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WHEN THINGS FIRST WENT DOWN, Gracelynn Smith marked every single day that passed on the calendar, she was so afraid she'd lose track of time. Although since arriving at the Greene's farm a few weeks prior, she'd stopped, she'd stopped worrying, she'd stopped crying, she'd stopped.
When she first arrived at the farm, all she remembered was being exhausted, it was a three-mile bike ride, which doesn't sound like a lot but really did Its fair share on the eleven-year-old girl's exhausted, dehydrated body. She remembered being pulled into Maggie Greene's arm as she said a lot of stuff she didn't comprehend, and she remembered eating something before passing out in bed.
She'd been grateful for them, for taking her in, and for the fact they were alive in general. She ended up staying in one of the old bedrooms in the house and quickly started pulling her weight when it came to the farm itself. She didn't have a long-term plan at all, I mean, she didn't even know for sure her parents were dead, but she had an assumption.
She just assumed she'd stay with the Greenes until her parents magnificently showed up on her doorstep or until one of those things got their serving on her. It didn't matter though, she was okay. She was safe. She'd be fine, worrying about the future was something Gracelynn never did, she wasn't going to start now.
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"GRACE, TIME TO WAKE UP.", Possibly the best part of the farm was waking up to the soothing voice of Maggie Greene as she as gently as ever brushed the hair out of the young girl's face.
"Five more minutes.." The young girl groaned, tossing over to her left. "Nope, it's already two o'clock. Come on, I'll fix up your hair and we'll fix up some breakfast, okay?" The promise of Maggie doing her hair and breakfast? Grace couldn't turn down such an offer.
"What I thought," The woman chuckled watching as the younger girl pull the sheet off off her as she placed her bare feet on the carpet, "Let's go, darling." She patted her back, further motivating Grace out of the room and into the bathroom.
Maggie then brushed the girl's hair out as she brushed her own teeth, sometimes she'd do braids, or pigtails, or even ponytails, but Grace could hardly keep her eyes open, nonetheless keep her head straight as the woman practically tugged on it.
"Ah, you're awake!" The voice of a young girl exclaimed from inside the kitchen. It was Beth. Grace loved Beth. "It took some convincing but I got her." Maggie smiled, the palm of her hands placed on graces shoulders.
"Is it okay if I just eat later, Maggie?" Grace looked up at the woman who stood behind her, it was unusual for Grace, who was one of those people who never dared to skip breakfast no matter where they had to be or what they had to do in the morning.
"I mean, yeah. Yeah of course." Maggie stammered, a bit taken aback by the girl's request,
"Can I play outside for a bit?" The girl's face lit up. "Go ahead." Maggie rolled her eyes, taking her hands off her shoulders as the girl ran from her embrace out the front door. Since Grace's arrival, they realized how difficult it was to satisfy and entertain an eleven-year-old girl living in the end of the world.
