It all started with the bread. Jay was hungry, so I went to go beg at the local bakery. The owner had always been kind to us, giving us a bit of fresh bread or a leftover cake. And that held true. I returned with an armful of cake pops and a whole loaf of bread. My “sisters“ gathered around, happily grabbing food and chatting. I sat down with a slice of bread and looked at the group of girls around me. There were 6 of us in total, which was enough for good company but not too much to feed. There was sweet little Jay, the youngest at 5, brave Jane, at 8, beautiful Mia, who was 10, her twin, smart Kat, and my best friend, the crazy weird, super artistic, Sky. She and I were both 11. How did we all get here? We’re all orphans who found each other on the streets of Richmond. I was the only one who had stolen anything, but none of us really had much money, so we worked together, pooling our savings when necessary, begging, or, as a last resort, sending me in late at night to grab something from the shelves. We named ourselves “The Sisters of Ann,” because we all loved “Ann of Green Gables” and all had a bit of her personality. But enough about this stuff. Let’s get on with the story.
I couldn’t sleep, and it was really annoying. I decided to go to my “perch” and maybe clear my mind. You see, before my Mum and Dad.... before I was on the streets, I lived in an apartment. One day, I decided if I couldn’t have a treehouse in the backyard, I at least needed a fort. And so, my Mum helped me hang a ladder from the roof and Dad hammered together a little mini house. I often went there to think, late at night, like now. I pushed my golden retriever, Comet, off of me. She twitched in her sleep, letting out a little whine. I ignored her and padded on silent, bare feet down the alley we had claimed when we first came together. After about 10 minutes of walking, I reached the apartment building and grabbed onto the rope ladder, feeling it’s familiar, rough texture. I climbed swiftly, silently to the roof and plopped down in the fort. And then the memories came flooding in - Mum’s face, Dad’s hug, the taste of Mum’s world famous cookies, the sound of Dad’s jokes, all so fast I couldn’t process them. I curled up in a ball, sobbing. Suddenly there was a sound behind me - someone was coming up the ladder! I scrabbled over to a shadow in the corner, wiping tears away.
“Lav!” someone called in a frantic whisper. I poked my head out slightly so I could see who it was.
”Sky!” I said softly.
“Lav, someone took Comet!”
I froze. And then I hurdled down the ladder as quickly as possible.