Prompt from PrideOnThePage
Mattie (and Tilda) were previously seen here.
It was funny how quickly you got used to people calling you by the name you used inside. Mattie had spent years mentally turning “Matilda” into “Mattie-Tilda”, to the point they barely noticed, yet after three months of the grown-ups in their life calling them “Mattie” and directly addressing Tilda, being called the name on their paperwork was… it caused a confused, unhappy jolt in their tummy.
But they knew there was no point asking Ms Smyth again. She was very clear that her job meant it “wasn’t proper to use nicknames”. So they simply gripped the phone tight and said “I’m here.”
“How are you getting on?”
“Good!”
“Mm. They said you had some trouble settling in?”
Mattie froze, brow furrowing as their chest tightened. Trouble? Nobody’d said they’d done anything wrong…
“Are you there?”
“Y-yes! I, I didn’t…”
“Apparently you had trouble settling in?”
“No?” Mattie squeezed Tilda. “It’s… everyone’s lovely.”
“Well, they were telling me that I needed to add a bunch of notes to your file.”
Ohh. Mattie’s mind flashed to the sheets of paper Dolly had pinned to their wall, for them to note down everything they loved or hated - labelled “Yay!” and “Blagh!” respectively. The faces Dolly had drawn made Mattie giggle.
There were now several meals where Mattie was served something different to the rest of the table, and new snacks available, and Mattie’s clothes were washed with non-floral stuff, and they had a fan to help them sleep, and…
But everyone had said, over and over, that none of this was a problem.
“They said it was ok.” Mattie mumbled.
“Hm. Well, they did say they’re happy to continue the foster. Are you alright stay-”
“Yes please!!”
“…Alright then.” Ms Smyth was silent for a moment. “Then I suppose I’ll talk to you in another three months.”
“Ok.” Mattie relaxed and navigated the goodbyes on autopilot.
Then they put the phone back in its cradle and tucked Tilda into her sling. Safe against Mattie’s heart. ‘So you can keep her close and have your hands free’, John had said when he presented it. It was nice to always have that comfort in reach. And wearing the sling felt like walking around in a hug.
The spicy, cosy scent of ginger cake was wafting from the kitchen. Their favourite. Gary had declared that a three-month anniversary was the perfect excuse to bake cupcakes. He’d promised to let Mattie help ice, and get the food colours out, and everything.
Mattie buried their face in Tilda’s head and took a slow breath. Savouring the fresh, comforting scent which wasn’t cloying. Ginger and sea-breeze. The smell of being cared for.
Just like having hair cropped short-but-not-boy-short and clothes that fit just right without scratching was the feeling of care. And their inner name being spoken was the sound of care. And a plate with only the veggies which they liked was the taste of care.
Care, care, everywhere.
After all those houses… they’d come home.
Prompt was “Home”.
Leeron, this one really landed softly—like a hand reaching out and being met. Mattie’s world, with all its careful details and quiet shifts, felt tender and true. That sling, the scent of ginger cake, the way their name gets spoken the way it feels inside—each part carried the shape of being seen. What stayed with me most was the way care wasn’t explained—it was lived. Felt in clean clothes that don’t scratch, in veggies picked with attention, in the way Tilda stays close. That kind of care builds something steady. Not flashy. Just real. Like the beginning of trust.
Thank you for sharing this. It felt like breathing in a space where someone finally gets to exhale. And please make sure to tag me in the long one to. It is after all a creation sparked by this prompt. I was tremendous fun reading your stories. Thank you for creating, participating, sharing your micro-fictions with a proud twist.