The crisp morning air filled the room as weak rays of the sun pelted me though the open glass window. Emma and Niamh shimmered in the vibrant light,their fair skin looking smooth and delicate, jet black hair falling over off of her pillow. I know that Niamh is going to be angry today because he could obviously tell that I was awake when she finally went to sleep. But it's really not my fault because the crushing anxiety of maybe not having a roof over my head in a couple months scared the crap out of me , yet some how hardly effects the other girls. Slowly I sit up trying not to squeak the spring when I move . I place my bare feet in the ground it's cold the splintery floor boards , rough yet comforting , cause I know this is home. I begin to walk to the door as the floor starts to creek under my weight. I freeze and stare at the other girls , Emma twists and turns in her bed her ,hair getting more and more tangled like a lions mane , Niamh turns so he back is facing me then she slowly sits up. Her eyes glisten in the now brighter sun light . She turns her head making her hair flip to the other side or her body. Weekly she asks " Zara ? Why are you up ? " her voice breaks as she try's to keep quiet as not to wake Emma as well. I don't fully know what to say but I still have to say something , I mumble and try to talk but it sounds as if I have a lump in my throat " well I needed some water and thought that I would be allowed to go downstairs to get some." Without warning tear start to fill my eyes , the tumble down my cheeks as Niamh makes her way towards me. My knees stop workings and I collapse on the ground, Niamh now by my side! She is very strong both in mind and body , she lifts me up in her arms and sits down on the cold floor with me in her lap. The warmth of her body is nice but the uncontrollable amount of tears rolling down my face is making it near to impossible to breath. Exhausted from crying non stop for 10 minutes , or so it seemed, I fell asleep in Niamh's arms . I don't really know what happened next but I think she put me to bed then when downstairs to start cooking . Why was I crying ? Why couldn't I stop? A few hours I woke up . Dazed and hazy I stumble careful not to knock into Emma's bed as I make my way to the winding staircase at the end of the hall. I can hear Niamh and the other older girls already in the kitchen helping make breakfast for the rest of the house. Peeking my head around the splintered white trimming of the kitchen door , I can clearly see Niamh taking control of the situation . Lilly and Bethany , the 2 second oldest girls in the house , were helping Niamh with prep as the other girls plate the food , almost prepared for wake up call with the younger lassies. " looks like we may have a wee friend!" Lilly says , I must have lost concentration because I am now standing , full frontal , in the doorway. Beth comes over to my side and jostles my hair around. Beth and Lilly were like my big sisters before Niamh arrived . They were dropped at the home only hours after birth. " if you are now awake, I need you to go and wake the girls" Niamh says to me her eyes serious but gentile " make sure they wash up and are ready for grace " ," will do " I say as I hop up the stairs , gentile on my feet as not to crack the boards even more.
