A Short Story by Great Aunt Dianna

Call Me Sophie
A Short Story by Dianna Zaragoza – grand-aunt of Sophia Grace Lacey

My name is Sophia.

Mommy and Daddy call me Sophia, but sometimes I call myself Sophie.

Not always. Just sometimes.

Sophia sounds like a dark, still lake of water, fetching and mysterious.

Sophie sounds like sofa, which is my favorite place in the world. I curl up with my mommy, and my favorite purple blanket that I never let go of, and my kittens. I wrap myself into a big purple ball and I'm a kitty, breathing deeply.

Sophia is a dancer, flowing and graceful like the top of a music box that sings ‘Christofori’s Dream’.

Sophie is a twirler. I pull long birthdays streamers of purple around me until I’m wrapped up like a big purple present to life – for its birthday.

Sophia is elegant enough to have tea with the queen – pinkies up please.

Sophie can have tea parties with her stuffed animals and her kitties – which is better than the queen, since I keep all my lemon tea cakes to myself. (Well, almost all – Daddy can have one, if he wants.)

Sophia has long hair, a long neck, long arms and a smile like a string of perfect pearls.

Sophie has long feet (which is better for paddling in the water anyway) – thanks to Mommy. She also has a long horizontal grin that makes other people’s smiles more beautiful instead – thanks to Daddy.

Sophia is neat and clean – never a hair out of place.

Sophie has many hairs out of place (a lot) and the fun of getting them out of place is more than worth the brushing Mommy inflicts on me later.

Sophia is powerful. She can tell people what to do, and everyone listens.

Sophie can give people a good piece of her mind, and then everyone listens…and laughs.

Which is always a good thing, people laughing. Sophie likes to make people laugh. Sophie honks like a little goose when she laughs, and Sophia would never do that.

Sophia is…tired.

So is Sophie.

Time to sleep. Until the morning. And dream of Mommy and Daddy, and purple, and twirling and grandmas and grandpas, and aunts and uncles and so many people who are thinking of me. I think of them too, and hug them all.

In their dreams.

Goodnight, Sophie. Goodnight, Sophia.

Goodnight.