The first rays of morning light filtered weakly through my window, but my eyes remained stubbornly shut. "Lavi! Wake up." Sapphire's voice, insistent and bright, cut through the quiet. She was a tiny, relentless alarm clock, and even without opening my eyes, I could picture the impatient huff, the exasperated sigh.

Minutes later, the silence broke again. "Lavi, look at this!" Her tone was different now, laced with a mischievous excitement that sent a jolt of dread through me. My eyes snapped open, wide and instantly alert. In her small hands, clutched like a prized possession, was the dreaded water gun, its plastic barrel glinting ominously.

"Hey Saph," I said, my voice thick with feigned calm, pointing a finger at the weapon. "I'm awake now, so there's no need to use that thing in your hands." Her wide blue eyes, so much like Dad's, twinkled with triumph. She knew she had me.

"I won't use it under one condition," she declared, lowering the water gun slowly to the floor. "You buy me ice cream after school today." She clasped her hands together, a picture of innocent expectation.

"Okay, you've got a deal," I blurted out, already calculating how to fit it into my chaotic schedule. She let out a triumphant squeal and hurried out of my room, her cheerful voice already filling the house as she relayed our 'negotiation' to Mom. A soft smile touched my lips. Sapphire, always my sunshine, even when threatening a water assault at dawn.