Rose
An hour into her stake out and the adrenaline began to fade. Standing in one spot was not only increasingly difficult but also not very
well hidden either. What did she hope to accomplish anyway? Sure, she could lay
eyes on the sneaky snake, but then what? What if the perpetrator turned on her? Rose started to have thoughts about returning home, there was no guarantee they were hiding out on this particular night anyways. I am sure they had other spots just like her little shop to dip into at night.
Desperate to justify her decision to play detective, Rose stayed. She lowered herself to the ground, finding a more comfortable position. Quietly she snacked on butterscotch and tootsie rolls. Somewhere along the night
boredom caused sleep to overcome her, despite her repeated efforts to fight it.
She was startled awake by the click of the
deadbolt lock. Rose held her breath and calmed her shaking nerves as she waited. The bottom lock softly clicked, the door knob turned and the door swung open. Out walked a young girl who closed the door behind her and walked around the opposite side, oblivious to her presence. Rose stared in shock. Never did she consider a child cunning enough to pull off such a feat. She hopped to her feet and followed the side of the building.
Once the girl reached the sidewalk she hung a right, disappearing into the darkness. Rose decided not to follow further. The girl’s quick steps were far faster than hers. Instead, she returned to her car and slept until it was time to open the book shop. All day she pondered what to do. From the looks of her, she couldn’t be no more than 10 or 11. Rose wondered about her story and why she was sleeping in her book store. What sort of circumstances leaves a young girl in such a situation? Where were her mother and father?
Elianna
Elianna strolled the streets of Yellow Town, she knew the businesses wouldn’t be open for at least another hour. Any time she saw headlights she would dip into an alley, not wanting to draw attention to herself. A child alone at this hour never looked good. Elianna walked the half a mile to Piggly Wiggly and around to the back of the store. The large building sat nestled against a patch of overgrown greenery. A couple handful of saplings and thick briers sat just behind the dumpster. One tree managed to grow to a sizable height, sprouting up in the middle. Somehow forgotten or unseen during employees’ daily duties. Elianna pushed through the shrubbery and scaled the tree. She sat in the nook of the branches and waited for sunrise, blissfully listening to the morning song birds.
About two hours later, Elianna climbed down and circled to the front of the store. She casually walked through the parking lot and to the sidewalk. Elianna walked the long route to her destination, along the way she gathered flowers. She took care to only choose ones that extended to the side walk. She considered those free game and not stealing. She may wear many unfavorable titles, but a thief wasn’t one of them. By the end of her walk she had assembled a marvelous bouquet. She pulled a piece of ribbon from her pocket and tied the flowers together. She finished just before the hospital steps.
Visiting hours began at 10:00 AM. She climbed the familiar walkway, the same as she had done at least 500 times. Once a stark reminder of what was, now warm and inviting like home. Elianna climbed the staircase all the way to the top, nodding at nurse Jackie as she went past the nurses station . As expected Scarlette was sitting in her bed watching cartoons.
“Good morning Scarlette.”
“Good morning Eli.”
A nickname only a handful of people have ever called her. She never cared much for the cutesy name but for Scarlette she doesn’t mind.
Elianna extended the flowers, pride beaming from her face.
“Look what I brought you today.”
“Real flowers! They are gorgeous we
must get them into water soon so they life as long as possible.”
Scarlette rang the nurse call button prompting nurse Jackie to appear in the doorway.
“What is it Scarlette?”
“Can you get me something to put these lovely flowers in please?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“What would you like to play today.” Elianna asked. “Tick Tac Toe, Gold fish?”
“I’m actually kind of tired today can we just watch cartoons together?”
“I think TV sounds perfect.”
Nurse Jackie appeared once more this time carrying a small beaker.
“Not its intended purpose but it should work just fine.”
Jackie placed the flowers into the makeshift vase, already half full with water.
Elianna spent the day watching cartoons with Scarlette; a peaceful silence settled amongst them. Scarlette drifted in and out of consciousness happy to know Elianna was still there each time she awakened. Nurse Jackie signaled for her of to stay just a little while longer, permitting her to stay past visiting hours. Elianna knew if she did, the bookstore was out of the question for a place to sleep. The old lady would already have locked up and went home by the time she could walk there and hide away, Despite the dilemma Elianna stayed a little while longer knowing all too well tomorrow is never promised.
Rose
Rose tried to stay vigilant all day, determined to see the moment the child came into her shop. Beyond that she wasn’t sure, should the confronts her? Doing so might scare her away. Should she call CPS and notify them? She has heard horror stories about children in foster care. Some homes they get placed in our unloving and cruel to say the least. For now Rose would leave her be, at least until she had just a little longer to think about what to do. She was doing no harm and Rose was no longer concerned about her safety.
To her disappointment, the pale faced girl never showed. She was certain of it. Just to be sure Rose searched every nook and cranny but no little girl lie hidden between
the pages. Finally, Rose locked up and headed home. Out of curiosity she took the long way home. She drove past all the local shops on main street and all the way to Ol Blessness Hospital. As she drove past the pale face little girl made her way down the steps of the hospital. Rose parked her car
and watched as walked down the side walk. A million questions ran through her mind, they only fueled her curiosity. Rose followed close behind the girl. Close enough for her old eyes fo see but not close enough to draw suspicion. Rose lost sight of her as she rounded the corner of Piggly Wiggly, persumably heading to the back of the building, unreachable by vehicle. Tired and stilled needing time to thank, Rose drove home.
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