Good Girls

"Can I have another one?", Bella asked meekly as she licked her fingers, sticky with sweet gooey indulgence.

"No sweetie, not tonight. You know the rules..."

Bella sighed, resigned, as Mama placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Off to bed now, you! Tomorrow's another day. Be a good girl and you might just..."

"Get another treat?" Bella asked, confident in her answer.

"That's right, love! Good girls get treats!"

Mama was right, of course. She always was. Bella could feel her eyelids growing heavy. She nodded, sleepily, and raised her arms to be picked up and carried off to bed.

"I'll leave the night light on, baby." Mama whispered, after tucking Bella in. She was just about to leave the room when the girl mustered enough strength to ask.

"Did Papa like the treasure I brought him from the beach today?"

"But of course, little angel. He's so proud of you... And so am I!"

Bella yawned, satisfied. "Is he still working?"

"Yes, dear. You know how he always stays up late on days such as these. Now shhh... Sleep. I'll take you to the zoo tomorrow. Maybe you can find another treasure there!"

Bella nodded obediently and Mama left the room. Drowsily, she looked up at her bedroom's ceiling, covered in glow-in-the-dark stars.

"We'll place one up there for each treasure you bring us!" Papa had said with a wink, before ruffling her hair. And look at it now! There must have been dozens of soft glowing stickers up there. So many, in fact, that the novelty had worn off.

Noticing her sudden lack of enthusiasm, Mama had started serving her ice cream after dinner instead – but only when she was a good girl. Bella licked her lips, wondering what tomorrow's flavor would be. She was sure she would never ever get tired of ice cream.

Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes and slowly began drifting off to sleep. As they often did, the day's events flooded the corners of her consciousness. It had been such a good day. She always had a great time at the beach. Plus, it was so easy to find treasures there, there were so many just waiting to be coaxed from the sand or the waves of the ocean. And they were so much easier to snatch than at the playground, or at the mall.

Bella understood why Papa liked them so much, but she had no idea what he did with them, only that they all disappeared into his office and were always gone the very next day. At first, she had often asked to keep them, but it was against the rules. Still, she wished at least some of them could stay.

It would be nice to have other good girls to play with, sometimes.