.
I've heard so many stories about Uncle Marcus, but this is my first time meeting him.
They couldn't come when I was born.... cause something about a long-distance mission that kept them away. Now, at fifteen months old, I'm going to get to meet the rest of my family.
"What if Kyle doesn't like them?" Papa asks, and I can hear the worry in his voice.
"You're joking." Mama shakes her head. "Look at him. He's been bouncing with excitement since you told him they were visiting."
It's true. Ever since Papa said my uncle, aunt, and cousin were visiting, I've been having this strange flutter in my chest. More family. More people who might love me the way Mama and Papa do.
The sound of wheels on the stones distracts me, while I toddle my way to Papa's legs, holding onto his trousers for balance.
I glimpse through the window to see a two-horse drawn carriage, dust flying as it comes to a stop.
"There's my brother," Papa says, and something in his voice makes me glance up at his face. Pride. Pure pride and affection.
The carriage door opens, and a man steps out who looks like Papa but is shorter, with broad shoulders, black short hair, and brownish warm eyes with laugh wrinkles around them....the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it.
Then a woman follows him with soft features, soft brown hair, and pretty blue eyes.
And then...
"Kyle!" A little girl, perhaps five years of age with bouncing black curls, practically leaps out of the carriage. "Is that my baby cousin?"
I take a step back involuntarily, feeling shy.
This bundle of energy is my cousin Lily, and she's looking up at me like I'm the best thing she's ever seen.
Papa picks me up as the front door opens. "Kyle," he says softly, "meet your Uncle Marcus."
Uncle Marcus steps forward, smiling, his eyes crinkling in the same manner as Papa's. "Well, look at you," he says, his voice a bit rougher than Papa's but equally pleasant. "Jake, he's got your stubborn jaw, but thank the gods he got Beatrice's pretty eyes."
"Marcus!" the woman...my Aunt Elena, swats his arm playfully. "Don't tease." She smiles at me with the kindest look. "Hello, sweet boy. I'm your Aunt Elena."
There's something in her voice that makes me feel safe immediately. Like Mama's, but different. Warmer, like honey or something.
"Can I hold him?" Lily asks, practically shaking with excitement.
"Lily, he's still just a baby," Uncle Marcus laughs. "Maybe when you're a little older."
"I'm not a baby," I say clearly, surprising everyone. "I'm Kyle."
The silence I receive makes me worry that I've said something wrong, but then Uncle Marcus throws back his head and laughs, and the sound rings out across the whole courtyard.
"Not a baby, huh?" He grins at Papa. "Jake, I think your son just told us all off."
"Kyle's been talking more and more," Mama says, coming to run her fingers through my hair. "He took his first steps at ten months, and now we can hardly keep up with his talking."
"What a smart boy," Aunt Elena says, reaching to touch my hand gently. "Just like his papa."
"And his mama," Uncle Marcus adds. "Beatrice, you were always the clever one."
I watch the adults exchange a glance....something passes between them that I don't fully understand, but it's friendly.
Secure. Like they're all plugged into something more than what they're really saying.
"Oh, don't just stand there," Mama laughs. "Come on in! Kyle's been waiting all day to meet you."
---
As we're sitting in the living room, I'm passed around from one person to another like some kind of valuable treasure. All the adults seem to want their turn to hold me, to talk to me, to see what I'll say back to them.
"So this is the fabled Kyle we've heard so much about," Aunt Elena says, taking me onto her lap. Her hands are warm, and there's a faint glow around her fingers that I find myself watching. Magic. Like Mama's, but not quite. "Jake's letters were full of stories about you."
"What stories?" I ask, curiosity speaking for me.
Uncle Marcus leans in, grinning. "Stories about how you fixed a busted latch on your toy box. And how you can make your blocks stack taller than most children twice your age."
"Easy," I shrug, and all the adults laugh.
"Easy, he says!" Papa laughs. "Kyle, show Uncle Marcus your tower."
I get down from Aunt Elena's lap and stumble over to my blocks. Building is something I've always understood....you start with a strong foundation, then add parts slowly, balancing as you move along. I have a tower nearly to my chest in minutes.
Mind you...am a toddler so it's not tall at all...
"Impressive," Uncle Marcus says, and his voice has turned into something more serious. "That takes planning. Spatial reasoning even."
"Big words," I say, looking up at him.
"You'll learn them in good time," he says, smiling. "Your papa tells me you have many questions about hunting."
"Papa kills monsters," I say proudly. "Mama does magic. I want to be like them."
"Oh do you?" Aunt Elena says, her voice gentle. "What kind of magic do you think you'd like to do?"
I consider this gravely. I've watched Mama cure small cuts with golden light, and I've watched her cause plants to grow faster in our garden. "Helping magic. Like Mama."
"That's beautiful," Aunt Elena says, and she regards Mama with something that looks like comprehension. "Assisting other individuals is the most important thing we can do."
Lily, who's been waiting patiently surprisingly long, finally speaks up. "Kyle, want to see something cool?"
