***
Scarlett bolted out of the sleeping bag suddenly alarmed. It took her a second to realize she wasn’t in her bed, but in the storage room nestled amongst several sleeping bags. Then she saw the little girl, Twila, sitting in the corner, brushing her hair in complete silence.
“Good Morning sweetie,” Scarlett smiled, checking her watch. It was only six o’clock in the morning. She recalled Zac saying he was going to make a false trail in the morning.
“I’m hungry,” Twila said cheerfully.
“I bet you are, better get my lazy bones moving and get us all some breakfast.”
“Do you like cereal?” Scarlett asked.
“What kind of cereal?” the girl squeaked.
“Hmm, let’s go up to our secret room, and you can pick one out before Zac gets back.”
“He left,” Twila said. It sounded strange coming from her, or was it the way she had said it?
“That’s good for us. The last one up the ladder’s a rotten egg,” and Scarlett pretended to chase her up the ladder.
“Fruit Loops, I love Fruit Loops,” the girl pointed to the box in the pantry.
By mid-morning Scarlett was beyond worried, “I think I better go check on him. Will you be all right if I leave you for a few minutes?” Zac should have been back by now; she looked around the room and noticed one of his guns on the blue plastic tub.
“He’s not coming back today,” the little girl replied, her voice distant.
Sometimes Twila exhibited strange behavior. “I need to go find him,” Scarlett began gearing-up.
“No,” Twila yelled, “It’s not safe. He made me promise. You can’t leave for two days,” Twila said frantically.
It was the most animated Twila had been since the moment she thought the girl was a bush. Scarlett ran up to the little girl and gently held her cheeks in her hands, “Twila, did he talk to you this morning?” Scarlett pleaded, looking straight into her golden eyes.
She nodded her head yes.
“Now think, what did he say?”
“He said he had to go away.”
“What? He just left you here with me—”
Twila nodded yes again.
Scarlett was beside herself. She checked his sleeping bag, and that’s when she noticed the note. It was tucked under his 9mm (complete with a silencer) along with a small ammo box on the plastic tub.
Dear Scarlett,
Thank you for your hospitality (not the part where you shot me, LOL). I look forward to seeing you again under different circumstances. Twila is convinced you are her new mommy. So, good luck with that. I left you my best weapon, try it out for size. It’s more efficient.
P.S. I took the leftover fish—next time dinner’s on me!
Yours Truly,
Zac
“Impossible, I can’t, I can’t—” She bit her tongue, not wanting to scare the girl.
How on earth am I going to take care of a child?
The little girl came up to her and gave her a hug, “Now do you believe me?” Twila nuzzled up to her. “You’re my new mommy.”
“Did he say that? The nerve of that man!” Now she was pissed.
That conniving, egotistical, son of a bitch—why the next time I see him, I’m really gonna let him have it!
“The silver lady told me,” Twila whispered, completely out of the blue.
Scarlett was speechless. Either the girl had an incredibly vivid imagination or this was some bizarre coincidence, for Scarlett had been having peculiar dreams with a silver-haired lady as well.
“Well then, first things first, be a good girl and eat your breakfast. And then sweetie, you’re going to take a three-hour bath to get rid of all that dirt, you little ragamuffin, you.” Scarlett said playfully.
For a brief instant, Scarlett was the happiest she had ever been in her entire life: she finally had a little girl. She didn’t know how, but at that moment she decided that somehow—some way—against all odds, she would find a way to take care of this adorable, precocious, loving child . . .
The Beginning
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