Naseem opens his eyes, and a sunbeam stings his eyelids. He turns his head — a badge is slipping off, the dolls are upside down, a tower of blocks is wobbling. He thought, "Oh, what a mess!"
His fingers curl around the wobbly tower — no, no, no! He yanks his hand back just before the blocks tumble. Under the bed: three colorful boxes.
He drags the boxes out to the wooden floor. He picks up the badge — a badge… in the red box! He sets it down gently.
The ball — the ball… in the blue box! Then he shoves the green charger: push, push, push.
The charger tips right over onto his nose — gray dust everywhere. Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! He sneezes three times. He blinks his watery eyes. He keeps going.
The little duck slips and rolls. He crawls under the bed and stretches out his hand — bonk! He bounces up, laughing so hard his shoulders shake.
He holds the duck gently. He thought, "You were hiding!" He tucks it into the green box. He stands up — the floor is clean, nothing left to find.
He stands in the middle of the room. Golden rays draw lines across the clean floor. The three boxes sit in a row. He smiles — his grin stretches from ear to ear.
He reaches for the little board — colors and arrows — and hangs it above the boxes. A tiny click.
His fingers tap the edge of each box — red, blue, green. He sits down, chin resting on his hands. A speck of dust dances in the sunlight. The room is quiet.
