<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Astloch:700|Cutive+Mono|Sofadi+One" rel="stylesheet" type='text/css'><style type="text/css">.valensia_border{position:relative;z-index:1;width:562px;background:#e6cfc1;padding:10px;border-radius:150px 150px 0 0;box-shadow:0 0 10px #000;padding-top:34px}.valensia_background{position:relative;z-index:4;width:530px;background:#5a605e;box-shadow:0 0 5px #000;border-radius:150px 150px 0 0;margin-bottom:15px;margin-top:-10px}.valensia_pic{position:relative;z-index:6;width:530px;height:700;border-radius:150px 150px 0 0}.valensia_grad{position:relative;z-index:8;height:140px;margin-top:-140px;width:530px;background:rgba(90,96,94,0);background:-moz-linear-gradient(top,rgba(90,96,94,0) 0,rgba(90,96,94,1) 100%);background:-webkit-gradient(left top,left bottom,color-stop(0%,rgba(90,96,94,0)),color-stop(100%,rgba(90,96,94,1)));background:-webkit-linear-gradient(top,rgba(90,96,94,0) 0,rgba(90,96,94,1) 100%);background:-o-linear-gradient(top,rgba(90,96,94,0) 0,rgba(90,96,94,1) 100%);background:-ms-linear-gradient(top,rgba(90,96,94,0) 0,rgba(90,96,94,1) 100%);background:linear-gradient(to bottom,rgba(90,96,94,0) 0,rgba(90,96,94,1) 100%);filter:progid
XImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#5a605e',endColorstr='#5a605e',GradientType=0)}.valensia_quote{position:relative;z-index:21;color:rgba(230,207,193,0.8);font:13px 'Sofadi One',cursive;text-align:center;padding-bottom:20px}.valensia_text{position:relative;z-index:12;font:13px 'Cutive Mono',monospace;text-align:justify;padding:20px;width:410px;color:#e6cfc1;margin-top:-62px}.valensia_name{position:relative;z-index:17;font:50px 'Astloch',cursive;color:rgba(230,207,193,0.8);text-align:left;padding-left:10px;text-shadow:0 0 10px #6e2327;margin-top:-50px;margin-bottom:45px}</style><center><div class="valensia_border"><div class="valensia_background"><img class="valensia_pic" src="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d7/7f/f2/d77ff22fcc23927cf303616613502352.jpg"><div class="valensia_grad"></div><div class="valensia_name">Valensia</div><div class="valensia_text">
Val squeezes her eyes shut as tight as she possibly can, she shuts them so tightly that colors burn through the blackness. She waits with bated breath afraid of what she might find when she opens her eyes. There is no impact or anything to signal that she has moved out of the black hole making her worry that something has gone terribly wrong. As a yearling, she doesn’t have much patience, and it doesn’t take long for one eyelid to open. All she can see is a gentle white around her. Everything seems to be in order, even her name in blocky letters is back in place of her shadow. Valensia takes this as a good sign relaxing with a large sigh to let all the air out that had been bursting in her lungs. Valensia notices her abhorrent appearance; gone is all that made her beautiful, replaced with bestial qualities that should never adorn a Pegasus. She finds instant regret in talking back… more like <i>thinking</i> back to the creature that had made her into this. Valensia also thinks that she should not have been tardy on her way to meet it. Maybe if she hadn’t been so ill-tempered the creature would have given her a nicer gift.
No sooner has she accepted her new self then a blinding pain rips through her body. She pants as her front hooves begin to split, elongating, softening into skin and muscle until they are no longer hooves at all. The change courses up her forelegs forcing her to collapse against the page. She begins to shriek as bones reform themselves. All that exists is the breaking, stretching, and shrinking of her body. She closes her eyes against it. Losing track of time, she becomes feverish in her mental state. Drenched in sweat she lays there waiting for an end that isn’t in sight. Finally, when it’s done she is left curled in a fetal position, small hiccups are all that she can manage after the sobs that consumed her.
