Tentative Tales

Leo’s heart did a funny little flip-flop, like a fish jumping out of water. Giggles had laughed. Giggles, a character who lived inside a book, had laughed at his joke. It wasn’t a quiet chuckle, oh no, it was a booming, rolling, belly laugh that made the colourful spines of the surrounding books seem to wiggle with delight. Leo felt a warmth spread through him, a feeling so new and bright it almost made him want to… well, to giggle himself.

He watched Giggles bounce on the balls of their feet, still chuckling. “That was a good one, Leo! A real knee-slapper!” Giggles declared, wiping a tear of mirth from their imaginary eye. “You’ve got a knack for this, you know.”

A knack? Leo had never thought he had a knack for anything, especially not for making people laugh. He was good at reading, at turning pages, at imagining faraway lands. But telling jokes? That felt like trying to juggle flaming torches.