My arms are so weak and tired. I can see that my younger sister
is having a very hard time to. "Tanni, Tanni, help!" She is on the
ground now and a big pile of the wood is collapsing over her. "Tanni!"
My real name is Tannis but my sister almost all the time calls me
Tanni.
I'm scared and have no choice but to run over and start flinging the
wood off of her. "I'm here Ally, Calm down," I'm in tears maybe
because I don't want to lose her like I lost my mother when Ally was
born about ten years ago. I was only six and barely remember her now.
The only reason I know how she looked is because when I was eleven my
dad went to town and I snuck in his room and snooped around. I was
careful to make sure I put everything back the way it was. The only
thing I didn't put back was a picture of her that I found in a small
brown box.
When he came back, I was running out of his room stuffing the picture
into my apron pocket, He was suspicious at first and I got a good
whipping, but he never founds out. I carried it with me ever since.
Or maybe because I know I might be whipped to death for stopping my
work for nothing. Well nothing for my father, but for me, my sisters'
life. "I'm here." I say to her.
Jim has ran over to, and without a word is taking the stacks of wood
off of her. My father brought him here three years ago to help work.
He was only thirteen. He told me his parents died when he was twelve
and he lived on the streets for a year.
I hope all of my crying doesn't make her more scared, all I know is
that I need to get her out alive."I love you Tanni." I hear her
saying.
"I love you too" I say back to her. She is the only thing left in the
whole world that I love, the only reason I keep myself alive every
day.
The wood piles are huge and all of us use latter's to pile them up.
The pile Ally was on was still very thin and toppled over like a
leaning tower.
I'm not sure what my father is doing right now but I hope he's not
coming back soon. He had given strict orders for me Jim and Ally to
pile up the wood before he comes back or he would whip us all. I don't
see why Jim stays here even though my father is so mean but I guess
it's a way for him to have shelter and food.
My hands are bleeding and covered with slivers from the wood. I don't
get why we have to get so much wood every four years if we could
easily get a little bit every year.