When the girl is sure that the change is complete she attempts to sit. Figuring out how these new limbs work takes all her focus. It’s slow going for the first tries, but eventually they work. The newly formed child wiggles every limb, toe, and finger, fascinated by them. She has no clothes, and finds that the world is cold without her pretty coat of fur. If anyone was to guess her age it would be 6 in human years. Black, curly hair tumbles wildly down her back. It’s long enough that it tickles the small bruise just above her hips. Her skin is fair, with pouting lips, and large honey eyes. Somehow, she knows what clothes are, and as time passes more things become familiar that otherwise would have had no place in her mind.
A neatly folded stack of blue jeans with worn holes in the knees, a dirty white t-shirt, purple hoodie, and awesome Disney princess sneakers lay within reaching distance ready for her to put on. The t-shirt though threadbare is comfortable, while the shoes pinch her toes. She finds that she needs to cinch the pants tight to keep them up, and roll the bottoms so they don’t drag on the ground. Proud of her work she finally looks up from inspecting the job only to find that the white page is fading away once more. A smidgen irritated at being dragged around like a ragdoll rosey lips pucker into a frown, and arms cross over her stomach. Nicolae is standing next to her tugging to hustle them across the street before they get hit. He hoists the backpack before reaching out to pick her up. <i>Come on Val, or its over the shoulder with you</i> He gives her a mischievous side look from his walnut colored eyes. Somehow, she knows he’s telling the truth. An exasperated sigh huffs from her belly before she untangles her arms and takes his hand with her pudgy fingers. He gives her a lopsided smile, and she can’t help but return the infectious grin.
They look similar, as brothers and sisters do, his hair barely brushes his ears, and his lips are thinner. He carries a book which has a grimy cover, banged up corners, and a peeling spine from over use. Anyone looking at them would be able to see the love as she skips along by his side. <i>Be good and we can read another chapter tonight.</i> Bubbling with excitement she is quick to reply,<b>you mean that we’ll find out what happens to Johnny?!</b> She bounces on her heels in glee. <i>Whaaat?! Nooo, the dragon’s about to terrorize the village!</i> He’s bending to be at eye level, and with a dramatically long exploding sound his fingers spread out away from his mouth demonstrating the large fiery burst that the dragon pours out his throat. She pouts for a moment, <b>we read that last night!</b> She doesn’t quite realize he is teasing, <i>then you better be good chica, or I might forget.</i> She leaps forward on her tippy toes to give him a bear hug and a kiss on his bristled cheek. He returns both, though he cradles her curls in his embrace. A long press of his lips to her forehead makes her feel all warm-fuzzy inside. <i>Alright be back here at five.</i> He warns her sternly, eagerly she nods her head in agreement.
Skipping off she chases down one alleyway then another, all of them decorated with spray paint, and dumpsters. She ducks down one that looks especially interesting and there she sees a boy just about her age. He has blonde hair and tanned skin; his clothes look similar to hers in that they don’t quite fit properly. She stops at the entrance a moment watching him crouch over something she can’t see. She starts to walk towards him, when standing over him she observes that he is putting together a bird from bones. Her nose wrinkles at the idea of touching something dead. <b>Whatcha doing?</b> she keeps her hands clasped behind her back. The boy startles and drops the bone he had carefully been assembling. Looking up to her with a scowl his bright blue eyes squint to see her against the sun <i>None of your business.</i> She bites her lip a little, hurt that he rejected her so quickly <b>Can I help?</b> He watches her suspiciously, and she thinks it's going to be another no, when he looks back to the bird with a dramatic sigh, <i>okay, but be careful!</i> She bounces clapping her hands together before she crouches down next to him <b>I’m Valensia by the way</b> Holding out her hand her eyes sparkle in glee. <i>I”m Erik</i> He takes her hand with a grudging look on his face until something passes through the touch and they both widen their eyes wondering what had just happened.
