Sam & Penny Short-Stories *English*

ORPHANS - Shelter

Once they reached the edge of the cliff, the two men grabbed the woman under her arms to pull her up. She put the girl down, who immediately ran to her little brother and took him in her arms so that he could cling to her.

The children looked uncertainly at the blonde man who had helped pull them up onto the cliffs. The one with the auburn hair thanked him again before winding the steel cable back onto the winch while the woman spoke to the blonde.

"We'll have to leave as long they pay no attention to us!" the girl said quietly, but was aware that the woman hardly took her eyes off the two of them.

"But they promised us something to eat. And chocolate. And cocoa. I don't want to run away anymore. They're nice."

"They're just pretending. They might give it all to us too, but only so we can stay there and they can call the people at the orphanage."

"I'm hungry and I'm cold. I don't want to anymore," the boy whined quietly and tears welled up in his eyes. He didn't want to go to the orphanage, but they had been walking for days and had barely eaten, sleeping only in bushes and abandoned shelters. "I wish Mum was here."

"But she isn't and never will be again. She said we should find our aunt."

"Maybe they can help us find her."

"Adults don't help kids. They don't want us because we're annoying them. Why do you think Mom hasn't found a new dad for us?"

"You're so mean! I don't annoy anyone!"

"You're always annoying. I..."

"Hey, why are you arguing?" the woman asked them with a smile as she crouched down in front of them.

"He's annoying!" the girl muttered dismissively. She didn't want to talk to her. She didn't want to admit to herself that she think she was nice too. Her mother had told her what to do and she had to look after her brother. She only had him. What if they took him away from her as well?

"I'm not! You're annoying!" the boy replied and stuck his tongue out at his sister. They looked up at the woman in surprise as she laughed quietly.

"You remind me of my sister and I when we were your age," the woman then stated.

"Were you that annoying?" the boy asked curiously.

"More my sister was. She was the smaller of the two of us."

"You see? Little siblings are annoying!" the girl snapped at her brother, tears immediately welling up in his eyes.

"Big siblings but much more. I could always drive my little brother crazy," the man with reddish-brown hair chimed in. "But I'm still glad that I have him. He's my best friend. I don't know what I should do without him," he said, smiling as the woman stared briefly at the ground at her feet. The girl could see that she looked sad for a moment.

When she looked up again, she smiled, although it still seemed a little sad for the girl. "Shall we then go to the station and raid my secret hiding place?" she asked the two of them and the boy took the woman's hand without hesitation when she offered it to him.

The girl groaned in annoyance, but followed the woman and her brother while the man walked behind her. She opened the door of the fire truck and the girl saw that it only had two seats.

"We don't all fit in there," she noted.

"You and your brother will have to share a seat," the woman argued as she put the boy in the car.

"And where are the two of them going?" the girl replied and pointed to the two men.

"We're walking back to town," the blonde stated and nudged Sam in the stomach, who rolled his eyes in annoyance and rubbed the spot. "It won't hurt us, will it, Sam?"