Sara is down with fever. And with the husband away, she bunked in with me. We kill two birds with one stone with that. She gets to sleep in my big bed and I get to check on her all night without having to really wake up fully.
At 2am her body was so warm that I had to give her another dose of paracetamol and sponge her down. She wasn't cranky at all, in fact she enjoyed waking up in the wee hours of the morning. What would two girls do when one needs to be sponged and the other needs to do the sponging? We discuss the existence of mermaids, of course!
Her: Do mermaids exist, mummy?
Me: I don't think so, darling.
Her: Why don't you think so.
Me: Because no one has ever seen a mermaid. And the people who have explored the deepest oceans, have never seen a mermaid before.
Her: I think they do exist. I think they are very good at hiding. Just because we haven't seen mermaids, it doesn't mean they don't exist. Right, mummy?
Me: Yes, you are right.
Her: I also think the mermaids would be very sad if people don't believe they exist. I would be sad if people don't believe I exist.
Me: Hmmm.
Her: But how do you know I exist, mummy?
Me: Because you are here with me.
Her: But what if you can't see me?
Me: I would know you exist because I have seen you and will love you no matter where you are.
Her: So that's why I love mermaids. Even though I can't see them, I know they are there.
Me: But you've never seen them before.
Her: I've seen them in cartoons but I know cartoons are not real. But I know they exist. And they feel sad and happy just like you and me, mummy. And maybe, when the girl mermaid has a fever, her mummy would also sponge her and give her medicine. And maybe, just maybe mummy, she is asking her mermaid mummy if little human girls exist, too.
And hence, this is one of the reasons why I think my little girl is intelligent. Even though her brilliance is not picked up by the school benchmarks of exams and tests.
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