Before anyone can object, she digs through a small bag and produces what looks like a smooth, rounded stone. But when she cups it in her hands and says something, it begins to give off a soft blue glow.
"Magic rock!" I say, reaching for it.
"Be careful," Lily says gravely. "Mama taught me how to charge it, but it's fragile."
I accept the stone cautiously, marveling at how warm it is in my small hands. The light pulses softly, a heartbeat made up of starlight.
"Pritti," I whisper.
"Lily's been learning simple spells," Aunt Elena says. "She has real potential."
"Just like her mama," Uncle Marcus says proudly. "And like Kyle will, I'm sure."
Papa gets settled in his chair with a happy smile. "It's nice to have family around. Kyle's never had cousins to play with."
"We're so far away," Uncle Marcus says remorsefully. "But Elena and I have been talking. Maybe it's time to start considering moving closer."
The words hang in the air like a promise, and I can feel a warmth seep into my chest.
The thought of Uncle Marcus, Aunt Elena, and Lily being close...of having this larger family nearby....gives me a joy I can barely contain.
"Really?" Mama asks, her voice hopeful.
"The capital has opportunities," Aunt Elena says thoughtfully. "And Lily needs to be around other children. Other family."
"Kyle would love that," Papa says, looking down at me. "Wouldn't you, son?"
"Stay?" I say, looking around at all the adults. "Stay here?"
"We're thinking about it," Uncle Marcus says gently. "Would you like that?"
I nod hard, still clutching Lily's sparkling rock. The idea of having more people to love, more people to be loved by....it's almost too good to be real.
"Then we'll have to consider it seriously," Aunt Elena smiles, reaching out to stroke my hair.
As afternoon stretches into evening, conversation kept flowing around me like a warm river.
Stories of Papa and Uncle Marcus when they were children, tales of Mama and Aunt Elena's days at magic school, dreams of what we can do together if they do decide to stay. I soak up every word, every smile, every calming touch.
"'Time for dinner," Mama says finally. "Elena, I hope you're hungry. I may have cooked enough for an army."
"Knowing you," Uncle Marcus smiles, "it'll be the best meal we've had in months."
At dinner, I'm strapped into my high chair between Papa and Aunt Elena, in the ideal spot to see each person's face.
The conversation continues around me, and I'm the center of attention more often than not.
"So Kyle," says Aunt Elena, cutting small pieces of meat for me, "what do you like to do?"
I think about this seriously while chewing. "Read with Mama. Play with Papa. Build things."
"He loves the picture books," Mama explains. "And he's already starting to recognize some letters."
"Already?" Uncle Marcus looks impressed. "How old is he now?"
"Fifteen months," Papa says proudly.
"Remarkable," Aunt Elena murmurs. "Lily didn't start showing interest in letters until she was almost two."
"All children develop at their own rate," Mama says quickly, although I can also hear pride in her voice.
"Kyle special," Lily says suddenly. "I can tell."
Everybody looks at her, and she continues with the seriousness only children can maintain. "He looks at things the right way. Like he sees more than other babies."
The adults exchange a glance over my head, but I'm too busy trying to master my spoon to pay much attention. Still, there's something in Lily's voice that makes me hesitate. Sees more than other babies. If only she knew how true that was.
"Ah," Uncle Marcus says finally, "special or not, he's family. And that's what matters."
"Family," I repeat, looking around the table at all these smiling faces.
"That's right," Papa says softly. "Family."
---
Later, when Mama and Aunt Elena are clearing the table, I find myself sitting on Uncle Marcus's lap while he tells a story about a brave hunter who saved a village from shadow wolves.
"Were you scared?" I ask when he finishes.
"Terrified," he admits with a laugh. "But that's what courage is, Kyle. Being scared but doing what you need to do despite it."
"Papa brave too?"
"The bravest man I know," Uncle Marcus says, ruffling my hair. "You've got good parents, little man. Don't ever forget that."
I won't, I say to myself. I couldn't forget even if I wanted to.
When the evening comes to an end and it's bedtime, I don't want to leave this warm family circle. But Papa carries me upstairs while the adults discuss things quietly downstairs.
"Did you have a good day?" he asks while putting me into my pajamas.
"Best day," I assure him.
"I'm glad," he says, placing me in my crib. "Uncle Marcus and Aunt Elena already love you so much."
"They stay?"
"We'll see," Papa says gently. "But even if they can't stay forever, they'll always be your family. Always."
As I drift off to sleep, I can hear the buzz of adult conversation floating up from downstairs. Uncle Marcus's deep laughter, Aunt Elena's musical voice, Mama's gentle responses, Papa's hearty laughter. Even Lily's occasional excited shriek.
This is what it's like to have a whole family, I realize. Not Mama and Papa by themselves, but this whole network of love and laughter and belonging.
I don't know yet why I was born with this strange consciousness, this adult mind in a child's body. But lying here and listening to the people I love, I think that some mysteries don't need answers.
Maybe it's enough to just be loved.
And for now, wrapped in the warmth of family and the promise of more days like today, that seems to be everything.