The End of The Beginning

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I could feel blood pouring down my face. It felt like sweat. But it wasn’t. I knew that it wasn’t sweat. I stumbled upon a wolf. A stupid wolf. I couldn’t tell what it was thinking. My instinct was to run. My instincts led me to this. I am now hiding behind an oak tree. Who knows what could be hiding in here. To my little luck, there was not a wolf in there.

Why did I leave the Orphanage? Maybe being with my family was not that bad. No, they were not my family. My family was dead. They died in a fire years ago. I was out on the beach with my little sister. She was a cute little thing, but she was not strong. We were skipping rocks into the water. I saw her smile with glee. It was the last time I saw her smile.

            She threw a rock and it skipped five times. I high-fived her and gave her a hug. Who could ask for a better little sister? The sun was setting and it was almost time for supper. I picked her up and carried her home. I took in a last breath of the salty air and smiled. She rested her head sleepily on my shoulder. “We’ll be home soon.” I whispered to her. She nodded her little head and fell asleep.

            As we exited the beach we came up to our little town. I saw the train station, the only way to get to the city. I saw the village. I saw the toyshop and the one restaurant. I stopped short. I could smell smoke. I was close to home. My neighbor was not a very good cook. That could be it. But as I walked up, I could see that wasn’t it. Our house had burned down to the ground. But not only had our house burned down, but our parents had burned down with it. Along with our hopes, dreams, and life. It was the end of the beginning. My childhood was officially over.

            My sister groggily woke up. “Owen? Are we home yet?”

“There is no home.” I sadly replied to her.

“Yes there is. We were there earlier.”

“Grace look at me. That was our home. It is gone now. Mommy and Daddy are gone now too. They are in a better place.”

            Grace started crying. I knew she did not understand everything I just said but she understood the fact that we were alone. Once she started she would not stop. She cried herself to sleep. I needed to find us food. I checked my pockets for money. Ten dollars. That would have to do for tonight. I went to the grocery store in the village. It was not the same going without my mom. I saw glorious things. Things I always took for granted. This had to last us a few days. I picked up a premade chicken and some bread. I found Oreo cookies. They would make Grace feel better. They would make me feel better. They were Dad’s favorite.  I also picked up a bag of pretzel sticks. Mom loved them.

            I went to the check out line. The lady at the counter scanned all the items. It was just my luck. Everything added up to ten dollars and thirteen cents. Lucky number thirteen.

“I only have ten dollars ma’am,” I explained, “Is there anything I can do? Like put a cart or basket away.”
“Okay, kid, it’s thirteen cents, I’ll let you off easy, just bag your items and we’ll call it a deal, kay?”

“Deal! Thank you ma’am.”

“Uh-huh, okay kid, you have a nice day now.”

“Thank you, you too.” I replied, just to be courteous.

            I took the plastic forks and knives they had at the front of the store for customers. They were about the only free items in the place. And napkins, those were free. I walked to the park where they have picnic tables. “Okay, Grace, let’s eat.”

“Where are Mommy and Daddy?”

“They are…um…at a restaurant. Up north.”

“Okay.” Grace said glumly.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.
“Hmm?” she asked.

“Nothing. Just eat. It will be the best meal you have for a while.”

            We ate out of the bowl the chicken came in. Tomorrow we would have bread for breakfast and chicken sandwiches with the left over chicken and bread. Grace took a handful of pretzels from the bag. “We should save some of these for Mommy.”

“Yeah.” I replied. I did not have the heart to tell her they were gone for good. She had already gone into denial. But where would we go tonight? One thing came to mind, or a person, more like it. Henry.