Safe and Sound

Mia still remembered what it was like the first night at the orphanage with Ari. They were both 5 at the time. She engraved in her mind the image of her fathers back as he walked away briskly into the November night. 'Don't go running off somewhere. Stay right here.' He had said. He gave each of them a juice box, promising to be back in less than 10 minutes. 4 hours and 1 juice box later, both of the girls were shivering and crying. The orphanage owner had come out many times during that time, being just across the street from the curb the girls had been standing at. Any time she suggested going back to the house with her, both the girls had stubbornly refused and insisted that their father would be back. The woman would just pitifully look at them and return, feeling her heart break with every step. The girls didn't know that their father had called the orphanage earlier, telling them that he was leaving the girls with them. All they could think about was his promise of coming back.

But he never did.

The first night in the orphanage was the worst. All the kids spoke in whispers and jeered at the twins' matching name brand winter dresses. The two girls were scared of being in a foreign place. Most of all though, the girls were hurt. Throughout the years the girls hopped from orphanage to orphanage. It was rare when they were adopted since they refused to be apart, and rarer still when their adoptive parents actually kept them. 

"It's okay Ari. I'll protect you." Mia had said when the other girls pushed her and ripped her dress.

"Don't worry Ari, I'm here." Mia reassured while wiping off the blood from the side of her face; reaching behind her to hide Ari while the other orphan girls taunted them.

"Shhh Ari. It'll be okay." Mia whispered at a whimpering Ari, as their adoptive father approached them with a suggestive smile and another beer bottle.

"I got you Ari. Go back to sleep." Mia would say as she took Ari's hand when the nightmares would come back at night.

"We'll make it through." Mia panted, gripping Ari's wrist as they ran down the alleys from the cat calling men chasing after them.

"It's going to get better." Mia would state when they were back at another orphanage, although she would never be sure herself if it would ever possibly get better. That's how life always was like as the two girls continued to grow. Mia would protect Ari and the two of them would be inseperable. After all, they only had each other in this harsh world. At night Mia would lie in her bed and stare at the ceiling, silently crying and wondering when life would finally let her out of the hell she's endured. She'd look over at her silent sister and feel comfort in the fact that at least she wasn't alone. With that thought, she'd fall asleep and dream of better days.