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☾ 𝑇𝑊𝑂
Anna woke to the crying of the little boy to the bed next to her, yet again. It had been a daily occurance ever since the first day in the boat, and she knew it would be until they reached Australia. He acted as an alarm clock for almost half those on the under layer of the boat, or at least for those who managed to get in a moment of sleep.
It must have only been a few hours since she had drifted off. The storm had lasted through the whole of the early evening and most of the night. What little sunlight graced the boat barely even slipped into the room she was settled in. The cool sun rays tickled at the edges of the ladders up, still slick with saltwater, glistening harshly like white ice. She shivered as a chill ran up her body.
Most of those around her were still damp from the spray of the waves that managed to crash through the small space that opened to the board above or dripped between the cracks of wood that acted as a rickety ceiling. But Anna was still near soaked. Her dark hair was matted you the side of her face from the salt of sweat and sea water that had knocked her to the floor the previous night.
Robert was already wide awake. It seemed that no matter how little sleep he got, he was destined to always be cheerful and without the presence of heavy bags that Anna could feel weighing her own eyes down. In his big hands, he held a small piece of bread that he had saved from the morning before. He ripped half of it away, the claggy bread snapping only under too much force. Robert handed her the bread, and she thanked him, not bothering to argue.
She felt the anticipating twist in her stomach as the bread hit her lips. It was bitter and salty, but even though, she savoured it, as her tummy groaned in hunger. Anna hadn't realised how long it had been since she had last ate. With the storm, they hadn't been able to have food and she felt they would forget about them this morning too.
"Why do you help me Robert?" She asked.
The man frowned. He must have wondered why she questioned his kindness, she thought.
"I had a daughter," he began, his voice soft and nostalgic. "She was lost too. So I help you like I wished someone would have helped her."
For Robert, he couldn't imagine Anna as a girl who would run away. He didn't know all about her past though. He didn't know that she had been forced away from her mother, he didn't know that her first adoptive mother had a tongue as sharp as a knife and hand just dangerous, and he also didn't know that her last home belonged to the man that was sending her to Australia. But to Robert, Anna was too kind, too trusting and much too little to be able to run away. Just like his daughter had been.
Anna smiled sadly. She couldn't imagine what would have happened to Robert's daughter- she didn't want to think about it either. It made her weary for herself and her own future. Robert wouldn't always be there to help her as he had on this boat. But then she remembered how far she had come by herself.
