Gen Four- Chapter Seven

This time I ran without caring who gave me a funny glance. If the walk light turned red or there was no option to dash across the sidewalk without being hit by a car, I turned the corner of the block until the chance to move on presented itself. A giant tumble of emotions crashing against the cage in my chest kept me bolting, but the way I lived up until now was what drove my mindless run on the most. My brain could barely think. Thus, it defaulted to a state familiar enough. I was to run until I could barely run anymore. To reach that fine line between a good workout and pushing my body too far. If I could reach that point, then I should be safe. The skyscrapers taunted me with the endless sea of them, but I finally worked my way to a lower area of the city where the crowds and buildings were less. My legs began to tremble, so I scattered towards the first place that looked to provide a semblance of shelter.

That place was the meeting point where the back of a large shopping complex and the massive wall supporting the upper level of the city met. The cold touch of the permanent shadows stuck in this space felt good to me who breathed heavily and sweat harder. Even so, I wrapped my arms around me as if summer suddenly turned to winter. The more I let the moments turn to minutes, the more I couldn't ignore what was going on.

My home had been wrenched away from me. Now Mr. Flaxen, the only thing offering a sense of security, was gone as well.

He'd either been found or gotten himself caught. Staying out of the building for so long likely hadn't done him any favors. His position and tasks with his unknown group remained a mystery to me, but I doubted they were anything legal. So there was another person going to jail. His group would be upset, which meant there was no way they'd want anything to do with me for sure now. As I stood there rubbing my shaking arms and trying not to let me legs collapse from under me, the question of what in the world I was meant to do from here dragged itself into the corners of my consciousness.

I didn't address anything for a long while. Even all alone like I was, the area behind the building felt too open with the sound of people and cars easily echoing in my direction. My feet, aching and sore, shuffled me back to the beach. It was now the place I knew the best. This time I was too scared to take off my shoes, so I wandered back to my original spot and sat. I remained motionless for hours and hours until the clouds morphed through a cotton candy rainbow as the sun set. However, the changing of the tide encroached the waves onto my thin strip of privacy. The rest of the beach had emptied of the several who had come to enjoy the water though.

That was when the idea of turning myself in too tapped on my thoughts. I'd proposed as much myself. Maybe I could still see dad and grandpa, and...

Mr. Flaxen was right though. No way mom's family would want me. What would happen when they rejected me? I guess I'd fall into the government's hands. I dug my heel deep into the sand debating on if that could mean anything good. Dad...not everything he'd told me had to be a lie. Right? Some of it had to be truth. Mr. Mint had me do all those current event reports. I'd seen myself news and articles of such widespread corruption in the government that the people accepted it as inevitable and weren't shocked when more of it was revealed. With me having answers to The Company's secrets, I could only imagine what might be done if I didn't tell them everything. What if they didn't even care that I was a child and locked me up as well for having participated in illegal work?

My skull throbbed with the heat of a headache, and the shadows from before returned to claim the world as the sun eventually left only the faintest whispers of its presence. The wind off the sea turned frigid as quickly as the temperature dropped. I sighed realizing I couldn't stay here lest I freeze.

On my third journey throughout Aspen Harbor, I went the last route of slow, normal, and fast by going slowly. I stuck to the growing darkness despite the chill. Children, I knew, were not to be out at night alone. My risk of being stopped and questioned heightened if I traversed the sidewalks normally. My tactic to staying out of sight was popping in and out of alleys and sticking as close to the buildings as possible as frequent patches of decorative greenery like blocked in flower bushes or trees provided some cover.

Unfortunately, I walked with no destination in mind. The perfect place to hide and rest didn't exist. No building would accept my presence without question, and I didn't dare try to sneak into the ones that were closed for the night. Those alleys I dashed through were dangerous in their own right. The only thing that began to make any sense was to find a large discarded box and isolated place where I could curl under it so no one would find me. I kept an eye out for one, but it was me still keeping an open mind that eventually had me wandering towards a playground towards the outskirts of the city. At the top of the cliff-side that the park rested against the bright, twinkling lights radiating from houses caught my attention. Looking up at them made my chest sink knowing I'd had that light once. It'd only been two and a half weeks, yet a lifetime felt like it had come and gone.

