Lumen in the Library

This is a story about a little girl who discovers dimensions.

Lumen stood clutching Mother's hand, waiting to check out a book. The line was long, and Lumen was getting impatient; She started humming a tune, but the melody was gently hushed by Mother, who told her to be quiet,"The Library isn't a place for music." she said. 

Disappointed, Lumen resorted to twisting her face into a solemn expression of utter discontent; Brow drawn together over glaring eyes. The old man who passed by noticed Lumen and said, "You could land a plane on that lip."to which she didn't reply. The line moved slowly forward. Lumen forgot about her pouting for a moment when she spotted a wall to their left, which had been entirely devoted to local artists. Paintings were on display, accompanied by name plates and price tags. Lumen tugged on Mother’s coat, pointing desperately at the gallery.

“You can go, but make sure you stay within sight.” Mother said, kindly. One particular image caught her attention, so she detached from the checkout line, curls bouncing with every dancer’s step.

The painting on the wall looked more like a vertical pond than a painting; it rippled when Lumen reached a tiny, delicate finger to check. She drew back in surprise when her reflection wobbled, just as it would in a body of water. The painting felt calm, cool, not at all frightening. A blurry goldfish rose to the surface of the glassy painting. Its glimmering scales reflected the light. Again, Lumen raised a curious finger.  The fish hovered for a moment, examining. Then, with its swollen fish lips, it kissed the tip of Lumen’s finger.  She jumped in delighted surprise, giggling as only a toddler can. The fish darted away. Ashamed at scaring her new friend, Lumen called out.

“Mr. Fishy?” She whispered. Lumen leaned forward, nose just skimming the cool surface as her amber eyes searched. Nothing.

“Mr. Fishy?” Lumen called again, in a slightly louder, slightly higher pitch. The fish still didn’t appear. When great tears began to well, Mother rushed over to scoop up her daughter before Lumen’s sobs broke the library silence.

 

Author's Note

Unfortunately, I don't know how to insert an accent mark over the 'n' when writing 'Senor' on this computer. I do not aim to offend. If anyone knows how to fix my mistake, their input would be greatly appreciated.

Reviews

[Trivn]

I thought the POV was interesting. the piece where she thinks about the spanish lesson feels drawn out, it doesn't add much to the story.
Are you planning on continuing this, or leaving it as it? I would be interested in seeing how you could continue this into a short children's book.
Final note, I think you meant to type "dimensions" instead of "dimentions" in the title?

[David Jae]

I like how this is going. It has a quirky charm to it. There is a little too much exposition at the start, but that is a minor point. Good job.