Lost Together

Chapter 4

The three stopped on the pavement and went aside.
„Here are lots of people on the streets. I suggest we split up and ask around. You two stay together, though. We'll meet right here again, when you're done." whispered Jack to his siblings. „And Alma? Hide your arm in your sleeve, please. Nobody should see it."
Alma pulled her sleeve over her wing-like arm and Myron nodded at Jack. Then the two walked off, turned their heads left and right to make sure no cars were there, then they went over to the other side of the street.

Jack took a deep breath and looked around, seeing all the people's faces.
Some carried bags with them, some umbrellas. Some hurried down the streets and some were walking as if they had lots of time.
A few of them noticed him and gave him a short glance.
Not wanting to keep having eye contact with strangers, Jack began to head down the street.
That man? No, he seems too serious, Jack thought, deciding who to talk to, to find out about the way to the train station. That woman? No, idiot. She just turned into the next alley.
He kept walking and decided to speak to a woman, who was standing next to a shop and looking through the window.

The woman turned around, noticing Jack walking up to her.
„Uhm—excuse me." Jack began to say and cleared his throat.
„What can I do for you, young man?" she said, her voice sounding sweet and cheerful.
She had dark-brown shoulder-long hair and a little hat. She had a grey dress, wearing a light-brown coat over it.

„I...I wanted to ask where I could find the train station." Jack finally said, after not responding for a couple of seconds.
The woman giggled. „Oh! Are you not from around here? The train station is right over..."
Her voice seemed to become quieter. And everything around Jack turned a little blurry.

Jack...

He started to look around to figure out where the voice was coming from.

You are better than this...

Slowly his surroundings became more realistic again, less blurry.

„Is everything alright, young man?"

He looked down to his arm, just to see the woman's hand on it.
Jack flinched slightly.
His eyes were fixed on the woman's face again. She had a worried look on her face.

„P-please let go of me, madam." he said to her, his voice shaking.
She immediately let go and Jack quickly began to walk away and the lady watched him, worriedly.
Now, he still didn't know where the train station was, but Jack only wanted to get away and find his siblings now. Hoping they knew now where to go.

<—————>

„Thank you!" Myron shouted to a woman and smiled, walking away together with Alma.

„Now we know where the train station is!" said Alma happily, jumping up and down.
It seemed as if she didn't take everything seriously, but perhaps she was too young to understand what was happening at the moment.

The two ran over to the place, where they would meet Jack again. But he wasn't there yet.

Alma and Myron sat down on a bench, waiting for their brother to come.
Myron saw blue and white feathers sticking out of Alma's sleeve.
„Uh—Alma? Your...arm." he said, pointing at it.
„This?" she replied and raised her arm, her sleeve sliding down and revealing the wing-like limb.
Myron quickly tried to keep her arm down, but it was too late. Two people, a man and a woman, stopped to take a closer look at what they just saw.
„That is not normal! That girl should see a doctor—or a vet! What even is she?" the woman snapped and eyed Alma with a disgusted look on her face.
Alma's arm disappeared in her sleeve again and she looked down embarrassed.
„Sh-she's not ill! That wing isn't real. It's part of a costume." Myron said, trying to to convince them.
„Well, it looks terribly real." the woman said and the man nodded.
They walked away and as they did, the two siblings saw Jack hurrying across the street.
„Jack!" Myron got up and smiled at his brother. „We know the way to the train station now!"
„That's good." Jack said, trying to catch his breath.
Alma pulled on her brother's sleeve and looked at him worriedly. „Are you okay, Jack?"
Jack grabbed his arm at the spot where the lady had her hand earlier.
„I'm...okay."

Myron told Jack where the train station was and how they would get there. He wanted to take a break, but Jack insisted on getting away from here first and then they would take a small break.
Alma and Myron noticed that Jack was acting strange, but they decided to ignore it for now.

The three started to head down the street, joining the walking crowd of people.

<—————>

Jack lay on his bed, holding his arm. It had a bruise and it was hurting a lot.
Suddenly, the door opened and out of reflex Jack quickly sat up, thinking it would be their parents. But it was Alma and Myron.

Alma was holding a piece of paper in her hands and ran up to Jack.
"I drew something for us three!" she said excitedly and gave it to him.
Jack held the paper with both of his hands in front of him.
It showed him, Alma and Myron standing on a field with flowers. The sky had a few clouds and the sun, with a grinning face on it, in the left corner of the drawing.
"Amazing, right?" Myron said, smiling.
"Yes, wow. This looks really good." Jack agreed and his eyes moved, away from the drawing, over to his little sister. "This is really nice of you, Alma."
Alma smiled widely and said: "I'm going to draw more!"
Then she hurried over to a counter and grabbed pencils and paper from it.

Myron joined her and later Jack was drawing too.