They quiet, pondering what it was that they had felt when touching, and slightly afraid it would happen again they scooted away from one another hunching over opposite ends of the bird. They work like this for a while before it finally looks complete. Muddy hands smudge their jeans as they take a step back to look at their hard work. <b>It’s so pretty,</b> she breathes out admiring their handy work. <i>It’s a hawk</i>, his chest puffs a bit against folded arms. She turns her head taking a closer look at him. He’s slightly taller than her, and she has to think that maybe he isn’t so bad after all. She can’t imagine after having worked on the bird that she would have been happy about being startled either; <b>sorry I startled you earlier.</b> He shrugs in response bending to pick up each piece of bone, delicately laying them in a small bag she hadn’t noticed before. <b>What are you doing now?</b> they had just worked so hard on that project! She’s horrified that he would want to ruin it, <i>I’ll rebuild it again tomorrow.</i> Oh, it makes sense now, it's his toy. She’s rather proud of herself for figuring this out, but like usual she is quite to bore. <b>Do you have a place to stay tonight?</b> he doesn’t respond right away, pausing in his methodical care of putting the bones away. She catches his pursed lips. No he doesn’t have a place to stay, quickly, to alleviate any embarrassment she makes him an offer she thinks he can’t refuse. <b>There’s an ally that a bunch of us stay at, its really nice and cozy. My brother even reads a story every night.</b> He perks up slightly, his pupil turned in her direction. Quickly she bends to help him pick up the bones, but he slaps her hand away going back to his method of choosing which ones go in the bag first. <i>Okay,</i> it’s barely a whisper, but she catches it all the same. <b>Great! This will be so much fun. You’ll see!</b> Thinking that he doesn’t want to focus on the aspect of sleeping in the streets she goes silent until he is finished. Reaching out her hand she helps him to his feet. She feels that connection again when fingers entangle. It’s strange, but she must say that it feels a little comforting. From that feeling she knows that they will be friends for the rest of their lives. Valensia thinks that maybe he has the same thought, because just as she looks into his eyes with a big smile on her face, he mirrors her look.
They take off down the ally together dodging into one and then another, making silly faces and poses when they come across different graffiti. Jumping over garbage, and exploring abandoned buildings, by the time they are ready to head back to meet her brother they are both exhausted. They get to the store and wait for him. When he comes out of the building his eyebrow quirks upward. <i>Val, what’s this?</i> She innocently blinks up to him trying to look as angelic as possible. In a sweet, gentle voice she replies, <b>He’s my new friend, he wants to stay with us tonight and I said he could</b>. Her brother takes a moment to think before extending his hand to the boy. <i>Well then, glad to have you along.</i>
Nicolae leads them to their regular ally where a barrel’s glow is surrounded by people trying to get warm for the night. She watches from their little corner as shadows dance against brick walls and men stomp their feet, shifting to stay warm. Nicolae takes off his coat, wrapping her up in it and snugs both children into the makeshift tent he had set up with an old tarp and cardboard. Sitting down next to the tent he takes the book from her hands opening it to their last spot. Someone plays a lullaby on a harmonica, another one hums the tune, but the rest remain quiet, secretly listening to the story that her brother reads in the waning light… <i>And the crowd yelled</i>, she quotes the rest of the line with him, <b>all hail the king</b>. The flickering glow of the barrel wafts away in its last moments. <b>I want to be king someday</b>, Nicolae chortles, tucking the coat around her, <i>do you now</i>? Softly she replies <b>Yes I think I would like that very much</b>. With that comment she yawns, <b>then we could buy a house, and eat carrots every night.</b> For a moment the night is silent before he whispers a last reply, <i>then you do everything you can to become king chica</i>. He kisses her forehead, says goodnight to the boy and falls asleep leaning against the alley wall next to the children's heads. They all manage to quickly fall asleep; her dreaming of kings, dragons, and brave knights until the morning’s light stirs her awake.
