The Orange Sun on Leo's Cape

Zoya had made a quiet corner in her bedroom with two cushions and a blanket. Her friend Leo was coming over, and they had decided to make a home for their stuffed animals. Zoya had already tucked a small bear into a shoebox bed.

Leo came through the doorway wearing something blue around his shoulders. An orange sun was stitched near the bottom, with crooked rays reaching across the cloth. He stood tall beside Zoya's bed and held out the corners. "Look at my superhero costume!"

"That's just an old towel," Zoya said. The words came quickly. She recognized the soft loops and the striped edge. There was a towel like it in her bathroom. She thought she was explaining what she saw.

Leo's arms dropped. One corner of the cape brushed the floor. He looked down at the orange sun, then folded it underneath so Zoya couldn't see it. "It's my cape," he said. His voice sounded much smaller.

Zoya felt confused. A tight feeling gathered under her ribs. But it is a towel, she thought. She hadn't wanted Leo to stop smiling. She had expected him to say that he knew.