We'd just finished the story where Brer Rabbit tricks Brer Bear into taking a beating for him, then Brer Rabbit hides in a pond and pretends to be a bullfrog so Brer Bear won't pass the punishment on. I'd said, "the end," and the Hero had quickly whispered to himself, "then Brer Rabbit was eaten by an alligator," as though this old trickster story just couldn't end until justice was served.
But now Hero is peaceful in my arms, his eyes shut, sighing and stroking my arm. I'm wrapping up a long set of lullabies with words sung directly to him, "And the only measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you're gone." I sigh at my sweet little guy. His eyes burst wide open. He says, "You have a lot of hair on your skin. That is hair, right, and not weird skin?"
Earlier today he'd said with such exuberance, "Really?! Dad told me that he and I are made up of atoms, but I didn't know that EVERYBODY is!"
Also today he walked up to a lamp and stared intently at the light bulb, after a while calling me over for troubleshooting because he couldn't see the photons that it would release after we turned it on.
The boy's head is all full of atoms and cells, I guess, my sweet learner.
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