Where the Lost Things Go

Settling In

"Come with me," said Naomi, taking Pippa's hand and leading her through the camp. Other children stopped whatever they were doing and stared as they went by, which made Pippa blush. It felt like the first day of school. 

 They came to a shelter made of old blankets and a large table. Naomi crawled inside, and Pippa followed. Inside were two girls, one with red hair and a sharp face, the other much younger with dark curly hair and big brown eyes. 

 "This is Frances," Naomi said, gesturing at the redhead, "And this is Daisy," of the small girl. "And girls, this is Pippa. She's going to stay with us."

 "Hi," said Daisy shyly. 

 "You're new?" asked Frances abruptly. 

 "Yes," Pippa said shyly. 

 "What's that?" she asked, pointing at her satchel. 

 "Just my drawing supplies," Pippa replied. Daisy leaned forward eagerly. 

 "I like drawing," she said.

 "Now, Pippa, are you hungry?" asked Naomi. She gave her some rather stale cookies out of a box. "These are almost gone," she added. 

 "It's fine." Pippa was ravenously hungry, and the cookies looked wonderful. Naomi was getting the younger girls to bed now, tucking them in on a big mattress that filled the tiny space. "Can I go to bed too?" she asked, now feeling quite tired. 

 "Of course." All the girls lay in the darkness on the mattress, a little snug, but comfortable. Pippa easily fell asleep. 

 The next morning, they all finished the cookies. "Since we're out of food, it's time to go scavenging," Naomi explained. "Lots of food gets in here too, and that's what we live on."

 Outside the shelter, other children were eating breakfast or playing games. They all had rather dirty clothes and faces, but looked happy. The four girls walked out with some bags for collecting. 

 "Wait for me!" Judah came striding after them, wearing a tattered flannel shirt. The night before, he had seemed like a wise old chief. This morning, Pippa saw that he was a boy teetering on the edge of manhood, with hardly a wisp of beard on his face. 

 "I'm trying to find some batteries for my cd player," he explained as he caught up with him. 

 "Are you out of those already?" asked Naomi. 

 "No, I just want to be ready when I do." They walked over the wasteland of lost items. Pippa spotted a bag of bagels on the ground, and scooped it up. 

 "I love bagels!" Daisy cried, running and tripping over the stuff. She let out another happy cry when she found an entire sack of green apples. "I love apples!"

 "Oh, I haven't had an apple in ages," Frances said. 

 They searched for a while more. Judah found a small table (but no batteries) and Naomi found a ribbon. Finally, they turned for home. 

 "Do you like Little Women?" she asked Frances as they walked. 

 "I guess," she replied, "But there are better things to read. Like tales of daring adventure, and pirates!"

 "Oh," said Pippa. "I don't like those as much. They make me scared."

 "I wish some books would fall in here," Frances said, looking around. "I've already read Treasure Island five times."

 Pippa nodded. She liked Frances almost as much as she liked Naomi. The girls had accepted her immediately, and it felt good. She had never had friends before, and so far she was liking it immensely. 

 Once they were back in camp, she was being introduced to some of the other children when someone hailed the camp. A group of children came up, surrounding a young woman who was stately and beautiful. She nodded to Judah, and said, "I understand someone new has entered our midst?" 

 "Yes," Judah replied. "This is Philippa."

 "Hello, Philippa," the girl said. "I am Morgan, Master of the Lost."

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