folklore

- 1 -

"I had a little sistah." Cosmo, their leader at the time, told 9 year old Lilliana and 11 year old Jack, who were sitting on his bunk with him.

"had?" Jack furrowed his eyebrows.

Cosmo looked down as he held back tears. "I uh- she- she got took intah tha orphanage and they don't treat ya so nicely in theah."

"Jack, you told me that." Lilliana reminded quietly. Cosmo nodded and looked up at the bottom of the top bunk. There were taped-on cutouts of planets, the moon and stars that Jack had drawn for him. He had always loved space and the astrology; he was gifted a book about astrology when he was little and it was now one of his most prized possessions.

"I jus' assume she's dead so I don't bring me hopes up." He sniffled and quickly wiped his eyes. "alright well, it's bedtime for y'all lil' rats." With a forced grin, he tickled Lilliana's sides making her laugh loudly.

"I bet she's out theah Cosmo." Lilliana smiled softly. "ya knows, with a nice family and goin' ta school and gettin' all smart."

"thanks kid." The redhead spoke softly.

"yer gonna teach me 'bout this, right?" She pointed at the astrology book that sat on the nightstand.

"sure I is... one day."

"ay Cossy?" Jack addressed in which he turned around to face him and answered in a hum. "what's 'er name, ya knows- yer sistah?"

A bittersweet smile formed on his face; he hadn't said her name in a long time. "Harley."

✧༝┉˚*❋ ❋*˚┉༝✧

The years went by slowly for Harley Vaughan.

She spent most of her days looking out the window as she watched her older brother Silas sell newspapers. She watched, as much as she could, as he yelled out headlines that were sometimes fake. She watched as customers would trade him a coin for a newspaper. How she longed to call out his name or knock on the window to catch his attention for he was right under her nose, but she knew that it would cause her trouble.

And she was an expert for getting into trouble.

Two boys only a few years older than her liked to visit the orphanage every once in a while and torture the kids. She was victim many times because she had trouble with running her mouth.

The Delancey brothers, they called them.

Two boys who turned beating up kids for fortune into a daily habit. Less fortunate kids all over New York despised them and Harley felt that she despised them more than anybody else has. That was until she saw them beat up on a newsie, in which many of his friends came to his rescue.

They tended to pick on the newsies on their "off duties" and Harley found it despicable. As if they had no other better thing to do than to hurt and torture other kids they come across. She once saw Silas save a blonde haired newsie, perhaps her age, from being kicked on the ground by one of the brothers, Oscar.

She would never forget the look of his eyes; his innocent blue eyes full of fear, sadness and hopelessness. And even then they still sparkled brighter than any star she had ever known. The look of pure relief when he saw her big brother sent a wave of jealousy towards her; she was jealous of him for having Silas as somebody to rely on. She wished she had that, he was her brother after all. Nonetheless, she was relieved with him that he was no longer subject to the Delancey brother's' torture... for the moment.