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Rosy had just looked away for one second, but one second was all it took for her hell-spawn of a troublemaker to sneak away to explore on her own. Turning around frantically in the ginormous waiting hall, she was just about to yell out her daughter’s name when she heard her giggle, the sound unmistake-able and music to her ears. She walked towards it and there Grace was, in the next cavern over, standing beside a kneeling young man.
He had a kind smile on his face and held one of the cave’s crystals in his hands, enclosed in a black shell, the shining blue stones shone all the brighter.
“Shiny,” Grace agreed, mesmerized by the light glinting off the crystals.
“They are, aren’t they?” The man agreed. Then in a flurry of motion, he put the stone down and stood up, his long coat billowing behind him. As if searching for something, he looked around, only to jump onto the stone wall lining the walkway through the cave. His arm reached far and with a triumphant “Ha-ha!”, he jumped down again.
All the while Grace did not move an inch, her gaze fixated on the strange man, but not at all frightened by his behavior. Usually she would have skittered away or already been bored by his distraction, but somehow he had captured her interest.
Careful not to startle them, Rosy took a few steps closer and leant against the entrance of the cavern. From this angle she could see perfectly what the strange man now showed to her daughter: A small lizard, its scales the same shade of blue as the crystals.
“This is a Crilotl,” he told her enthusiastically and launched into an elaborate explanation that Rosy barely understood.
“Shiny!” Grace repeated unfazed.
He laughed again, apologizing for talking too much. “Yes, they are shiny too. Because they eat the shiny rocks, isn’t that brilliant?!”
“Shiny!” Grace agreed, raising her arms high.
Unable to stop it, Rosy chuckled, drawing their attention towards her.
“Mommy!” Before she knew it, her whirlwind was back, safe in her arms, cuddling close.
“Thank you,” she mouthed towards the stranger who rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet.
“It was my pleasure,” he finally managed to say, his hand reaching out as if to ruffle Grace’s hair. “I’ll be off then to find a new home for this little fella, away from grabby little hands.” He lifted the hand holding the lizard and pretended it waved to Grace who eagerly waved back.
“Bye, shiny!” Grace yelled and was about to jump out of Rosy’s arms, but she could just about hold her back.
“Thank you and good luck.”
“You too!” He waved one last time before he sauntered off into the main hall.
“What a strange friend you’ve made,” Rosy mumbled, a smile on her face.
“Mommy, ice cream?” Was all Grace had to say to that.
“Sure, let’s have ice cream,” she easily agreed with her daughter, filing away the encounter as a random act of kindness. Those were few and far between as they were, but warmed her heart every time she was fortunate enough to witness one, let alone be the recipient of one. After the stressful week they had had, it had been an excellent idea to make this trip, and now they would end it on a delicious note.