runaway.

chapter 3 - SJM.

luke.

the second her brown hair disappears from my sight, i grab her file and head towards my office to review them. before i open it, i think about the moment that she walked into my book stand this morning.

it was a small side business that i kept up when i wasn't consumed with working at the hospital. it can get pretty hectic somedays, dealing with young children for many hours, but books seems to relax me. they take my mind off the crazy medical world. i'll admit i wasn't paying attention when she first walked in. i didn't even realize someone had come in until the sound of books being taken off and on the shelves pulled me out of the music video i was watching.

an enormous black hood covered the backside of her head. her body shape didn't match anything else besides one of a young girl. she looked too small to be on her own. i wondered if she was just another child who had strayed away from their parents while they were too busy looking through stands. sometimes i leave them alone, not bothered by their presence but i knew they weren't going to purchase anything either. this girl however looked interested, making her way down the pink section of books i have organized. i chose to interrogate, walking over to where she was sifting through books.

"can i help you find anything?" i ask as i approach her from behind, seeing her read the back cover of one of the books.

my voice clearly startles her as she jumps around and places her hand over her heart. i don't think she ever heard me get up from where i was sitting. her head never turned in my direction as they usually did. i let out a laugh at how unintentionally i've scared her. i throw my arms up in surrender, "sorry i didn't mean to scare you."

i study her features as she awkwardly stands there. she's young indeed, probably a preteen i would say from my experiences with children. most of her face is covered by the hood yet i can tell she still had a baby face. one messy strand of light brown hair covers part of her face with matching eyes that look back at me. her body appears extremely malnourished with bones almost protruding out of her skin in a few areas. when she doesn't respond, i suspiciously raise my eyebrow. her body is almost frozen in fear as she holds the book up in her hand. "do you want to buy that?" i ask.

she nods frantically in response. i pull the book out of her small hands to ring it up for her. it's an interesting choice she's made in terms of books. she's selected a collection of poetry rather than a story. i wouldn't expect the sophisticated choice from someone as young as her, but i didn't judge. she trails behind me to where the register is. i scan it and put it in a bag for her, "that'll be $16."

she reaches into her bag, pulling out a wad of singles. as she does, her hood falls to the side and i catch a glimpse of a nasty cut along her cheek. it looks fresh, no more than a few hours old, and is swollen along the edges. her face drops in disappointed and she frowns. she sheepishly admits, "oh i'm sorry. i only have $15, i'll have to leave it." she turns to walk away.

feeling partly sorry for the young girl and intrigued to find out what happened to her face, i call out after her. it's the doctor in me always wanting to help. "wait!" i shout a little loudly. my cheeks instantly fills with color. "you can have it. i'll give it to you for fifteen. don't worry about it."

she slowly turns back towards me and places the cash on the counter. she hesitantly takes the book from me, exiting my store rather quickly. something doesn't sit right with me as i think about her. as doctors, we're trained to notice signs of abuse and she reeked of them... malnourished, scared of others, physical injuries. it made me worried. i tried to shake it off, but i couldn't and closed the store early. putting on my jacket, i set off in the same direction she went.