When lilies burn

Lily Kent was the kind of child who believed magic lived in teacups and that yellow ribbons could keep nightmares away.

At eleven, her world was full of happy things. A big house with shiny floors. A soft bed with a hundred pillows. A baby sister who laughed at anything. And an older brother who always knew how to make her smile.

That morning, Lily was having a tea party on the floor of the nursery. Her dolls were dressed in their best. Belle, her baby sister, sat beside her, holding a stuffed unicorn and babbling nonsense.

"Belle, don't eat the queen's dress," Lily said, pulling the doll from Belle's mouth. "She's royalty. You have to respect her."

Belle just giggled and threw the doll.

Jason walked in, grinning. He was thirteen and already thought he was too cool for pretend games, but he always joined anyway.

"What's going on here?" he asked, holding a tray of cookies.

Lily raised her chin. "Private tea party. Girls only."

Jason sat down anyway. "I'm the delivery boy. Cookies for the princess and the chubby unicorn."

Belle clapped, drooling on her hands. Lily tried not to laugh, but it was impossible with Jason around.

Their mother's voice floated in from downstairs. "Jason! Are you stealing from the cookie jar again?"

"No, Mom!" Jason shouted back, already chewing.

They laughed harder.

After tea time, they went to the backyard. The sun was bright. Their father, Mr. Kent, was sitting by the garden, reading a newspaper. He looked up when he saw them.

"There's my sunshine," he said, opening his arms.

Lily ran to him. He lifted her easily, kissed her forehead, then picked up Belle and kissed her too.

Jason flopped onto the grass and closed his eyes like he was at the beach.

"Shouldn't you be doing homework?" Mr. Kent asked.

"It's Sunday," Jason replied. "That means rest."

Mrs. Kent came outside with a glass of juice. Her dress matched the flowers in the garden. She kissed her husband on the cheek and gave Lily a soft pat on the head.

"You're all going to get dark in this sun," she said, but she smiled.

That afternoon, they had lunch together. A full table: rice, chicken, fried plantains, and pepper soup. Belle banged her spoon and made a mess. Jason told a silly story about his math teacher falling asleep in class. Lily laughed so hard juice came out of her nose. No one scolded her.

After lunch, Mr. Kent showed them pictures of a resort by the beach.

"We're going next weekend," he said. "You'll build sandcastles. Jason will probably bury himself in the sand."

"I'm too old for sandcastles," Jason muttered.

"You're never too old for fun," Mrs. Kent said.

Later that night, Lily lay in bed, hugging her favorite teddy bear. The soft glow from her night lamp lit up the room in a calm yellow. Her curtains fluttered slightly from the open window. She could still hear Jason's music playing faintly from down the hall.

A soft knock came at her door.

"Come in," she called, sitting up.

Her parents stepped in quietly. Her mother sat beside her while her father leaned on the doorframe, smiling.

"You forgot your goodnight kiss," her mother said, brushing Lily's hair back.

"I was waiting," Lily replied with a grin.

Her father walked over and sat at the foot of her bed. "So, Queen Lily, how was your royal tea party today?"

"She threw out the queen's dress," Lily said, pointing at Belle's unicorn who now wore a sock as a cape.

Her parents laughed.

"Maybe she wanted to start a fashion trend," her mother said.

Lily leaned her head on her mom's shoulder. "Can we really go to the beach next weekend?"

"If you behave," her father said. "No more sliding down the stairs on couch cushions."

"That was Jason!" she protested.

"Uh-huh," her mother teased. "Still sounds like something you'd do."

They all laughed again. Then her mom pulled the covers over her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Her father kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Lily. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Mummy."

As they walked to the door, Lily called out, "I love you."

Her mother looked back. "We love you more, baby."

The door closed gently behind them.

And Lily sank into her pillows, safe and warm, still smiling.