Let me explain: when I was younger, a little younger, I was thrown out on the streets along with my parents and sister. It was the midst of World War I and Liechtenstein was, perhaps, hit hardest. Windows were shattered and whole streets were filled with marching 'soldiers.' The stench of garbage and dirt was everywhere. My house was taken over by three young men, soldiers who decided my home was fit to spend the night. And so, my family and I had nowhere to live. For a few weeks, we stayed with a friend on the other side of our town, but the soldiers came and decided to get rid of us. One by one, my parents, sister, and the kind people who let us stay with them filed out the door, to a rather small jeep labeled "Zurich". The oldest soldier stared down at me with narrowed eyes. I was too afraid to glance up at him. He deemed me "unusable" and threw me onto the streets! That was that. I was on my own, looking for scraps here and there and trying to find shelter. One night, during a winter storm, I gave up all hope and sat on the wet ground. I held my head in my hands and cried, wishing someone would come back for me. And it was almost a miracle: Vash, my new bruder, found me crying and asked me, "Are you all right?" I froze in surprise. He walked over to me silently and took my hand.

He pulled me up to my feet and said, "Looks like… well… you need a place to stay,"

"Yes, sir… would you kindly take me in for a few nights? Then I will be on my way," I assured him.

He thought for a moment.

"Little girl, I don't think you have anywhere to go. I'll give you a home for the … immediate future," he replied gruffly.

I was having second thoughts about this scary man. It was dark, midnight black, and I didn't even know what he looked like. But I let his rough, yet soothing voice lead me back into the light.

I woke up in early in the morning, shivering with cold and fear. For a brief moment, I forgot where I was: am I at home with mama and papa? Am I still in the streets of Vaduz? No, I reminded myself. I am at a kind man's house. I quickly reminded myself of yesterday's events.

Now, I'll go and say good-morning to my new guardian, I told myself.

I looked around for a moment, and realized that I was in a cramped bedroom. The door was only a few steps away from where I was sleeping. I tried to make the bed in a pretty way, but it turned out horribly wrong. I sighed, and tiptoed out of my room and into the hallway.

In the narrow corridor, there were two doors to my left and three on the right. On the right there was a bathroom, with a sparkling sink and clean towels. I admired it before knocking on the door to my left; it turned out to be a linen closet. The door in the middle, though, was slightly open, enough to make out what was in the room. This room looked like a bedroom, with a large lump right in the middle of it. Ah, this was a bedroom! I tried to push the door as softly as possible, but even the slightest movement made it squeak. This little noise made whoever was under the covers jump up. A young-looking man sat up from underneath the covers, startled.

Wait. Was this the man who had rescued me yesterday? It couldn't have been. The man I imagined him to be was more like Papa, with a messy beard and stubby black hair. But this man wasn't like him at all. This man was… handsome? I craned my neck to get a better look at him. He had smooth, cream-coloured skin with high cheekbones. His cheeks were somewhat ruddy, probably from sleep. His hair was the most wonderful I had ever seen! It was long and grazing his chin in the front, but short-cropped in the back. The color was close to sunlight.

The young man rubbed his eyes with his hands and got out of bed. I noticed, rather quickly, that he wasn't wearing an undershirt. My face felt strangely hot. He slipped on a rich green robe and walked towards the door. My eyes widened as he reached his hand toward the doorknob, grasped it, and swung it wide open. I let out a little yelp. His sparkling green eyes peered at me curiously, before the man said, "So you're who I rescued yesterday."

The little girl didn't even think twice to knock. But then again, she wasn't raised by her parents all her life - so I came to find out.

I was actually surprised when I opened the door. I expected a buxom tall woman with social standing. But this child was meek, with mousy blond hair and short stature. I looked up from her feet to her face, noticing the beautiful color of her mossy green eyes. She stared back at me, a little frightened. Poor child. She needed some to eat.

"Well. I guess you've woken me up. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sir, if you'd like me to join you…" Why was she acting so servile? She wasn't my maid.

"No, you will not only join me, you will eat with me. Follow me." I took the girl's clammy hands and walked her to the dining table.

"Sit where you'd like." The little girl waited for me to take my seat before she sat herself. Part of her nature, I guessed.

