Solarchanged

Book 1 || Chapter One || Some Men Just Want to Be

// 2 Months Later //

Marie-Jonson noticed them three and half weeks ago. At first she really didn't pay attention to them, after all it wasn't strange to see children at the park after school. But after the first week she started to worry; those two had been there everyday in tattered stained clothes, and there's never any adults around when she sees them. They were young children, the oldest being barely 10, if that, so why were they there alone day after day? Worried, she started taking Dante to the park after she picked him up from daycare...

At first he was content to play alone but he quickly gravitated to the other children in the park. They seemed hesitant to leave their little corner of the playground, but after a few minutes of talking Marie saw the older child nod at the younger one, who then promptly went to play with her son. However, the older one stayed at the doors of their tent. He seemed content to just watch the younger children play. MJ observed the scene in front of her, becoming lost in thought. Why were these children here alone every day? Where are their parents? Why do their clothes all look far too big? And they look just about to fall apart as well... Maybe -

"Mom..."

"Oh," Marie said dumbly, startled from her thoughts by the quiet voice, "What is it, Hunny?"

". . ." Without uttering a futher word, the little four year old did the american sign for food.

"You're hungry?" Marie questioned as she searched her bag for the snack she packed, "Here you go," she said, handing her son the bag of goldfish. The little boy nodded happily and ran off to his friend in a hurry...

It didn't take her long to realize what her son was doing. In fact, she noticed on Wednesday of that very week. He started being hungrier after playing at the park despite the snacks she brought him. He always ran off with the snacks, too, bringing them to play with his friends. It didn't take a rocket scientist to put together that he was giving the food to his new friends. They did look hungry, after all, so Marie started packing extra food from that day on...

When Dante came up for his snack that day, Marie-Jonson took out two extra bags of dried fruits, "For your friends," she told him, "They're probably hungry as well, by this time - they could use a snack!"

Little Dante lit up when he took the baggies of dried fruit, and he promptly ran off to give them to his friend. The older one still had yet to come out of their make-shift shelter with her , but the younger one had dragged her son into it, presumably to give them their fruit bag...

She was a bit concerned that the older child still hasn't come out of the shelter around her - recently, she noticed that her son and his friend had been staying close to the shelter as well. She really hasn't seen the older child at all recently.

MJ sighed as she pulled into the parking lot. She has work to do, she'll have to think about it later.

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As Marie-Jonson pulled into the park, she could tell there was something wrong almost immediately. Dante's little friend was standing at the curb, waiting for them. It looked like they had been crying. Quickly pulling into a parking spot, Marie got out and unhooked Dante, who wasted no time running into the tent. Marie grabbed the bag she had set up for park outings and hurriedly followed the young children.

Walking into the make-shift shelter, she noticed several things at once. The first thing she noticed was that the shelter looked lived-in, not like something that is taken down and put back up daily - it made sense, she thought, after all the tent-like shelter was always up. There were clothes, all stained and old looking and far too big for either child, set neatly in a pile in the corner, and there was a broken lantern hung up by a little rope. The second thing she noticed was the satchel, which was also hung up, that contained various half-eaten food items - most of which she had given the children as snacks. The third and most alarming thing she noticed was the children themselves. Her son was sitting on the ground next to the older child, who was covered by a blanket and had a wet rag - which may have once been a piece of clothing - put on their forehead. They were flushed and sweaty and unhealthily pale; they were sick if Marie had to guess. Dante's friend was holding their hand and whispering something under their breath. They were crying again.

It didn't take long for Dante to notice his mother's presence. He turned to her, with a longing and unsure look - he was scared his, friend was very sick, after all. He doesn't know what to do, so he nudged his friend, getting their attention. To say they were surprised was an understatement.

"Uhm... Hello ma'am," they started, "Do you need to talk to Dante?"

"Ah- uhm... no-n-no," MJ stammered. She didn't know what to say, not in this situation.

"Well then. Can you leave? This is.. Private," the child asked, "Please."

Marie shook her head and came to kneel down next to the children, "What happened to them?" she asked, she could see some faint scars on their arms now that she was closer, "They're injured.."

"They're ill," the child replied snappily, "and you should leave."

The ill child groaned, catching the attention of the other three individuals in the room. "Luna.." they mumbled before going into a hacking fit, "Be nice..."

"I know, Terra.." The now named Luna sighed, "I'm just stressed."

"I'm sorry -"

"NO!" The sickly child was cut off by Luna, who now had tears in their eyes, "Stop apologizing! It's not your fault!"

While the two children continued their conversation - which was periodically interrupted by a coughing fit - Marie turned to her son, "Hey buddy," she picked him up onto her lap and wiped his tears, "is this why you've been sticking by this place more?"

Dante nodded. He was scared. He didn't know if his friend was dying or not. He seemed fine up until recently.

"When did this start?" questioned the worried mother. Her son replied by holding up the number 2 on his fingers. "Two days ago?" she asked for clarification, which she got in the form of a nod.

Chewing on her lip, Marie-Jonson stared at the young children before her. She didn't know what to do, these poor children.. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud coughing fit.

Was... was that blood?