The park at least presented a mockery of those beacons upon a hill. A house-shaped jungle gym offered enough checks on my hopeful requirements for a place to lay my head. I was off the cold ground, there were fences to give me some security, a cloth roof above granted a bit more protection, and the darkness of night coupled with my brown matching the wood nicely meant the rare person who might stumble nearby likely wouldn't spot me. I climbed up with the tiniest sigh of relief easing some tightness from my chest. There was a lot in there now, but the last thing I had was the luxury to let anything out. Dealing with my current predicament was far more important than wallowing over the reasons I was in the predicament.

Perhaps due to being farther away from the city lights, the colors of the night sky glowed more vibrantly. I counted dozens more stars, and the wind that brushed by gently came more warmly. Still, I hardly slept. Only one person passed by the park, not sparing a single glance towards the equipment, but the fear of someone showing up at any moment stopped my eyes from searching or my muscles from tensing. My isolated location also meant if anything went wrong there'd be less help to be found. On and on my watch continued into the night. It took the sky beginning to lighten with the budding of sunrise for me to rest upon the wood platform, curl up, and close my eyes for a quick catnap.

The weirdest thing was that when I woke up however much later it wasn't the complaint of exhaustion I first thought of. My stomach growled and whined way louder. Thank goodness I'd had that large lunch before I left as even that hamburger was a feast far from my reach now. I'd happily eat a barrel of celery if it was the choice between some sustenance or nothing to eat. My wandering resumed when the day felt late enough for someone like me to be about, and I pondered and pondered until I almost ran into a pole on where food might be found. Some cities had community gardens, I think. Certainly no one would mind if I took just one carrot or something, right? Aspen Harbor wasn't a crazy huge city though. It was enough to make my head spin, but as I kept walking covering new routes nothing like a public garden came into view.

My next idea was a grocery store. They had free samples sometimes. I went into three, two large and one smaller. None provided a single bite. The third was almost dead empty too. My hand almost inched towards snatching a small apple, but I got a grip on myself before I did such a thing. Stealing had to stop being my default. I wasn't like that. However, the day hit eleven in the morning. Lunch was approaching as was that twenty-four mark since I'd last eaten. The burrowing ache had spread from my stomach to my whole gut. This made the wonderful smells of the annoyingly high number of food trucks parked on the streets drive me crazy. Without any money though, I could never buy so much as a small hot dog.

Then I saw someone throw half of their overstuffed taco in the trash. They walked off without a care while the line by the truck vanished for the moment. The workers were out of sight, so as I shuffled towards the trash can everything pointed towards this being the perfect, and fated, moment for me to quell my begging stomach. I sneakily reached towards the plate with my eyes darting all about...until they landed on the contents of the trash. The taco sat right on top still on its plate, but the stench from the container was foul beyond belief. Mr. Mint taught me there was no '10 second' or even '5 second' rule. As soon as two things touched, the germs and bacteria spread. The taco might look innocent, but it was already crawling with disgusting things. I reached my hand back. Better to wait more and find something else. The hunger hurt, but what was I to do if eating made me horribly sick?

My head hung low. Accepting there'd be no food set my body into a sluggish mode. Also, the shoes that had been fine at home were doing me in acting like this. The heels weren't good for the running and prolonged movement. Sitting was the solution, yet again the problem was where did I go? Every inch of me craved walls to hide from the sun which followed me so incessantly.

Thankfully, this problem had the easiest solution. The northern section of the city had a pleasant, three-story library I rushed into without waiting. Better yet was it had almost everything I needed. The walls and roof were the first obvious thing, and I spotted a public bathroom the second I sped in. That took care of another bodily function demanding attention. Next to there was a water fountain to cool my throat and ease some of the pain in my abdomen. I took a deep breath of the air conditioning and glanced around. This must have made me look like someone new to the building, for a woman who had to work here came over after spotting me.

