Huaijin felt a surge of warmth. These children weren't "wasted" anymore. They were being guided, step by messy, glittery step, toward a future where they wouldn't have to break to be seen.
As she sat on the rug, Huaijin's mind occasionally drifted away from the dollhouse. She thought about the Amusement Park.
She thought about the "Little Brother" she had met there, the boy with the sharp eyes and the quiet strength.
'I wonder if he'd like the picnic?' she mused. 'He seemed like he needed a good lava muffin. And some mud. Especially some mud.'
There was something about that boy that felt... different. He didn't fit into the "Main Story" as far as she could remember, which made him the perfect friend for her.
He was a variable she didn't know, a wild card in her carefully calculated life. She found herself hoping their paths would cross again, perhaps when the "Gilded Cage" wasn't quite so restrictive.
