Saanjh watched her, almost mesmerized. That laugh. That sparkle. That innocence.

"But I always keep my plushie with me." Diya held up her penguin like a knight presenting his sword. "His name is Dodo. I sleep while hugging him tight, like this—" she mimed curling around him, "and then I don't get afraid in the night. Not even from the monsters."

Then, more softly, she looked at Saanjh again, eyes filled with something tender.

"Do you also get afraid?"

.

.

And then came her answer—blunt and sincere, in that way only children can manage.

"Then princess will also come home with me, Bade Papa!" she declared, her voice tiny but firm, unwavering in conviction.