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Clara and I spent the night walking through the thick layers of snow. Are feet felt frozen and wet.
I held Clara's pillow case so she could take a break from holding all the weight.
"Maybe we could climb a tree," she looked up at the bare branches throughout the forest. "We could take a break from walking but still stay hidden."
I nodded, the weight in my arms growing heavy with each step.
Clara climbed up a tree first and then took the pillow case so I could. We sat on separate branches, are legs dangling.
"Clara," I started, craning my head back to look at her. "What are we going to do?"
The question had been a topic for many conversations, but we never had an answer, but now, it was more important than ever.
"Find a house," she said quickly. "We need help." But even as she spoke, I could hear the fear in her voice.
What if they hurt us, too? Or took us back to the orphanage?
"I'm sure they'll be good people," she said, as if reading my mind.
We stayed there in the tree until the sun started to rise, and then we climbed down, continuing the journey blindly.
Clara opened the pillow case and tore off a chunk of bread for the both of us. Something I had managed to steal two days prior.
We ate in silence, are breath heavy as we tried to walk quickly.
It was quiet, and rosy sunlight shone through the trees, making the layers of snow sparkle. I smiled, looking at it all.
It was beautiful.
We walked until the sun reached directly overhead us and finally rested on a fallen tree, wiping the snow off with our gloves.
We hadn't spoken since dawn.
I wondered how many miles we traveled and how far behind the orphanage was. What if we had walked in a big circle? What if the orphanage was all there was? Just that and nothing more. The world just a small fragment of what I thought it was.
The orphanage was all I had.
I thought of Ethel, remembering the story she told of our parents. Tears filled my eyes.
If only...
... If only...