Home is Where You Are : A Milkweed fanfic

Chapter Two

Or, rather, found them. It wasn't just Misha in the courtyard. In fact, it was everyone. Well, almost everyone. Olek and Big Henryk were missing from the crowd. But the ones who were here had been huddled around something. Enos, Ferdi, Kuba, Misha, and a little brown haired girl. Janina, no doubt. I approached slowly, as to not draw any attention to myself. Bright red hair stands out amongst the crowd most of the time.

Soon, I finally got close enough to hear what Misha and Janina were explaining.

"...and this one is the master stick." Misha nodded at Janina, who held a small black stick in her hand.

"Whaddaya do with it? Bonk people on the head?" Kuba asked. "Or do ya spank 'em with it or what?"

They laughed, the sound ringing and echoing off the walls. I laughed too, besides the absurdity of the joke. It just felt good to be back with them again. But, my laughter joining theirs had caught their attention. Misha perked up once he saw me.

"Uri!" He was beaming as he said my name, racing over to me.

If he'd been at full strength, he would've tackled me to the ground. Instead, he merely ran into me and wrapped his arms around my torso, squeezing me tight. Normally I would push him away, having an assignment from my superiors I had to do, but today was different. I put my arms around his shoulders. He's gotten taller. It pained me to see him get bigger every time I saw him, and not being able to watch him as he grew up. The thought only made me hold him tighter, closing my eyes as I did so.

"Jeez, you two," Kuba said, walking up to us, "get a room."

"You're one to talk," Ferdi said as he crossed his arms, "You act like you and Enos don't walk with your hands in each others pockets."

"Oh, shut up. You're, like, high ninety percent of the time anyway."

I turned my head, staring back at him. He smiled.

"What?" He asked. "You jealous that I'm getting more action than you?"

I shook my head and laughed. I was glad that he didn't resent me as much as he acted. It felt like old times.

"Alright, c'mon now," Kuba said as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Misha ain't the only one who's been waiting for a hug from 'Mr Redheaded Tough Guy'."

I was glad that I was finally able to meet Janina.

"Um, hi, Mr Uri?" She said, tugging at my sleeve.

I smiled. "It's just Uri."

"Oh...okay!" She grinned.

"What did you need?"

"Oh, uh...I had a question."

"Hm?"

"Would you like to hear my question?"

I laughed. "Okay, sure."

"It's, um..." Janina kicked at the dirt. "It's a little stupid."

"That's okay, Misha asks me a lot of questions too. Some of them are stupid. Well, come to think of it, most of them are stupid, but that doesn't mean I don't answer them. What did you need?"

"So, um, are you, uh..."

I knew it took awhile for kids to think of what they were intending to say. They get off track. I think that as if I'm an adult, but really I'm only a few years older than them. It's funny, the difference a three to four year age gap could make.