Runaways

Eden

Knock-knock. "Hey Eden, it's me. I just wanted to let you know that dinner is being served if you want to come downstairs and eat."

I heard her sigh then walk away down the steps. I've locked myself in my room because I don't want to talk to anyone in this wretched place. That's why I've been sneaking into the kitchen at night when everyone's asleep to find some food and occasionally watch TV.

I know Mrs. Fiddle, the foster caretaker, wants me to meet the other children ever since I came, but I can't bring myself to do it. Her sighs stab at me like arrows each time. Maybe one day I'll please her by talking to the other kids, but today's not that day.

I stared at the cracks on the gray wall, but that didn't entertain me. I rolled around in bed, trying to find a comfortable position but couldn't, so I got up and stared out the window. I saw two other girls, Maria and Elizabeth, playing around with a soccer ball. There laughter seemed so genuine. It must be a nice feeling to laugh like that again after being placed in this prison. I mean I'm not one to judge, but the stupid government or whoever was in charge could at least put in the effort to make foster care less miserable. Ah, well you get what you get.

I saw Mrs. Fiddle sitting on the bench, reading a book. Then, as if she knew I was staring at her, she looked up at my window. Instinctively, I hid under the window sill. I peeked at her to see if she was still staring at my window, but her eyes drifted back down to her book. I sighed. I wanted apologize to her, but I'm an awkward 16 year old who can't keep up a conversation let alone say sorry to someone I barley knew.

I decided to sketch in a sketchbook Mrs. Fiddle gave me. It was a red sketchbook with flowers printed all over the cover. I'm not much of a flower girl, but it wasn't terrible. I appreciated the effort from her.

I sat there for hours, sketching a girl walking in the rain with her little dog. Before I knew it, it was night time, and everyone had gone to bed. I looked at my watch. 2:47 a.m. I wasn't even the slightest bit tired, so I snuck down the steps, avoiding the floor boards that creaked. The stairs led to the first floor next to the main door, and the kitchen was to the left, under the stairs. I tip toed all the way to the fridge and slowly opened it. Surprise surprise, it was almost empty. I don't know how these girls eat twice their weight and never get fat.

I ended up finding some strawberry yogurt stuffed behind some broccoli. Clearly, someone hid it there because I know these girls probably didn't eat vegetables since practically all that was left in the fridge was vegetables. I grabbed the yogurt and found a sticky note on it. It said, "You're probably hungry, Eden, so I kept this yogurt for you to eat if you happened to come downstairs for a snack. Love, Mrs. Fiddle." I smiled. I sat down on the couch in the living room that was next to the kitchen.

After eating my yogurt, I watched TV since there was nothing else to do, and I didn't feel like finishing my sketch tonight.

4:00 a.m. I headed to bed because I didn't want to get caught by Mrs. Fiddle. As I was walking upstairs, I heard faint scratching coming from the main door. I opened the door slightly and saw a brown, curly-haired puppy. It looked thirsty, so I brought a bowl of water and placed it in front of the puppy. I could tell the puppy had been through a lot because it was nervous to approach me, but after 30 minutes of waiting, it finally inched closer. I slowly extended my hand and let it sniff me. Then, I pet its head as it drank water.

I stayed downstairs with the puppy until 5:15. It was getting very late, but I didn't want to leave the pup. We had just gotten to know each other. I couldn't let it go back on the streets, and Mrs. Fiddle has a "no pets allowed" rule. I snuck the puppy behind my jacket and tip toed upstairs. I figured the guilt I'd feel for letting it go back on the streets outweighed me breaking the rule. Once I reached my room, I locked the door behind me and let the puppy walk around. It was hesitant at first, but it soon walked all around. It ended up crawling next to me in bed, and we slept.

Brownie. That's what I named him. He's mine now.