She crawls out from the tent giving her brothers coat back to him. Today is saturday that means that Nicolae doesn’t need to work until noon. This is their special day and she is eager to get started, but she doesn’t want to be rude and wake the boys as they are still sleeping. Heading over to the barrel in the center of their little community she waves to Charlie. <b>Morning Charlie, you’re harmonica sounded really good last night</b>, he gives her a toothless grin as he rubs his hands together over the fire. <i>Thank you Miss Valensia, would you like to hear another?</i> She smiles sweetly at him, <b>always Charlie</b>. He reaches into his coat and pulls out the instrument, she thinks that he must be the most talented harmonica player in the world. The song isn’t one that he normally plays in the evenings, its melancholy, and low in its tune. She watches the flames lick at the rust built on the barrel in front of her. She can see them through the bullet hole punctured in the side. They seem to dance with his every note painting a picture of some ethereal world far away from this existence. The boy comes up next to her rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the last notes drift out of hearing. She gives Charlie a quick hug before grabbing ahold of Erik’s hand. <b>Come on Nicolae will have breakfast ready for us.</b> They run back to their corner where Nicolae is waiting with some apples for them. He teases Valensia pulling it out of reach a few times before allowing her to snatch it away. He muses her hair as is their ritual in the mornings before telling them that he needs to go to work early.
After goodbye’s are said, and instructions for being good laid out he shrugs on his backpack and waves before disappearing around the corner. The children take off eager to get started on rebuilding the bird. After they find an alley that seems to be clean enough for them to work he sets the bag down and they crouch over the bones. They work quietly for a while before she asks, <b>stay with us?</b> Erik cracks a smile, <i>okay!</i> Their attention is quickly snatched away as a group of rowdy teens can be heard approaching. The boy puts his finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. It’s like watching a cat slipping silently out of sight. When the teens grow louder she scrambles to get behind a dumpster. Trapped she tries to stay as quiet as possible, but a nearby rat startles her and she bumps the dumpster. <i>Who's there?!</i> a deep voice booms. It only takes a minute for Valensia to be able to see their boots, she hears the boy calling out to them from the entrance. <i>Over here!</i> a gun is fired and she clasps her hands over her ears. Tears start to roll; she holds her breath squeezing her eyes shut hoping that this world will disappear before the teens decide to kill her too.
</div><div class="valensia_quote"><br>“And there was you - your fair self,<br>always delicately dressed,<br>with white firm fingers sure of touch <br>in delicate true work. <br>I loved you then.” <br>- Charlotte Gilman</div></div></div></center>
Words: exactly 2500
Boy: Erik
1: An older brother
2: A skeleton of a bird
3: A children's book
WARNING: Death of a child, and disturbing life situations.
XImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient(startColorstr='#5a605e',endColorstr='#5a605e',GradientType=0)}.valensia_quote{position:relative;z-index:21;color:rgba(230,207,193,0.8);font:13px 'Sofadi One',cursive;text-align:center;padding-bottom:20px}.valensia_text{position:relative;z-index:12;font:13px 'Cutive Mono',monospace;text-align:justify;padding:20px;width:410px;color:#e6cfc1;margin-top:-62px}.valensia_name{position:relative;z-index:17;font:50px 'Astloch',cursive;color:rgba(230,207,193,0.8);text-align:left;padding-left:10px;text-shadow:0 0 10px #6e2327;margin-top:-50px;margin-bottom:45px}</style><center><div class="valensia_border"><div class="valensia_background"><img class="valensia_pic" src="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d7/7f/f2/d77ff22fcc23927cf303616613502352.jpg"><div class="valensia_grad"></div><div class="valensia_name">Valensia</div><div class="valensia_text">Val squeezes her eyes shut as tight as she possibly can, she shuts them so tightly that colors burn through the blackness. She waits with bated breath afraid of what she might find when she opens her eyes. There is no impact or anything to signal that she has moved out of the black hole making her worry that something has gone terribly wrong. As a yearling, she doesn’t have much patience, and it doesn’t take long for one eyelid to open. All she can see is a gentle white around her. Everything seems to be in order, even her name in blocky letters is back in place of her shadow. Valensia takes this as a good sign relaxing with a large sigh to let all the air out that had been bursting in her lungs. Valensia notices her abhorrent appearance; gone is all that made her beautiful, replaced with bestial qualities that should never adorn a Pegasus. She finds instant regret in talking back… more like <i>thinking</i> back to the creature that had made her into this. Valensia also thinks that she should not have been tardy on her way to meet it. Maybe if she hadn’t been so ill-tempered the creature would have given her a nicer gift.
