Alone by David M. Cope (new reading .txt) 📖

It was cooler than usual this morning in Phoenix. Almost everyone was wearing a sweater. Emily had on a faded pink sweater that had seen its best days long ago. It barely kept the chill out because of all the holes. Her pink dress was threadbare and two sizes too small. This one was her favorite dress. Her mother had bought it a year before she died. Her mother used to tell her she looked beautiful in her pink dress. She looked like a princess. Every time she wore this dress she imagined her mother was standing next to her telling her again how beautiful she looked. Then she would remember and cry.
At eight years old she was the head of the house. Her brother Mark was three years younger and worshipped Emily. Little wonder, since she spent every waking moment caring for him. She loved her brother more than life itself. Her mother told her that family was the most important thing in the world.
“Friends may come and go, but family is forever. You never turn your back on the family,” her mother said. So Emily believed that with all her heart. She proved it every day to her brother. And he knew he was lucky to have her.
Each morning just after dawn she would get up, build a small fire and fix breakfast from whatever she could scrounge up, which wasn't much. They had no refrigeration, no heat or cooling, very few clothes and no home. Emily and her brother lived under an overpass next to a small creek. Her mother had died six months ago in the hospital. Emily and Mark were by her side when she passed away. Just before her mother had closed her eyes for the last time, she made Emily promise she would take care of Mark if something happened to her.
After breakfast Emily would sweep and mop a neighborhood store for which she was paid $5.00. It only took her a couple of hours. Then she would ask around the neighborhood for odd jobs so she could make a little extra money or score some food for the two of them. She usually managed to make $6 - $8 and a little food. They ate sparingly. Emily had become an expert when shopping for the best deals on food. She knew when each store was having a sale and which ones had the lowest prices. And she knew who she could sweet talk out of some candy once in a while.
There was a gang in the neighborhood that helped them. One day the gang came under the bridge and saw Emily and Mark sleeping. The leader of the group was a young man named Juan Sanchez. He recognized the kids from seeing them in the neighborhood. He knew Emily worked for food and what little money she could get. He didn't know they lived under this bridge. He woke them and immediately Emily grabbed the knife she had hidden in the sand beside their bed. Juan stepped back and told her he would not hurt them.
“Where is your mother or father?” asked Juan. Emily didn't answer. He could see in her eyes that she would protect herself and her brother. “I won't hurt you. I have a little sister and brother.”
“Our mother is with Jesus in heaven. So is our father “, said Emily.
“You mean you live here by yourself?”
“Yes.”
He looked around and saw very little. This little girl was not only a worker, she was also a fighter. He couldn't believe they lived here alone. Even he would have trouble living out here. He had been running the streets from an early age, but he had a mother who cooked for him, his brothers and sisters. His father was also dead. He couldn't walk away from here and leave them alone knowing this area like he did. Anything could happen.
“Miguel, go to the clubhouse and get the small chest of drawers and bring it here. Take three others with you. Juanita, come here. Take this and go get them something to eat. Stop at the store and get them a pie and a twelve pack of drinks.”
Miguel and three others left and were soon followed by Juanita. She returned in twenty minutes with some food from the local Burger King, an apple pie and a twelve pack of grape drink. Miguel and the others returned about twenty minutes later. They carried a chest of drawers with them. They placed it beside the bed against the base of the bridge.
“This will keep your clothes looking better than those boxes. Here is $10 for food and drinks. We will check on you once in a while. If anybody bothers you, come to me. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Emily. “Thank you.”
“You are welcome, little senorita.” They left Emily and Mark eating. On the road above Juan turned to Miguel.
“Pass the word. The boy and girl are under our protection. Nobody bothers them. And I mean nobody. Understand?”
“Si, Juan. I will tell everyone. Why do you get involved with these little ones?”