     "Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked sweetly.
     "No, I'm fine, thank you," I replied hiding all nerves. It hit me then this was the very first time I was speaking with a complete stranger.
     "Well, if you find yourself needing anything the Reference desk is right over there. We can handle any questions you have. I'm not sure what you like to read, but the children's and juvenile section is right over there in that room behind you."
     "Okay. Thank you."

I hadn't come in here wanting to read, but I moved to the one corner of the building so as to put some distance between me and her. It naturally wasn't that I disliked the woman, but who could I trust at this point? It was if I was a compass on a game board spinning and spinning not wanting to stop at any of the options. The woman returned to the desk when I departed. I could instantly tell once I stepped in the children's section there was nothing for me. The books were far too low in level for what I could read, but what set my skin crawling was the mom and daughter sitting on the floor reading and playing together. I ignored them as best I could as I pretended to be interested in scanning the shelves.

More than ever, I wanted my mom. Everything would be alright if she was with me. Her family wouldn't want me but believing she would love me didn't feel wrong. She was the one person I could trust. So, seeing that little girl have what I would give anything to have surged intense jealousy and frustration from my feet to my head. It was like the moment Tektite first ran into view. I'd seen mothers and their daughters on television, yet seeing a pair together in the flesh was something right out of a fairy tale.

I gave up on picking a book to scout the rest of the location. Computers available for everyone were set up on each floor, and I went for the most isolated one. It sat on the third floor with the privacy walls blocking me from view from the stairs. Solid walls covered my back and left while a lone window on my right was the only thing that opened me up to sight. Thankfully, the angle made it so the most someone could see through the twin window on the other side of the floor was my back. My heart pulsed faster upon me opening the internet.

My fingers hovered hesitantly over the keyboard. The reason I chose the computer I did was because of the search I wanted to do. What I could find would be the confirmation. The potential breaking of the last of my belief in the people who'd raised me. Needless to say, it took five minutes before I was able to press the first letter.

The numbness came back with a fervor even as my heart kept racing. I got 'Timber Mo' typed in before an auto-fill list dropped down with everything I didn't want to see. "Timber Mountain Capture', 'Timber Mountain Murder', and 'Timber Mountain News' were the first three suggestions with half of the rest being dad's name and The Company's various monikers placed together. Selecting the first choice and clicking the first link began the nightmare. There it listed the crimes dad and grandpa professed they were innocent for─ attacking mom's mom and oldest sister, killing my aunt and uncle, and poisoning my great-grandma and great-great uncle among other numerous crimes throughout the years. The article continued, stating how dad confessed to everything. That everything included animal cruelty, attacking mom, abducting her, abusing her, and killing her and her newborn. Her skeleton and a baby's skeleton had been excavated from underneath the oak and dianthus flowers. Grandpa had been interviewed where he said he'd given up his son and the Scarlet Dawn office for atonement─ to stop more terrible things from happening and to save me from dad's lies.

Me. I was mentioned at the bottom in one paragraph of my own. How I'd gone missing and was wanted by the officials for recovery. A picture identical to the one that'd been on grandpa's desk gave my face and appearance away.

I hurriedly closed the website and cleared the history. People seriously were out there looking for me. My face was forever on the internet and easily found if one knew where to look. Judging from how many others I'd passed on the street though, the majority had cared to look. Mr. Mint had me watch a video once of the government's Most Wanted list and how most people couldn't list or recognize a single criminal on there despite the ease of access to the list and the high profile cases. Still, I sat there stiff as if a spotlight shone bright as a beacon calling everyone's attention my way. I remained on the computer nervously playing games until my nerves relaxed. Some calm came from the fact that my options had been narrowed. The Company or Mr. Flaxen's group definitively did not want me back now. I thus either continued doing what I was doing hoping for a better option to come, gave myself over, or eventually ended up getting caught.

Nature's call forced me from the computer where I found it taken when I returned. For almost the first time in my life, I sought out a book for comfort. I flew through a simple time in no time at all, got bored halfway through a harder one, and managed to loose myself in a college level instruction book about dying tricks for survival. Definitely pertinent information right now.