No sooner has she accepted her new self then a blinding pain rips through her body. She pants as her front hooves begin to split, elongating, softening into skin and muscle until they are no longer hooves at all. The change courses up her forelegs forcing her to collapse against the page. She begins to shriek as bones reform themselves. All that exists is the breaking, stretching, and shrinking of her body. She closes her eyes against it. Losing track of time, she becomes feverish in her mental state. Drenched in sweat she lays there waiting for an end that isn’t in sight. Finally, when it’s done she is left curled in a fetal position, small hiccups are all that she can manage after the sobs that consumed her.
When the girl is sure that the change is complete she attempts to sit. Figuring out how these new limbs work takes all her focus. It’s slow going for the first tries, but eventually they work. The newly formed child wiggles every limb, toe, and finger, fascinated by them. She has no clothes, and finds that the world is cold without her pretty coat of fur. If anyone was to guess her age it would be 6 in human years. Black, curly hair tumbles wildly down her back. It’s long enough that it tickles the small bruise just above her hips. Her skin is fair, with pouting lips, and large honey eyes. Somehow, she knows what clothes are, and as time passes more things become familiar that otherwise would have had no place in her mind.
A neatly folded stack of blue jeans with worn holes in the knees, a dirty white t-shirt, purple hoodie, and awesome Disney princess sneakers lay within reaching distance ready for her to put on. The t-shirt though threadbare is comfortable, while the shoes pinch her toes. She finds that she needs to cinch the pants tight to keep them up, and roll the bottoms so they don’t drag on the ground. Proud of her work she finally looks up from inspecting the job only to find that the white page is fading away once more. A smidgen irritated at being dragged around like a ragdoll rosey lips pucker into a frown, and arms cross over her stomach. Nicolae is standing next to her tugging to hustle them across the street before they get hit. He hoists the backpack before reaching out to pick her up. <i>Come on Val, or its over the shoulder with you</i> He gives her a mischievous side look from his walnut colored eyes. Somehow, she knows he’s telling the truth. An exasperated sigh huffs from her belly before she untangles her arms and takes his hand with her pudgy fingers. He gives her a lopsided smile, and she can’t help but return the infectious grin.
They look similar, as brothers and sisters do, his hair barely brushes his ears, and his lips are thinner. He carries a book which has a grimy cover, banged up corners, and a peeling spine from over use. Anyone looking at them would be able to see the love as she skips along by his side. <i>Be good and we can read another chapter tonight.</i> Bubbling with excitement she is quick to reply,<b>you mean that we’ll find out what happens to Johnny?!</b> She bounces on her heels in glee. <i>Whaaat?! Nooo, the dragon’s about to terrorize the village!</i> He’s bending to be at eye level, and with a dramatically long exploding sound his fingers spread out away from his mouth demonstrating the large fiery burst that the dragon pours out his throat. She pouts for a moment, <b>we read that last night!</b> She doesn’t quite realize he is teasing, <i>then you better be good chica, or I might forget.</i> She leaps forward on her tippy toes to give him a bear hug and a kiss on his bristled cheek. He returns both, though he cradles her curls in his embrace. A long press of his lips to her forehead makes her feel all warm-fuzzy inside. <i>Alright be back here at five.</i> He warns her sternly, eagerly she nods her head in agreement.
