~One Shots~

Lost in the City

"So... you're separated from your parents?"

On the park bench sat a quizzical and uncertain Deven Marrow with a little girl in a red blouse on one side of him and his old brown backpack wheezing on the other side. The afternoon people were filing out of tall skyscrapers and warm fancy cafeterias, with phones in one hand and polished suitcases or flashy purses in the other. It's not uncommon to find many wealthy people in the city area—in fact, the park must be the quietest public place there is, even though there's not much difference with the packed streets and shopping maniacs heading to and fro the plaza.

The brunette young girl held a cheeseburger in her tiny hands, gorging down the half of the food with surprising speed that amazed the teen beside her. She didn't have to answer, as there was no one with her when he found her drifting away from the crowd, peering quizzically into the faces of the busy townspeople.

"What's your name?" He had a light Southern accent, but he was certain it can be understood.

The child was hesitant as she raised her head slowly, and Deven could see the fear behind the confusion in her huge grey eyes. It made him feel uncannily remorseful, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck.

"Uh... you have one?" he asked a little louder, thinking she might not be able to hear her over the bustling citizens about in the park.

Her voice came out small, as if unwilling. "Eloise," she muttered, instinctively running a finger across her sketchbook. She seemed to be cowering afterwards, and Devin knew why. He was twelve years older than her, and definitely towered over her. He was a stranger to her. She's a stranger to this city. She's lost.

Deven lowered his head and smiled at her reassuringly. "Eloise? Nice to meet you. I'm Deven. Do you like that burger?"

Eloise's pair of mystical eyes had returned to its distant, thoughtful state. She only nodded distractedly as she took another large chunk and swallowed.

There was silence in between them, filled with blaring horns from the streets and raucous laughter from the nearby pub, in which Deven studied the girl's appearance. She was young, tiny, white—she's a lone child that had let go of her mother's grasp. She seemed far away, as if she's not living in the moment—she's not one with the city hassle behind them.

After a moment, Deven tried to communicate with this girl once again. "How'd you get here?"

The curtain of chocolate-ginger hair concealed a side of her face as she finished the last of her burger. She didn't answer right away, but when she did, it was only one word. "Jade."

"Jade?" Deven repeated, a little baffled. The jewel? Or a name? "You searching for a Jade?"

Nodding, Eloise added, "Jade is my friend."

"Oh." He had no idea how to respond to this, but he pretended to appear as if he understood. "So where's Jade gone to?"

Eloise shrugged as Deven took her trash and crumpled it in his hands. The girl began to pick up her pencil and started to flip through the sketchbook on her lap to find an empty page.

The black teen peered over the page she opened and caught a glimpse of a sketch of a boy. "You sure love drawing, huh?"

Eloise didn't respond. Her fingers were busy controlling the pencil, drawing circles and lines, sketching arms and legs. Deven couldn't help but stare at her skilful art, his mouth slightly open in awe. Little Ellie didn't pay attention to anything else.

When she was done, she clutched the pencil tight. Deven could perceive the drawing as two figures, a woman and a girl, with their backs facing him, hands clasped together as their hair flowed behind them. With a puzzled look, his gaze lifted, only to find trails of tears running down the flushed cheeks of the little child. He froze.

"I want Mommy."