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Inside Lila's sunlit bedroom, morning rays cross the bed; Lila sits up wide-eyed, hand to silent mouth, while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow leans against the pillow watching her.
Lila woke to sunshine and blinked. She opened her mouth to giggle and—nothing. "Oh no!" she whispered. Max, her stuffed monkey with a blue bow, listened. "We’ll find it," Lila promised.
Under the dim bed in Lila's bedroom, flashlight beams catch swirling dust bunnies as Lila and a stuffed monkey with a blue bow peer forward clutching a crayon map marked with a bold red X.
She drew a treasure map with crayons. "X marks my giggle," Lila said. Max pointed his stitched paw toward the bed. They crawled under, dust bunnies dancing. "Giggle, are you hiding here?" Silence answered.
In the living-room fortress of stacked pillows, afternoon light filters through curtains while Lila lifts a cushion, face scrunched in silent laughter, and a stuffed monkey with a blue bow is half-buried amid drifting white feathers.
They stacked pillows into a mountain. They lifted pillows and peered underneath. Lila bounced and made silly faces. "Tickle me, Max!" she laughed without sound. Feathers puffed like snow. Still, the giggle stayed missing.
Morning sunlight warms the kitchen; Lila flips a smiley-face pancake over a sizzling griddle while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow, flour mustache on its stitched face, watches from the countertop.
In the kitchen, batter blooped like tiny mud puddles. "Maybe it’s inside the pancake batter," Lila guessed. She flipped a smiley-face flapjack. Max wore a flour mustache. They listened carefully. Only sizzles replied.
Inside a dark blanket fort lit by dotted flashlight stars, evening glow outside, Lila kneels at the entrance whispering the password while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow crouches beside her clutching a tiny toy microphone.
They built a blanket fort with flashlight stars. "Password: heehee," Lila announced. Max squeaked his best monkey joke. Lila tried to chuckle, but air only whooshed. "Come on, giggle," she pleaded gently. They peeked out, hopeful.
Bright bathroom lights gleam off the mirror as Lila pulls a fish-lip grin at her reflection, toothbrush mid-air, while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow balances on the sink performing an exaggerated dance.
In the bathroom, mirror Lila copied every grin. "Fish lips!" she said. "Toothbrush dance!" sang Max. Bristles boogied on pearly teeth. Her shoulders shook, almost laughing. The almost slipped away.
Under midday sunshine in the backyard garden, Lila leans toward bobbing marigolds, nose wrinkled, as a stuffed monkey with a blue bow taps a leaf drum set; a butterfly hovers between them.
Outside, marigolds bobbed like tiny suns. "Maybe you’re behind the flowers," Lila called. A butterfly wiggled hello. Max played leaf drums. Petals tickled Lila’s nose. No heehee fluttered out.
Late-afternoon light spills over the wooden porch steps; Lila sits cross-legged, eyes closed and hand to chin, while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow taps its chest beside her, chalk hopscotch squares fading on the boards.
They flopped on the porch step to think. "What feeds a giggle?" Lila wondered. Max tapped his chest. "Happy memories," he hinted. Lila closed her eyes and pictured swing swoops and sprinkler rainbows.
Soft hallway lamplight glows on a framed gentle giraffe; Lila pauses barefoot, palm outstretched toward the painting, as a stuffed monkey with a blue bow peeks over her arm, both faces alert.
They wandered past the hallway painting of a gentle giraffe. "Hello, little friend," the giraffe seemed to whisper. Lila paused, surprised. "Do you know my giggle?" The giraffe murmured, "It’s hiding in your heart."
Seated on her bedroom rug beneath warm afternoon light, Lila presses a hand over her chest, eyes shining, while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow watches; a small iridescent sound bubble floats from her lips.
Lila placed a hand over her chest, warm and thumpy. "I remember Mama’s pancake flops," she said. "And Daddy’s rubber-duck honk." Max nodded proudly. A tiny bubble of sound rose like a balloon.
In the living-room, sunlight streaks across the patterned rug as a shimmering bubble pops into sparkling laughter; Lila throws back her head laughing while a stuffed monkey with a blue bow cartwheels nearby.
Pop! The bubble burst into a bright giggle. Lila laughed once, then twice, then a sparkling dozen. Max cartwheeled across the rug. "There you are!" Lila cheered. The house hummed with joy.
At the open window glowing with late-morning sun, Lila and a stuffed monkey with a blue bow dance hand in paw on the sill, her free hand resting over her heart.
They danced back to the window, sunlight giggling along. "If I forget again, I’ll look inside," Lila said. Max patted her heart. "Home base," he agreed. Lila’s laughter shone, cozy and brave.