Lila, a spirited three-year-old with curly hair and an infectious laugh, was busy drawing on the concrete with bright chalks. Her sister, Maya, just a year younger, toddled beside her, clutching a blue crayon. Their laughter filled the yard as they drew a rainbow, each color arching vibrantly across the pavement.
"Look, Maya! It's our rainbow," Lila exclaimed, pointing at their masterpiece.
"Pretty," Maya replied, clapping her tiny hands.
Lila knelt down, examining a ladybug that crawled on the leaf of a marigold. Maya, with wide eyes, watched her sister closely.
"Did you know," Lila said with the wisdom of a child who had just learned something new, "ladybugs are good luck? They eat the bad bugs!"
"Good bugs," echoed Maya, nodding solemnly as if she fully understood.
Lila picked up a pink crayon and began drawing, but paused when she overheard a boy at the next table.
Tommy, a boisterous child with a penchant for speaking without thinking, pointed at their paper. "Why are you drawing sisters? They don't look the same!" he declared.
Lila, undeterred, glanced at her sister. "Because we're family," she replied, her voice steady. "Families come in all colors, like our rainbow."
"That's right, Lila," she said with a smile, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Families are about love, not how we look."
Maya, feeling bolstered by her sister's confidence, added a splash of vibrant purple to her drawing. "Love," she repeated, beaming.
Lila held up her drawing proudly. "We taught Tommy about rainbows and families," she announced.
Mom, wrapping them in a warm hug, said, "You two are like our little sunshine, always spreading light and love."
Maya, munching on a cookie, nodded enthusiastically. "Sunshine," she giggled, her face smeared with chocolate.
Lila whispered, "We'll always be sisters, no matter what."
Maya, already half-asleep, murmured back, "Always."
And with that promise, they drifted into dreams of rainbows and adventures yet to come.