An Unexpected Present

We are all gathered around the five ornately decorated pillars and the spinning center-piece, everyone is mumbling or singing along to the devotional hymn that I can only expect to hear and not really listen to because the words and sounds are so completely foreign to me.  I stand with my arms rather politely folded in front of me while a rainbow of saris radiates from the center of the high school gym, their fabulous colors, sparkles and textures offering the location all of the glitter and glitz it needs;  there is really no need for any other sort of decoration when pieces of art are standing all around you in all of the colors you can possibly imagine.
Jasmine, my dear friend's adorable two-year-old niece, comes to stand next to me and so I kneel down beside her, my turquoise and purple sari creating a gauzy cloud around my bare feet.  She warily glances at me as she settles herself down more comfortably on the cold cement floor.
Unlike most children I encounter, she has not taken to me quickly, but I can only imagine that this is due to my overall loudness and blondness being in sharp contrast to what she is used to in her every day life;  thus, she has regarded me all evening as one would look at an alien creature, sizing me up and trying to determine whether or not I might possibly bite.  The fact that she has not taken a nap and it is now rather late also does not help the situation at all;  she has not been, understandably so due to her lack of sleep, too impressed by tonight's festivities and has reserved her smiles for only a very few chosen instances. 
I look up from her angelic face and see an orange and green clothed body backing up towards her tiny legs and so I gently put my hand on the woman's back to prevent the munchkin from being crushed.  I look towards Jasmine again and her dark eyes observe me, her full lower lip protruding thoughtfully as she contemplates this colorful creature squatting down next to her.  I begin to clap in time to the beat, smiling tenderly, careful not to show too much of my teeth in case she thinks I am getting ready to take a nibble.  Her pink swathed legs are slightly bent as she starts to clap out of sync and the miniature sparkles on her arms twinkle as she moves her arms.
From up above, I see the same sari coming towards us again and Jasmine's father decides that perhaps it would be better for his little girl to be in his arms;  however, she does not want to move from where she is so well seated.  She pulls away from her father and resists his attempts to pick her up, oblivious to the legs and feet that do not have any eyes to see where she is located.  I fear that she might get stepped on, so I open my arms to her and hold my breath, expecting her to scuttle away to her father in fear that the alien disguised in a sari has decided to eat her up after all.
But no, she stretches up her arms towards me and I pull her up into my arms, her short legs dangling around my hips.  I think that she is just as surprised as I am that she has accepted my offer and she is not quite sure what to do anymore.  Her brown curls brush my cheek as she moves her body slightly away so that she can continue to clap her hands like she was doing before.  I smile over at my friend, who is wondering how I could have possibly managed to pick up her slightly sullen niece, and I sway slightly to the music, very much aware that a child's trust is such a precious gift that is more often than not so unexpectedly given and received.