Skipping off she chases down one alleyway then another, all of them decorated with spray paint, and dumpsters. She ducks down one that looks especially interesting and there she sees a boy just about her age. He has blonde hair and tanned skin; his clothes look similar to hers in that they don’t quite fit properly. She stops at the entrance a moment watching him crouch over something she can’t see. She starts to walk towards him, when standing over him she observes that he is putting together a bird from bones. Her nose wrinkles at the idea of touching something dead. <b>Whatcha doing?</b> she keeps her hands clasped behind her back. The boy startles and drops the bone he had carefully been assembling. Looking up to her with a scowl his bright blue eyes squint to see her against the sun <i>None of your business.</i> She bites her lip a little, hurt that he rejected her so quickly <b>Can I help?</b> He watches her suspiciously, and she thinks it's going to be another no, when he looks back to the bird with a dramatic sigh, <i>okay, but be careful!</i> She bounces clapping her hands together before she crouches down next to him <b>I’m Valensia by the way</b> Holding out her hand her eyes sparkle in glee. <i>I”m Erik</i> He takes her hand with a grudging look on his face until something passes through the touch and they both widen their eyes wondering what had just happened.
They quiet, pondering what it was that they had felt when touching, and slightly afraid it would happen again they scooted away from one another hunching over opposite ends of the bird. They work like this for a while before it finally looks complete. Muddy hands smudge their jeans as they take a step back to look at their hard work. <b>It’s so pretty,</b> she breathes out admiring their handy work. <i>It’s a hawk</i>, his chest puffs a bit against folded arms. She turns her head taking a closer look at him. He’s slightly taller than her, and she has to think that maybe he isn’t so bad after all. She can’t imagine after having worked on the bird that she would have been happy about being startled either; <b>sorry I startled you earlier.</b> He shrugs in response bending to pick up each piece of bone, delicately laying them in a small bag she hadn’t noticed before. <b>What are you doing now?</b> they had just worked so hard on that project! She’s horrified that he would want to ruin it, <i>I’ll rebuild it again tomorrow.</i> Oh, it makes sense now, it's his toy. She’s rather proud of herself for figuring this out, but like usual she is quite to bore. <b>Do you have a place to stay tonight?</b> he doesn’t respond right away, pausing in his methodical care of putting the bones away. She catches his pursed lips. No he doesn’t have a place to stay, quickly, to alleviate any embarrassment she makes him an offer she thinks he can’t refuse. <b>There’s an ally that a bunch of us stay at, its really nice and cozy. My brother even reads a story every night.</b> He perks up slightly, his pupil turned in her direction. Quickly she bends to help him pick up the bones, but he slaps her hand away going back to his method of choosing which ones go in the bag first. <i>Okay,</i> it’s barely a whisper, but she catches it all the same. <b>Great! This will be so much fun. You’ll see!</b> Thinking that he doesn’t want to focus on the aspect of sleeping in the streets she goes silent until he is finished. Reaching out her hand she helps him to his feet. She feels that connection again when fingers entangle. It’s strange, but she must say that it feels a little comforting. From that feeling she knows that they will be friends for the rest of their lives. Valensia thinks that maybe he has the same thought, because just as she looks into his eyes with a big smile on her face, he mirrors her look.