“They have no momma to watch over them and cook for them as we do, Miguel. We may not admit it, but we are lucky we have a home and a mother who loves us. Those two do not. They do not have a club who watches their backs as we do. From now on, we will be their club and watch over them. If they are harmed by anyone, that person will beg for death. Now go tell everyone.”
Juan knew he couldn't get the children the help they needed because it would look like he was soft or a snitch. But he also knew he couldn't leave these two alone any longer than possible. They were much too young to be living on their own, especially like this. He had an idea. He would talk to his mother. Maybe he could get her to call somebody.
The biggest problem they faced, in Emily's mind, was the heat of the day. They managed so far by going to stores and walking around, or sneaking into a theater to watch a movie. They had to walk about five miles to get to a movie. But it was worth it. They always managed to watch two movies before leaving. The snacks and drinks were too expensive to purchase at the movies so they would wait until leaving and, when they had the extra money, they would buy a drink at the store and split it. That happened rarely.
What Emily didn't know was that people were getting curious about her and Mark. They were seen every day when other kids were in school. Someone finally called the school and talked to Delbert Grey, the Truant Officer. For a week he had been trying to find the children. He had been unsuccessful, so he decided to contact Children Services. Maybe with their resources the children and their parents would be found. Then they could find out why the children were not in school. He never could understand why parents refused to send their children to school. They had to know how hard it would be on the kids if they didn't have an education. You can bet if he had kids they would be in school.
The next day he saw the kids and decided to follow them for awhile. Hopefully, they would lead him to the parents. He had been following them for about three hours before he decided that something wasn't right. The little girl seemed to be panhandling for food. Well, he guessed there were a lot of families in need of food, but usually the parents did the begging, although he had known a few with the whole family begging. Delbert decided he would follow awhile longer to find out where they lived.
Two hours later he was behind them when they started to walk out of the neighborhood and toward a barren area. They walked off the road but parallel to it. He had to park his car and follow on foot. There was nothing to hide him so he decided to stay about a hundred yards behind them. Hopefully they wouldn't look back and see him following. It took about fifteen minutes before he realized where they were headed. About one hundred yards ahead there was an underpass and they were going under it. He decided to get on the road and get above them to keep from being seen.
When he was above where the children had gone under the bridge he crossed to the other side and looked over. The children were nowhere to be seen. They had to be under the bridge. Perhaps they needed to get out of the heat for a break before going on. He waited for about thirty minutes before deciding they must have fallen asleep. He walked down the small slope and when he saw them, he was stunned. They were asleep, but on a mattress. And there were sheets and blankets on the mattress. There was a small plastic table, such as one of those toy kitchens for girls and a small chest of drawers. A small blackened area several yards away appeared to be where they did the cooking, although they only had a small cooler to keep food in. Two one gallon jars held water for drinking. They were living under this bridge! But he saw no sign of an adult, or that an adult had even been here. Surely he was mistaken.
Emily awoke and saw a stranger a few feet away and immediately she woke Mark. She got in front of him and grabbed the knife she had beside the bed. She confronted the stranger without saying a word, but her eyes showed she would do whatever had to be done to protect her little brother. Delbert put up his hands and backed away to let her know he meant no harm.
“I am not here to hurt you. My name is Mr. Grey and I am the school Truant Officer. Someone saw you and called me. I've been looking for you for a week. Where are your parents?”
She didn't speak. He knew she must be scared so he sat down. “I just want to help you. Can you tell me where your mother and father are?”
“They're dead. Me and my brother live here. What do you want?”
“Do you mean to tell me you and your brother live alone? How long have you been living here?”
“I'm not sure. My mom died in April I think.”
“April? But that was six months ago. What have you been doing all this time? What have you been eating?”
“I work every day and I ask people for food or money. Most people give us a little change or some food. We ain't been going hungry.”
“My God, are you hungry?”
“We didn't eat supper yet. But I don't know you, and mom told us never to take anything from a stranger.”
“Your mother taught you well. She was right. You should never trust