I cleared my throat, trying to get her attention. But her gaze was fixed on the view behind her: the clear windows of the room were overlooking the tallest peaks of the Alps, covered in light snow. Her gaze turned to awe as she took in the view around her. I smiled. She hasn't really seen the country, has she?

"Excuse me," muttered the cook. The round man carefully placed two bowls of steaming porridge on the wooden table, and hurried away.

"Thank you," I told him. Now that me and the little girl were alone, I could ask her about herself.

Instead of looking at me she stayed focused on the bowl of hot porridge in front of her. Her eyes never even glanced upward.

"Little girl… please tell me your name, so that I do not have to call you 'girl' anymore," I asked.

"I- I- I'm…" She trailed off. Her eyes stared at me blankly.

"Your name is?"

"I'm Lily." Feeling the awkward silence in the air, she fumbled with a small button on her collar.

"Pleased to meet you. Lily. My name is Vash," I told her slowly, so that she could understand.

"Thank you, Mister Vash. Thank you for saving me."

I felt surprised. Why call me "Mister"? And wouldn't anyone else do the same?

"No, no. I felt obliged to." I don't know if she interpreted it the right way, but her eyebrows furrowed together and she looked at the porridge. Maybe she was expecting it to disappear.

What could I respond with? "I didn't want to leave you there all alone. You needed a place to stay," I said softly. At this she looked up at me and gave a faint smile. I felt relieved immediately.

"I owe you all my thanks. What is this?" Lily pushed the bowl of porridge with her finger.

"This? It's food." Dumbfounded. She honestly didn't know what porridge looked like?

"Oh. And may I eat it for breakfast?"

This was getting ridiculous. "Of course you can, help yourself." At once, she began to spoon the porridge in her mouth, not even stopping to breathe. Once she finished, the look in her eyes told me she wanted more. I stood up and told Lily that she could eat my portion; I wasn't hungry.

"Thank you, sir."

"You don't need to call me that."

As I walked away, I turned around to catch her eye, smile, and walk away.

The kind man named Vash saved me. He didn't even know me, yet he put out food and drink and even gave me clothing. For the next few days I felt like I was living in a dream. The next week, however, Vash gave me a task.

Then, a voice came from down the hall: "Lily, may you do me a favor?"

I quickly threw my sewing materials under my pillow, smoothed my braided hair, and opened the door. [From the moment I arrived here, I decided to repay Vash's kindness by sewing him comfortable satin sleep robes. I didn't have the nerve to ask him for quality silk, so I cut up my old rose-coloured nightgown.] Heavy footsteps were pounding towards my room. In a few seconds, I was staring at a pair of black leather boots. My eyes looked up at my new caretaker.

"Lily. Would you please run some errands for me?"

Errands? Of course I would. I'd do anything to pay off this debt I owed him.

"Of course, sir," I said with a small nod. Hopefully it would be something easy, like going to the market.

"Don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time. I just need some supplies from Milüg," he said. Milüg was a locally owned butcher shop, ran by Mr. and Mrs. Milüg.

"Yes, sir. What would you like me to buy?"

"I need a pair of chopping knives and a small slab of pork. It will be for our dinner; I'm going to try making schnitzel."

Schnitzel? My mouth watered at the thought. "Yes, I'll be on my way, sir." Vash was just about to leave when he said, "Lily, I'm not your master. You don't have to call me sir."

(FEW HOURS LATER)

I knocked on the door of the beautiful cottage, arms full of meat and cutlery. Finally, Vash came to the door. He briefly surveyed me and seemed pleased that I brought all the things he wanted. I smiled at him as he held the door open for me. The cook quickly took all the food from my hands and left. I walked up to Mr. Vash.

"I bought pork and sharp new knives." I told him with a little bow. He looked down at me, squinting. Then, he did something strange-he took his hand and placed it on my cheek. I felt like I was staring into the sun.

"Lily, you don't have to be so scared of me. Treat me as… a cousin. Or perhaps a member of your family," he said gently, "Your home is here now."

Tears welled in my eyes. It was true that there was no way back to my country, I had to flee from the poverty stricken streets. But to never see my family again was a thought I couldn't bear.

"I'm sorry for my behavior. I just don't know how to thank you for your kindness." Vash's hand moved onto my shoulder. He gave it a small pat and replied, "No repayments required." What? This man really expected nothing in return? Of course I will repay him, I thought as he left to begin the schitzel.