They take off down the ally together dodging into one and then another, making silly faces and poses when they come across different graffiti. Jumping over garbage, and exploring abandoned buildings, by the time they are ready to head back to meet her brother they are both exhausted. They get to the store and wait for him. When he comes out of the building his eyebrow quirks upward. <i>Val, what’s this?</i> She innocently blinks up to him trying to look as angelic as possible. In a sweet, gentle voice she replies, <b>He’s my new friend, he wants to stay with us tonight and I said he could</b>. Her brother takes a moment to think before extending his hand to the boy. <i>Well then, glad to have you along.</i>
Nicolae leads them to their regular ally where a barrel’s glow is surrounded by people trying to get warm for the night. She watches from their little corner as shadows dance against brick walls and men stomp their feet, shifting to stay warm. Nicolae takes off his coat, wrapping her up in it and snugs both children into the makeshift tent he had set up with an old tarp and cardboard. Sitting down next to the tent he takes the book from her hands opening it to their last spot. Someone plays a lullaby on a harmonica, another one hums the tune, but the rest remain quiet, secretly listening to the story that her brother reads in the waning light… <i>And the crowd yelled</i>, she quotes the rest of the line with him, <b>all hail the king</b>. The flickering glow of the barrel wafts away in its last moments. <b>I want to be king someday</b>, Nicolae chortles, tucking the coat around her, <i>do you now</i>? Softly she replies <b>Yes I think I would like that very much</b>. With that comment she yawns, <b>then we could buy a house, and eat carrots every night.</b> For a moment the night is silent before he whispers a last reply, <i>then you do everything you can to become king chica</i>. He kisses her forehead, says goodnight to the boy and falls asleep leaning against the alley wall next to the children's heads. They all manage to quickly fall asleep; her dreaming of kings, dragons, and brave knights until the morning’s light stirs her awake.
She crawls out from the tent giving her brothers coat back to him. Today is saturday that means that Nicolae doesn’t need to work until noon. This is their special day and she is eager to get started, but she doesn’t want to be rude and wake the boys as they are still sleeping. Heading over to the barrel in the center of their little community she waves to Charlie. <b>Morning Charlie, you’re harmonica sounded really good last night</b>, he gives her a toothless grin as he rubs his hands together over the fire. <i>Thank you Miss Valensia, would you like to hear another?</i> She smiles sweetly at him, <b>always Charlie</b>. He reaches into his coat and pulls out the instrument, she thinks that he must be the most talented harmonica player in the world. The song isn’t one that he normally plays in the evenings, its melancholy, and low in its tune. She watches the flames lick at the rust built on the barrel in front of her. She can see them through the bullet hole punctured in the side. They seem to dance with his every note painting a picture of some ethereal world far away from this existence. The boy comes up next to her rubbing the sleep from his eyes as the last notes drift out of hearing. She gives Charlie a quick hug before grabbing ahold of Erik’s hand. <b>Come on Nicolae will have breakfast ready for us.</b> They run back to their corner where Nicolae is waiting with some apples for them. He teases Valensia pulling it out of reach a few times before allowing her to snatch it away. He muses her hair as is their ritual in the mornings before telling them that he needs to go to work early.
After goodbye’s are said, and instructions for being good laid out he shrugs on his backpack and waves before disappearing around the corner. The children take off eager to get started on rebuilding the bird. After they find an alley that seems to be clean enough for them to work he sets the bag down and they crouch over the bones. They work quietly for a while before she asks, <b>stay with us?</b> Erik cracks a smile, <i>okay!</i> Their attention is quickly snatched away as a group of rowdy teens can be heard approaching. The boy puts his finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. It’s like watching a cat slipping silently out of sight. When the teens grow louder she scrambles to get behind a dumpster. Trapped she tries to stay as quiet as possible, but a nearby rat startles her and she bumps the dumpster. <i>Who's there?!</i> a deep voice booms. It only takes a minute for Valensia to be able to see their boots, she hears the boy calling out to them from the entrance. <i>Over here!</i> a gun is fired and she clasps her hands over her ears. Tears start to roll; she holds her breath squeezing her eyes shut hoping that this world will disappear before the teens decide to kill her too.
</div><div class="valensia_quote"><br>“And there was you - your fair self,<br>always delicately dressed,<br>with white firm fingers sure of touch <br>in delicate true work. <br>I loved you then.” <br>- Charlotte Gilman</div></div></div></center>
Words: exactly 2500
Boy: Erik
1: An older brother
2: A skeleton of a bird
3: A children's book
WARNING: Death of a child, and disturbing life situations.