Guess how much I love you…

A friend of mine wrote this. She's 15 and her younger sister sumaikah is 4!


Guess how much I love you…
(A conversation between Sumaikah and I before she would go to bed)


Sumaikah was going to bed, held on tight to my right hand.

She wanted to be sure that I was listening. “Guess how much I love you,” she said.
"Oh, I don’t think I could guess that,” I said to her.

“This much,” said Sumaikah, stretching out her arms as wide as they could go.
I had even longer arms. “But I love you this much,” I said.

Hmm, that is a lot, thought Sumaikah.

“I love you as high as I can reach,” Sumaikah said to me.
“I love you as high as I can reach,” I said to her.

That is very high, thought Sumaikah. I wish I had arms like that.

Then Sumaikah had a good idea. She tumbled upside down against the door and reached
the knob of the door with her feet. “I love you all the way up to my toes!” she said.
"And I love you all the way up to your toes,” I said to her swinging her up almost over
her head.

“I love you as high as I can jump!” laughed Sumaikah up and down.
"But I love you as high as I can jump,” I smiled and jumped so high that my hands almost touched the fan above.

That’s good jumping, she thought. I wish I could jump like that.

"I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river,” she said.
"I love you across the river and over the hills,” I said to her smiling.

That’s very far, thought Sumaikah. She was almost too sleepy to think anymore.
Then she looked beyond the window and the trees, out into the big dark night.
Nothing could be farther than the sky.

"I love you right up to the moon,” she said and closed her eyes.
"Oh, that’s far,” said I. “That is very far.”

I settled her into her bed, leaned over and kissed her goodnight.
Then I lay down close by and whispered with a smile, “I love you right up to the moon- and back.”




(: