The Room That Grew Bigger

Toma was the only child in his house for six years. He was used to it. The house knew him. The chairs knew him. The cat knew him. There was a Toma-shape on the rug from sitting in the same spot.

Then Mama got bigger and bigger, and one day there was a baby called Mira.

Mira was small. Mira cried a lot. Mira got held a lot.

Toma wasn't sure how he felt. Some moments, he loved her. Some moments, his heart was a tight fist. He didn't tell anyone about the fist — it felt like a bad feeling to have. So he kept it inside.

One night, he was building a city of blocks on the rug. The cat was helping (the cat was knocking blocks over, which is the cat's idea of helping). Mira started to cry in the next room. Mama hurried out to lift her.

Toma's tower fell. The cat sat on it. He pushed the blocks away.