The sun was high and the weather unusually hot when Monkey Lyly finished playing in the yard and decided it was time to go back into the house. Wiping a little sweat off her furry brow, she skipped toward the front gate, expecting to see it wide open like always. But to her surprise, the gate was tightly locked. Her small hands tugged at the latch, but it didn’t budge.
“Mom…?” she called softly, her voice rising in both pitch and concern. She peeked through the bars, her little face pressed against the metal. No answer. The house was quiet, and the door was closed.
Lyly’s mind raced. Where could her mother be? She hadn’t gone far—Lyly had just seen her watering the plants earlier. Now, the world felt a bit bigger and lonelier. The wind rustled the trees, and for the first time in a long while, Lyly felt unsure.
She tried climbing the gate, but her small frame wasn’t strong enough to pull herself over. She looked around for another way in. Maybe the back gate? Maybe a window? But everything was sealed tight.
Suddenly, the familiar sound of slippers brushing the stone floor echoed from around the corner. Lyly’s eyes lit up with hope. “Mom!” she squealed.
Her mother came into view holding a basket of laundry. She looked up and smiled at the sight of her anxious little monkey clinging to the gate. “Oh Lyly! I just went next door for a minute,” she said, unlocking the gate.
As soon as the gate opened, Lyly ran into her mother’s arms, clinging tightly.
“I thought you left me!” she said with a quivering voice.
Her mom kissed her forehead gently and said, “I would never leave you, Lyly. Sometimes I just have to step away, but I always come back.”
Lyly nodded, comforted by the warmth of her mother’s embrace—and from that moment on, she never let her mom out of sight for too long.
