Lake:

I saw her fight to keep her tears at bay. She sniffed them in and wiped her eyes with the back of her palms. By the goddess, I wanted to scoop her up and take her with me, hold her in my arms, and make all her problems go away. That was a lot of fondness for a ten-year-old I had just met.

"Thank you." She replied, before fixing her eyes on the floor again.

I turned away from her and followed her directions. I walked to the end of the corridor and took a left turn, ...