*~Eyes Like Twins~*
She walked to the park, carrying her favorite stuffed bunny. It was the one her daddy had brought back for her on his business trip. That had been a year ago, right before her life had fallen apart. David and Samantha Saybrooke had died only a month later in a tragic boating accident. At seven years old, Marty Saybrooke had become an orphan.
Tears streaked her face, but she tried to keep her head downcast so no one could see her sorrow. If they saw the tears, they might also see the bruise that blackened her right eye. Aunt Kiki had lost her temper again. She had slapped Marty and pushed her down the stairs. Marty didn't know why she was such a bad girl.
Aunt Kiki was always yelling and screaming, and Marty just couldn't understand. She really did try to be a good, but everything she did seemed to displease her hateful aunt. "Why doesn't Aunt Kiki love me, Bunny?" Marty asked her stuffed animal as she sat down on the swing. "Mommy and Daddy did... so much. But now they are gone..."
"I wish they'd come back... so someone could love me... and I wouldn't be so alone," Marty said sadly to her bunny.
An eight year old boy walked into the park and sat down on the swing next to Marty. She had never seen him before, but he looked about her age. She started to get up to leave, but to her suprise, he spoke to her. "Hi, I'm the new kid in town. My name is Todd," he told her.
"I'm Marty. And I live over there." She pointed to the row of mansions in the distance.
"I just live across the street," Todd responded.
"Why... why were you crying?" he asked her almost cautiously.
"I wasn't crying," Marty lied.
"Yeah, you were," Todd said knowingly. "How did you get that bruise on your face? Did someone hurt you?"
"I- I fell down the stairs," Marty said quickly. "B- because I'm clumsy."
Todd shook his head. "No, someone hit you," he said sadly. "I know this, because my dad hits me, too. He beats me with his belt... and sometimes he locks me in the closet if I've been bad. You won't tell anybody, will you?"
Marty shook her head. "No, I- I won't tell anyone, I promise," she said. "If you don't tell anyone about Aunt Kiki."
"Who's Aunt Kiki?"
"She's my guardian... and she's- she's REALLY mean to me," Marty told Todd. "She hits me... and she hurts me."
"I promise I won't tell anyone," Todd stated.
"Good, because if you told, the police might come and take me away from her... and I would have to live in a foster home. I'm scared, because I already lost my mommy and daddy."
"What happened to them?"
"They died in an accident. I miss them so much," Marty said with tears in her eyes. "Now that they're gone, I'm all alone."
"You're not alone anymore," Todd spoke as he reached out to take her hand.
Their eyes met, and in that moment, something exceptional passed between them. Marty knew that his words were true. In Todd, she had just discovered her long lost friend.
THE END