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Post by lena holden on Jul 4, 2010 14:49:44 GMT -5
"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,
All dressed in black, black, black,
With silver button, button, buttons,
All down her back, back, back.
She asked her mother, mother, mother,
For fifty cent, cent, cents,
To see the elephant, elephant, elephants,
Jump the fence, fence, fence.
They jumped so high, high, high,
They touched the sky, sky, sky,
And didn't come back, back, back
Till the fourth of July, July, July." The little girl was chanting as she made her way into the courtyard, her blue gaze casted down, watching her bare feet as they marched on. A sweet smile was flitting across her lips as she mouthed the words, thrilled when she was able to look up towards the heavens and shout them without being struck. It was wonderful, this new way of life where she didn't have to cower in the dark corners of the orphanage and pray every five seconds that she wouldn't be the one that was dragged away in a black sack. The blonde spotted the object she had been looking for and crouched down to examine the piece of rubble. She grinned happy with the rock and jumped back up, rocking on her heels now as she looked for a block of cement.
She found some cracked sidewalk on the outer edge of the courtyard and crouched down on her knees this time, soiling her skin and dress with dirt but still she continued. Still humming 'Miss Mary Mack Mack' to herself the child began to draw squares, numbering the boxes until it went to 10. Lena bounced up, admiring her handiwork, then she promptly brushed the dirt off of her simple blue dress and tossed the stone into square one and began her game of hopscotch.
Lena wished someone would come outside and join her. She missed her best friend, Amy at times like this but had to remember they lived totally different lives. Maybe now that the adults were gone Lena could talk to some other girls or boys. Come to think of it her only girl friend had been Amy and the rest had been boys. Lena had gotten along better with them because boys weren't as sensitive and catty as the girls in her class. But that was before mamma and pappa died. Lena's eyes glazed over as tears threatened to spill over and she stopped hopping, dead in her tracks and just stood there.
The blonde bit the inside of her cheek, holding back the tears."Please God, let me find a friend..." She whispered, looking up at the sky once more with those big blue eyes. |
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Post by Simon Lennox on Jul 4, 2010 23:58:07 GMT -5
Simon took a deep breath as he stepped outside. He did it every time, almost a ritual. There were times when he still couldn't believe that they now had the run of the orphanage. He'd been here for years, since he was six years old. He remembered the darker times very clearly, with shocking clarity. If he closed his eyes, he could still hear the screams and the sounds of muffled crying. Some of the children did cry at night still. Honestly, he couldn't blame them.
Simon shivered a bit and pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stepped down the stone steps and walked along the paths, making his way toward the courtyard. He even whistled a bit as he walked. He liked to do this a lot, just because he could. Before Lily and Edward and the Shadow Man, he wouldn't have been allowed to go walking just to get some fresh air.
The sound of a quiet voice nearby made him pause, frowning. He continued on to the courtyard and saw a younger child playing there. She seemed to be humming a nursery rhyme while she played hopscotch. He smiled a bit at the sight. She was happy, whoever she was, though it was a little sad that she was out here by herself. He supposed that some of the other children still wouldn't go outside.
Shrugging, he walked over and took a seat nearby before greeting her.
"Hello there."
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Post by lena holden on Jul 5, 2010 14:42:52 GMT -5
She was oh so lonely in this gray atmosphere and Lena was finding it harder to fit in with her shy nature. She whipped around at hearing the slap of shoes on the hard ground, to find an older boy heading out into the courtyard. Where was everyone else? She wondered but quickly took it back, she should be glad that at least one person was daring the outdoors. She smiled to herself hoping the older boy was nice and easy to get along with. She hoped he was like her older brother Taylor who sadly had passed away from a fever a day after her father. Maybe this other boy would be like Taylor, Lena so badly wanted a family again. She watched with her blue hued orbs, tracking Simon's movement, her heart fluttering.
Lena didn't like talking to strangers, she hated it. Usually Amy would drag her around and do all the talking, but once again Lena found herself without a voice and her brow furrowed slightly. Before she knew it, Simon was by her and turned to face him, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin slightly. Lena bit her lip out of nevous habit as she worked up the courage to answer to Simon's greeting.
Her cheeks now were a rosy red, the blush thick. "Erm... Hi." She replied nervously, wringing her wrists. |
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Post by Simon Lennox on Jul 5, 2010 14:48:43 GMT -5
Simon sighed. It was difficult not to get frustrated sometimes. But he couldn't blame them. He couldn't blame this young girl at all.
Somehow, he had managed to maintain his dignity and his wits while living at St. Anne's. Not all children were as lucky. Even the ones who hadn't gone insane or had been lost, they still suffered. They were now scared of anyone who looked like an adult. Simon was getting older. He was already seventeen, though only just. In a year, he would have to consider leaving.
It was difficult for the children who lived here to be able to trust others now. Trust was one thing they had taken away. The adults. Well, they were getting their just rewards.
Simon turned his attention back to the younger girl. It was obvious that she was nervous and shy. They were pretty common traits here. He'd have to have a gentle touch.
Kneeling down so that he wasn't so tall and imposing, he smiled gently at the girl.
"I'm Simon. I don't know if I've seen you before. What's your name?"
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Post by lena holden on Jul 5, 2010 18:35:54 GMT -5
A whisper of a smile flitted across the little girl's thin lips as her somber blue gaze looked into Simon's. He didn't look so bad, she thought finding the same ghosts in his eyes from the long years at the unmericful hands of the adults. Instantly a friendship was born out of the shared past of the pair. Lena felt it in the pit of her stomach, the moment that Simon knelt down to introduce himself. It was such a sweet action, something that was such a distant memory it seemed only like a dream. Whatever walls Lena had managed to build up over the course of the three years she had been at the orphanage fell down in that moment.
She knew it would be a death sentence to cry during the adults' reign, and was still scared to show her rare emotions. But right now Lena didn't want to bottle up her emotions anymore, she wanted to let it all out. She wanted comfort from another human being that understood what she had been going through. Lena sniffed and wrapped her thin arms around Simon's neck, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"L-lena." She choked out, burying her face into Simon's shoulder. Little Lena Beana... that's what Taylor had called her once upon a time. |
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Post by Simon Lennox on Jul 8, 2010 23:14:43 GMT -5
Simon blinked a few times, utterly surprised by the girl, Lena's reaction. Still, he certainly wasn't going to turn her away. He wrapped his arms gently around her and let her cry as much as she wanted.
Showing emotion of any kind, other than fear and obedience, had not been allowed with the adults. They'd been expected to bottle their emotions and hide them away. It wasn't fair to ask a child to do that, especially considering the way that they had suffered. If Lena wanted to cry her heart out for a few hours, then Simon would let her.
He wondered why he'd never seen this particular girl before. Or maybe he had. It was hard to keep track of faces and names. Before . . . the children tried not to get too attached to one another. It usually ended badly, especially if one of the children was lost.
When Simon thought her tears had begun to subside, he settled slowly down onto the ground into a sitting position.
"Here, now. What's all this, Lena? I'm not normally the sort of gentleman who brings females to tears," he joked, pulling back just a little so he could see her face. He smiled gently and patted her on the back.
"Come now, tell old Simon what's wrong," he said.
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