Affu’s Little World

Nikku was halfway under the couch when Mama found him.

“No shots!” he squeaked, clutching his stuffed bunny so tightly its floppy ears bent sideways. “No doctor! No poke!”

Outside the window, rain tapped softly on the glass. Inside, Nikku’s heart thumped fast-fast-fast.

Mama sat on the floor beside the couch. “You’re scared,” she said gently.

Nikku nodded hard. Last time at the clinic, the cold room smelled funny, and the tiny pinch had made tears jump right out of his eyes. He remembered the bandage on his arm and the sting that came before it.

“I don’t want to go ever again,” he whispered.

Mama didn’t say, “Don’t be scared.” She didn’t laugh either. She just rubbed his little socked foot sticking out from under the couch.

“That feeling can seem very big,” she said.

Nikku stayed hidden all morning. Even when Mama packed snacks and tucked Bunny into his backpack, he would not come out.

At the clinic, Nikku held Mama’s shirt and buried his face against her shoulder. The waiting room buzzed and beeped. A baby cried somewhere nearby.

“I want to go home,” Nikku mumbled.

The nurse smiled kindly and showed him a box of stickers shaped like stars and dinosaurs. But Nikku still shook his head. His tummy felt twisty. His eyes filled with tears.

Then Mama whispered, “We don’t have to be brave all at once.”

Nikku peeked up a little.

“Can we try one tiny brave thing?” she asked.

Nikku thought very hard. Then he nodded once.

First, he sat in the chair.

Then he held Bunny’s paw.

Then he took one slow breath with Mama.

In… out.

The nurse counted softly. “One… two…”

Nikku squeezed Mama’s hand tight.

A tiny pinch.

And then—it was over.

Nikku blinked in surprise. Tears still sat on his cheeks, but the scary moment had already floated past like a dark cloud moving away from the sun.

“You did it,” Mama whispered, kissing his hair.

“I was still scared,” Nikku said.

“That’s okay,” Mama answered. “Sometimes brave means doing something even while scared.”

Nikku looked at the dinosaur sticker now stuck proudly on Bunny’s belly.

On the way home, the rain had stopped. Tiny puddles sparkled on the sidewalk, and Nikku jumped over every single one while Mama held his hand.