Julia pouted, her brow furrowing as she crossed her arms tightly against her chest. "But I wanted it so much!" she whined, glancing longingly at the ice cream shop down the street, where colorful cones were being handed out to laughing children.
Aliya sighed, her patience wearing thin but her heart softening at the sight of her little sister's tears welling up. "I know, Jules, but we have to get home before Mom starts worrying. Plus, we still have those popsicles in the freezer!"
Julia's kicking slowed, and she looked up at her sister with big, watery eyes. "But it's not the same! You don’t understand! I wanted the rainbow sprinkles!"
Aliya knelt down, bringing herself eye-level with Julia. "Okay, how about this? If you promise to get up and walk home with me, I’ll let you choose the popsicle flavor. And I’ll help you with a special sprinkles recipe when we get there."
She saw the gears turning in Julia's mind as the lure of the popsicles began to win over her struggle for ice cream. Slowly, Julia’s feet stopped kicking. "Really? You’d help me make sprinkles?"
"Absolutely," Aliya replied with a grin. "But we have to go now. Deal?"
"Deal!" Julia exclaimed, finally allowing Aliya to help her up. With a determined huff, she dusted off her knees and joined her sister, ready to march home with a newfound sense of purpose. The promise of homemade sprinkles was just too good to pass up. Together, they walked, hand in hand, the ice cream shop fading into the background as the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange.
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