“Please don’t cry, Lena; it’s just a small cut,” Atlas remarked softly as he massaged his sister’s right knee, where she had injured herself from her fall. “It just hurts so much,” Adeline wept as she attempted to hold back her tears, but the pain was too much for her. Although Adeline felt as though she had a huge wound on her knee, it was actually more of a paper cut with a few minor scratches from the small dirt rocks that were still there. “I know, but come on, let’s go inside and clean it up so we can fix it up right away,” Atlas said as he tried to wipe her tears from her cheeks. He was patient with her because, while he understood the minor cut was small, he didn’t want his sister to feel weak or stupid for crying over it. Once Adeline calmed down a bit, she gave her older brother a small nod, and Atlas gave her a faint smile as he attempted to slowly pick her up. She was small and light, so even though he still appeared to be a small boy, he had no issue scooping her up and carrying her inside the house.