     "Excuse me?" Another librarian, brown and yellow, approached to halt my absorption of ways of testing water for cleanliness. "I just want to let you know, the library will be closing in ten minutes."
     "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't realize it had gotten so late." I closed the book.
     "It's alright. You're more than welcome to stay until we make the closing announcement. I simply wanted to give you the heads up," she reassured. Then she gave me a strange smile. It wasn't condescending or anything. More concerned. "Do you have someone with you or coming to pick you up?"
     "Um," I stammered for a second. "No. I live really close, so I'm walking home."
     "Oh? The sun is going down earlier these days. Are you sure you don't want to call your parents or someone to drive you home?"
     "No, thank you," I denied more firmly.

The woman fiddled. She wasn't happy with that but couldn't force me to take her suggestion. She was bold enough though to say the other matter on her mind.

     "Are you sure there's nothing we can help you with? My co-worker and I noticed you have been in the building straight through lunch and dinner. Have you not eaten anything?"
     "I did go out to eat," I lied.
     "Mmm," the woman mumbled in disbelief. I thought when she left she was leaving in defeat, but in less than a minute she returned with a snack-sized bag of salted peanuts. "You won't need this then since you ate, but just in case..."
     "Thank you."

I took the bag fighting back the blush of embarrassment tickling my cheeks. My lie was more obvious than before with me accepting it, but seriously if my stomach didn't burn. Water only tricked it for a dozen minutes at a time. I returned the book to its proper place, nonchalantly walked out of the library, bolted once the building was out of sight, and wolfed down the peanuts in a quiet corner. I even turned the bag inside-out to lick the salt and peanut crumbs stuck to the plastic. Embarrassment hit me harder despite no one being around.

The sun did indeed rest low on the horizon. It wouldn't be long before the light was gone completely. Not having made any progress, I found a map of the city on a sign to reorient myself so I could find the playground again. A sharp stick I picked up on my way boosted my confidence in being safe sleeping outside. One quick jab would put a nice puncture wound into anyone who tried anything. If only someone attacking me was the problem I faced though.

     "How much longer is he going to be?" a girl's voice huffed.
     "Probably not for a bit. He has to watch his siblings longer since his mom got that new work shift," a boy replied.

I crept closer to the park instead of walking normally as I'd been about to do. The area was empty no longer. A teenage girl and boy stood there talking and discussing plans of theirs, and where they had this conversation meant it was impossible for me to get to the jungle gym. They wouldn't leave too. I hid myself in a bush waiting and waiting and waiting, but the two simply rotated through sitting on the different playground equipment. That third companion of theirs eventually showed up at ten.

At that point I understood there was no reason for me to wait longer. They weren't going away soon, and I would find no sleep in that scratchy bush. Off I had to sneak searching out another place I might rest. The roads and sections of the city growing more familiar made darting between alleys and creeping in the shadows less scary. My search again had me checking for discarded boxes, and again I stumbled across a place that sufficed enough for me to settle for the moment. The location was actually at the back of the courthouse, which had a 'H' shaped design where the back had an open grassy space that created a dark hideout for those, like me, who wished not to be seen. A hedge fence boxed in the opening, and the lots behind the courthouse further hiding the area meant no foot traffic would come through. I would have liked something of a roof, but at least most of the wind couldn't get through.

     "I'm so hungry," I mumbled to myself.

I curled up wondering if constricting my mid-section would thus squish my stomach and make it feel better. Perhaps the stress on it was why my face went fuzzy. I sat there for the longest time rubbing at my head to make it go away. Eventually, I laid on my side to close my eyes. At least I'd figured out a better trick. If I found food, I needed to wait until right before bed to eat so the hunger didn't keep me up.

Thankfully, I did get more sleep, although that was due more to the fact that my body could not keep itself awake any longer than out of a sense of being content. The hours passed calmly enough leaving me in a moderately more comfortable position than before not having to deal with exhaustion. I spent a bit when I woke in the morning with my shoes off massaging my feet before venturing out. Studying at the library for ways to scrounge for food from the environment or researching places in the city where food might be given for free came to mind first. I ended up convincing myself from the idea though, and that was due to the librarians being too helpful. They were aware and kind. The more I went back the more they'd be suspicious that I wasn't living normally. I'm sure they were crazy intelligent as well. The risk of them reading those articles about dad and spotting my picture was high.