The delicious smell of shnitzel wafted up to my new room. For the past few days, I was living in the master guest hall, a very nice room but certainly not fit for a girl of mere fourteen. Mr. Vash (I am trying to call him Bruder more often) helped me move my belongings to the attic of the cottage. The "attic" is actually not an attic at all-don't let the name fool you! It is more like a separate bedroom, a very pleasant room. Once I stepped in the door, I noticed the feeling of cool air blowing on my cheek. There was a large, semicircle window on the right, overlooking the majestic mountains. Despite this, the room had a warm, cozy air. A massive oak bed was pushed against the wall across from the door. Next to it was a small table. And on top of that table was a telephone, "To call in case of emergencies," stated Mr. Vash. Once Vash laid the sacks full of my belongings on the bed, he walked to the door and said "This place is yours." I watched him walk out the door, grateful to be at home at last.

Something foul tainted the air. I do not like it when the air doesn't smell as fresh as it should, when one is so close to the Alps. I walked down the steps and into the small kitchen. Of course, it was the goddamn shnitzel. Why was I going through all this just to make the girl shnitzel? I didn't even know if she liked shnitzel-she tended to agree with me on everything, anyway. I cautiously lifted the lid, in case some monster may be underneath. I relaxed as I saw that the shnitzel wasn't completely ruined, just a little blackened. It'll have to do for dinner tonight, tomorrow will be much better.

Lars, the cook, set out two plates and some silverware for us. I glanced at the empty seat and felt a little hurt. Hurt? Me? I don't get hurt. But I could feel the ache in my chest, wondering why Lily wasn't yet at the table.

"Lily? It's time to eat dinner…" I called. What was she doing all day, cooped up in her room? She should take advantage of the Swiss mountain air.

A few crashing noises and curses later, little Lily burst out of her room. She was short of breath. "Mister Vash, I'm very sorry," she said, "I did not know dinner was ready so quickly."

I just stared at her. Then I looked at my watch. Of course, it was already 6.30; wasn't she used to having dinner around 6 ?

"Yes, well, dinner is prepared here no later than 5.30," I informed her. "We usually sit down to eat around 6.15. And I normally don't tolerate lateness, but in your case…" I decided not to finish my silly thought. Why did she need to know what I thought of her, anyway?

"I'm sorry. Tomorrow I will try to be punctual."

"Fine." I let it pass tonight, but tomorrow, I don't think I would tolerate it.

"Mr. Vash, would you like to go to the dining room now?" Lily asked. I didn't realize that I'd been staring at her shoes for the past few minutes.

"Yes, yes… let's go eat."

That dinner was, to say the least, very awkward. The girl obviously was uncomfortable eating in front of me and she didn't seem to like my schnitzel. I didn't either. But I don't mind her feelings for my food. I am more bothered by her feelings for me. This may sound strange, but… she is becoming more and more like me. For instance, just a few weeks ago, she decided to trim her hair short. And very short! She hardly looked like a girl anymore, so in pity, I took her to the clothing store to buy her ribbons. It helped a bit.

Another thing seemed to puzzle me. A few days after that happened, she walked up to me and gave me a small parcel. Lily shoved it into my arms and ran to her room. Curious, I went to my bedroom to open it. The present was in fact a hand-sewn sleeping robe! It was silky and a dainty pink colour, edged with white lace. I wondered whether she'd given me her own pajama on accident. But, later on, I realized that she took apart the dress she'd worn on her first day here and created something else entirely. This brought about the same ache in my chest that I felt about a month or so ago. What was this feeling? Was I feeling pity for little Lily?

After putting on the soft pink pajamas, I went to thank her and she told me to think nothing of it. She said that she was indebted to me for this great kindness I was giving her. I was very surprised. This girl hardly ever talked and now she poured her feelings out to me.

Lily kept talking about how I saved her from misery and no life, how I am the closest person to her right now, and she will forever owe me something-

Mr. Vash seems antsy. Right now I'm just trying to explain that I feel very grateful for him and I want to return the favor.

"Mr. Vash, if-" Mr. Vash's gloved finger silenced me. He put his finger across my lips, and said, "Don't." What is he doing? I'm just trying to talk to him! After this, