At first, I found it endearing that my future stepdaughter woke up before dawn to cook elaborate breakfasts and clean the house. But everything changed when I discovered the heartbreaking reason behind this seven-year-old’s obsession with being the perfect homemaker.
I noticed it gradually at first. My future stepdaughter, Amila, would pad down the stairs before dawn, her little feet making soft thuds against the carpet.
A girl walking barefoot on a carpet | Source: Midjourney
She was only seven, but there she was every morning, determinedly mixing pancake batter or scrambling eggs.
I thought it was sweet at first. Most kids her age were still deep in dreams about unicorns or whatever second graders dreamed about these days while she was a poster child for a good kid.
But when I realized this was just her routine, I started to worry.
A concerned woman | Source: Midjourney
The first time I caught her carefully measuring coffee grounds into the filter, my heart nearly stopped.
Four-foot-nothing in her rainbow pajamas, dark hair neatly tied into pigtails, handling hot kitchen appliances before sunrise. It wasn’t right.
“You’re up early again, sweetheart,” I said, watching her fill cups with hot coffee.
A girl making coffee | Source: Midjourney
The kitchen counter gleamed, and the smell of fresh coffee filled the air. “Did you clean in here?”
She beamed at me, her gap-toothed smile so eager it made my heart ache.
“I wanted everything to be nice when you and Daddy woke up. Do you like the coffee? I figured out how to use the machine!”
The pride in her voice struck me as odd.
A proud girl | Source: Midjourney
Although most kids enjoy learning how to do “adult” tasks, something in her tone came off as being a little too eager to please.
I glanced around the kitchen. Everything was spotless, and Amila had breakfast laid out like a magazine spread.
How long had she been up? How many mornings had she spent perfecting this routine while we slept?