Yet...would it be such a terrible thing if they found out who I was?

The perpetual tug-of-war plaguing my mind took its toll. This whole thing I was doing was ridiculous. Me, living on the streets? Acting as if someone would come sweep me to an ideal life if I walked around this city aimlessly? I'd had my ideal life. So much of it had been a lie, but it'd still been good. Now that bubble was burst while I had to take charge and pick the lesser of all evils. Be homeless? Or accept all the unknowns in turning myself in? The war came to a tipping point when I entered the large park to get a drink of water and use the restroom. I dashed behind a tree upon spotting a man and a woman talking to the police officer. The officer appeared to be talking them through a dispute or problem, and, while I couldn't clearly hear the words, the tone he spoke in came gentle and patient. He seemed like a good guy.

But dad and grandpa had seemed like good guys.

My nails dug into the bark. Time after time I peeked around the trunk waiting for the moment the man and woman left. I couldn't muster the courage to walk up with them there, but if they left surely I could do it. However, they just kept on talking. A frustrated scream bubbled in my throat. They had to go soon because I felt what confidence I had slipping. My mind tormented me with the 'what-if's of how I doomed myself if I talked to the police officer. Sweat slicked my palms and the back of my neck. A sickening chill of ice shot up from my legs to lurch my stomach with nausea. I rocked on my heels to urge my feet onwards, yet the only reason I didn't bolt was due to a sensation like kind hands on my shoulders holding me in place. They almost even pushed me forward.

But...I ran. The police officer briefly turned his head in my vague direction, and it frightened me enough to where I had to leave. The terror seriously threatened to send me into a fit otherwise.

There was my answer though. I didn't trust government officials to help. They were that corrupt as dad said that between turning to them or being homeless I would rather be homeless. Maybe if some more time passed, as the repercussions and proceedings of dad and grandpa being caught and tried changed things, maybe my view might shift. The idea calmed my thrashing chest. Yes. I'd wait and see what the following weeks brought. More information was key to make a informed decision as Mr. Mint always said.

The dangerous, building swell of anxiety and panic melted into a comforted determination. I was smart. I still had access to some good resources if I acted with thought. I'd find ways to manage. First off though, I had to do something about my stomach. I gritted my teeth, sucked it up, and slipped in a nice hiding alcove nearby one of those food trucks. Time passed slowly until the best opportunity presented itself. A father bought a meal for his stubborn son a year or two younger than me who didn't want it. He was throwing some sort of tantrum. The father eventually gave up, took the son's food, tossed it in the dumpster, and led the kid off in a huff by the wrist. I stood at the dumpster by the time they disappeared around the corner. Enough trash in there allowed me to reach the discarded meal with ease. If the dumpster had been empty, I'd had to go inside it─ a point of desperation I wasn't at yet. The best thing was the food was firmly tucked inside the Styrofoam box it came in.

I made sure to touch as little of the box though as I hunkered down in the alcove again to nearly cry at my prize. Inside was a cheeseburger with one bite out of it, a hefty serving of fries with garlic seasoning, and an unopened container of applesauce. The container I pocketed before reminding myself to eat slowly as the first several bites were as a starving wolf.

A grateful stomach increased my confidence. I had my stick, I had a treat for bed, I could make that grassy space I found into a nice hideout, and there was lots of time left in the day for me to learn more tricks. It was late enough now where hanging out at the library for a few hours wouldn't be suspicious. The outer fringes of Aspen Harbor were rich with nature and resources. I'm sure there were plants to eat there, and if the city core proved too troublesome making a little den in the woods actually seemed fun. However, I didn't even make it to the library that day. The food truck stationed itself at the front of an apartment building. Walking around it brought me into view of a small concrete area of more playground equipment for the residents' children to play on. One was right there at the hopscotch.

