Johnny didn’t like kisses. “Kiss kiss kiss kiss!” “Noooo!” Johnny squirmed, whined, pushed away. “Nooooo!” “Kiss kiss kiss kiss!” Mom grabbed Johnny anyway. “Come here, you! Muah! [i]Muah![/i]” “Nooo! Noo, stoooop!” And Johnny finally managed to push Mom away when she started laughing too hard to keep a hold on him. “I don’t wanna!” Johnny was almost seven, which was very old, but not enough for his tastes. He wanted to stay up late and watch TV, and he wanted to play games for more than an hour a day. But most of all, the reason why he wanted to be a grown-up was [i]her.[/i] “Mom!” A girly voice. “Mom! Kiss kiss!” [i]Emily.[/i] Emily was four, and she was a [i]baby.[/i] “Kiss kiss kiss! Muah!” Then Mom put Emily on the ground and pushed her towards Johnny. “Now go kiss your brother!” Emily let out a toddler laugh, and then went for Johnny, arms up. “Kiss! Kiss!” “NOOO!” Johnny hated Emily. Dad had a little sister too and she was never around, because Dad was a grownup. Johnny couldn’t wait to grow up and get rid of Emily. That would be the day. “Kiss! Kiss!” “GET AWAAAAAAY!” That would be the [i]day.[/i] [hr] “I don’t need the night light,” Johnny said, confident, to Dad. He was tucked in already. “Grownups don’t use it.” “Hmm.” Dad smiled. “Well, just in case. We can see it from our room, right? Mom gets scared if it’s not on.” Johnny relaxed. “Okay,” he said. “You can turn it on then.” Truth is, Johnny liked the night light a lot. The room at night was—honestly—pretty scary. He had tried to sleep without it once, and he had cried. But Dad didn’t need it, because he was a grownup, so Johnny tried to tell himself that he could do without it. Still, it was good that it was on. Johnny was glad Mom liked the night light so much. It was a relief. He tucked himself in some more, hugged his pillow, closed his eyes, and— [hr] —he woke up. It was raining, hard, and the drops went [i]clack-clack-clack[/i] against the window. The room was dark. The night light should have been on, but it wasn’t on. The door was open and the corridor was pitch-black. There were weird noises in the house. Creaking, wailing. Johnny felt a knot in his throat. “Moom,” he called. Then, louder: “Mooom! MOOOM!” Mom and Dad were heavy sleepers, and Johnny had to jump on their bed to wake them up on Sundays. “[i]MOOOM![/i]” No answer. Johnny got out of bed. He wanted to stay in but he was a grownup. He rushed to the door, trying not to trip—he tripped—and reached for the light switch. It didn’t work. Johnny cried. He called for Mom, no answer. He called for Dad, no answer. He fell on his butt. He kept wailing. And Emily came running to him, wailing [i]louder.[/i] Johnny was so startled he stopped crying. Emily did a bee-line towards him, doing the grabby arms. Johnny hugged her, because he couldn’t pick her up. “Johnnyyyy!” Emily hugged him back, and kept on crying. “What are you doing here?” Johnny asked. “Why are you crying? You’re so dumb.” “Luh-luh-light!” “Mine is not working either.” Johnny pointed at his night light. “What, are you scared?” Emily nodded. “Do you wanna go sleep with Mom?” Emily shook her head. “Here?” Emily nodded. So, they went to bed. Johnny didn’t like it. Dad had a little sister but they never slept in the same room because when you grow up you only sleep with your wife. But, he guessed, Emily was crying hard and she wanted to be here. Nothing he could do. He’d have to be extra grownup tomorrow to make up for this. He wasn’t scared anymore, but he didn’t notice. He was too focused on getting Emily to fall asleep already. [hr] Mom and Dad had actually enjoyed a full night’s sleep, so they woke up before the kids. “Look at this,” Dad hushed. “She woke up crying and ran for Johnny.” “Oh my God.” Mom took at least seventeen pictures before waking them up. “Oh my [i]God.[/i]” “Right? Taking care of his little sister. Like a champ.” He ruffled Johnny’s hair. “They grow up so fast.” But Johnny didn’t hear any of this. Like any respectable adult in his place, he was too busy sleeping like a baby.