Rayyan taps the tablet. A glowing blue letter L bounces out with a soft pop and lands on his rug.
It does a little hop. "Let's play!" it says. Rayyan drops his toy car. It rolls across the floor and stops against his shoe.
Three wobbly pixel creatures tumble out — a square dog, a triangle cat, a circle bird. The dog barks beep beep.
The cat meows blip blip. The bird chirps zzzt zzzt. Rayyan chases them around the room. They bounce off the bed, the desk, and the lamp.
Boop. Boop. Boop. they go every time they hit something. Rayyan giggles and stomps his feet.
The creatures get tangled in a jumbled pile on the tablet screen. The letter L wiggles and pushes but can't free them.
Rayyan reaches toward the glowing screen. His fingers sink in like cool jelly. He grabs the letter L's hand and pulls.
Rayyan pulls with all his might. The letter L comes free with a loud SHWLOOP!
The creatures cheer and tumble out. But the tablet screen goes completely dark. The creatures freeze. The nightlight hums.
Rayyan's hand is still outstretched toward the black screen. The letter L is gone.
Rayyan sits on his bed. He picks up a board book with a bumpy cover. He opens it — the pages crinkle.
"The very hungry caterpillar..." he reads out loud. A real cricket chirps from the window. Rayyan turns the page and keeps going.