     "Hi!" she beamed at me.
     "Hello," I nodded politely. I was going to keep walking, but her scurrying closer and clearly wanting to talk stopped me.
     "I'm Calamansi Zest, but I just go by Cala. What's your name?"
     "I'm, uh...Cinnamon..." This was something I should have thought about earlier, for I obviously couldn't go around using my real name. My sister's first name was fine, but what should be my last name? I thought of Mr. Mint. Mint wouldn't fit, but his first name was generic enough to have been passed down to my brown self through a Mixed marriage. "Cinnamon Holiday."
     "Hi, Cinnamon. Do you live around here?" Cala asked eagerly.
     "My...parents and I are visiting relatives here until the end of summer break," I created the lie out of nowhere, leaving myself an out.
     "Oh, that must be nice. I don't have much extended family." Cala glanced to the sky, pondering, before smiling at me again. "All my friends are on vacation too. Do you want to play with me for a while? Or do you have to go?"
     "I..." Rejection was the obvious answer. That is, until another realization hit me. Exactly like that pink librarian was the first stranger I'd talked to, Cala was the first one my age I'd ever met. Forever and ever I'd wished for a friend, someone my age to play with and talk to. Now I smiled. "Sure! I can play."

Cala invited me to join her in hopscotch, which I gladly did. I hadn't played before, but I'd learned the rules from television. Back and forth we took our turns with Cala being a chatty one not caring to delve deeply into what lies I had to produce to make a consistent, normal story of my life. Then we got off the topic of ourselves when she brought up Merge Monsters.

     "Koalamb is my favorite. I even have the original, limited edition plushie and trading card back at home," I revealed enthusiastically.
     "Oh, wow. I have an original whirlray card, but that's way less rare than koalamb. My favorite monster is raccoonut though."
     "Raccoonut is super cute too. I love that episode where they find a nest of baby ones!"
     "That's my absolute favorite episode! My dad got mad at me because I wouldn't stop begging him for a baby raccoon afterwards.," Cala giggled.
     "That's crazy because I begged my dad for a lamb pet for the longest time," I laughed. "I thought he would be more likely to get it only for the fact that it'd be way easier than getting hold of a koala. I was wrong, wrong, wrong."
     "That reminds me, it's not a sheep, but have you seen that funny video of that baby goat who jumps all around and even backflips off one of the other baby goats?"
     "No, I haven't."
     "Here, let me show you."

Cala pulled out the phone she had where we watched the video she described over and over until our laughing hurt. Then she went through a whole list of other crazy or amusing videos she had to show me. We sat in the cool shade with time flowing effortlessly, something that hadn't happened since I'd been home. Best yet, when I looked at my watch and determined I'd been away from my 'family' long enough, Cala said her parents worked during the day and permitted her to be home alone without a babysitter. I was able to come over to hang out as long as I left before five so as to not disturb them when they wanted to come back and rest.

The library was closing earlier today due to it being the weekend, but I managed to make it there and get an hour of hard studying done. Some time was spent figuring out what plants I could find and eat, but most of my hour actually focused on how to clean clothes with limited resources. I was beginning to stink. My clothes and me would have to be washed eventually, and if I wanted to consistently go over to Cala's house I couldn't show up every day in the same outfit. That's why my head hung low upon returning to the courthouse. It didn't hang low due to dejection but because I searched for money. The coins people dropped without knowing or couldn't bother to pick up piled together rather fast. A dollar and thirteen cents sat in my pocket when I stood at my corner envisioning how I could protect myself when it rained or got cold. I also had to find a way to hide the stuff I didn't want on me at all times. My pockets couldn't hold everything.

     "Tch, what does this girl think she's doing?"

I jumped at the sudden voice. No sounds had been made to signal an approaching presence yet turning showed me a purple woman standing there. She jumped at me jumping, the reason for her surprise being unknown.

     "Um, hello," I mumbled timidly. The woman's revealing outfit made it difficult to glance her way without my cheeks burning. Almost everything of her was showing─ a style of dress I wasn't used to. The woman didn't answer right away. She stared up and to the left over my shoulder as if she was meeting the eyes of another person despite there only being blank wall.
     "Girl, what are you doing here?" the woman asked more directly.
     "I'm..." Upon noticing how badly my voice quivered, I took a deep breath. I knew I'd have to deal with others wandering through nontraditional lives at some point. There'd been a number of times I had indeed passed by homeless adults lining the side of the streets already. To be timid would make me a pushover. "This is my spot. I'd like it if you let me to it."

The woman raised a brow but didn't become angry.

     "Your spot," she repeated sardonically. "Babe, you're going to want to pick somewhere else. This is not a good place for someone like you. It's only a matter of time before someone chooses to make use of this place as it was before."
     "What do you mean?"
     "This is an excellent work location."
     "Work? What kind of work?"
     "Seriously?" she sighed. "Can't you tell just by looking at me?"

I tilted my head to the side in confusion. What was I supposed to know?

     "Prostitution, girl. Prostitution."
     "What's that?"
     "Oh my g─" she exhaled loudly in exasperation, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "It's where people pay people like me large amounts of money for me to do whatever they want sexually."
     "...Oh. People do that behind the courthouse of all places?" I frowned.
     "Politicians and law people are some of the best customers," the woman almost smiled.
     "You're going to be working here then?" I asked. If that kind of thing was going to go down, it was better if I left.
     "No, I..." she hesitated. Then she stared harder at me than before as if waiting for me to understand another thing that'd escaped my notice. "I can't do that work anymore. People have in fact not been working here for a while, but I'm sure someone will come back someday."
     "If you don't actually know if someone's coming, then I'm not leaving," I decided stubbornly.

While I anticipated the woman growing angry now, she paused and thought hard. Her expression softened as much as her tone did.

     "Do you really not have anywhere to go?" she wondered.
     "I don't," I admitted. Perhaps because there was no way to convince her it wasn't the truth or because the woman felt like someone who'd understand, my hesitations on telling the truth lessened immensely.
     "You don't look like a runaway who has been on the streets long. It happened recently, huh?"
     "Yeah. I've only been on my own a day or two. My dad and grandpa...they turned out to be really bad people." I paused as I tried not to cry. To say reality out loud made containing it more difficult. "They were arrested, but one of their 'work' friends snuck off with me. He was trying to figure out who to dump me on when he got arrested too. The police and stuff want to find me, but...I just...I'm too scared to trust them."
     "It makes sense. Sounds like your whole was turned upside down. Especially after finding out the people you loved were liars, it's natural to not be able to accept strangers at face value. I mean, just look at what I said. Politicians and their like are some of the best customers. Those married, goody-two-shoed presenting, squeaky clean on the outside men, and women, would rush out here as soon as the sun set to do...all sorts of stuff." The woman censored herself at the end, I could tell.

My voice faltered. The reassurance of my choice hadn't been something I'd expected, which lightened the weight in my chest. The woman spoke more kindly still.

     "I'm Jasmine. Call me Jazzy though. You're─?"
     "Uh, Cinna─"
     "Your real name, girl. Don't think you can pull anything over on me," she reprimanded gently.
     "It's Nutmeg."

It was all I was willing to give.

Jazzy ruffled my hair and sighed once more, this time in defeat.

     "If I can't get you leaving, I'll stay with you at least for tonight. Honestly, I can't be of help if anything happens for...reasons, but maybe it might make you feel safer." she shrugged.
     "Y-You don't have to. I'll be fine on my own."
     "I'm kinda stuck to this place. I suppose having company won't be bad for a change."
     "Thanks?"

She sat down with a smile, and I followed suit. I didn't mean for my eyes to weary as they did or my head to fall on her shoulder, but the more I leaned upon her the faster my energy faded. Jazzy jolted again, this time from my touch, but kindly shifted to lying my head in her lap.

     "Go ahead and sleep, babe. Mornings have a way of making everything bright, new, and exciting."

I nodded sluggishly, unwound my muscles' tension, and drifted into an even more peaceful sleep than the night before.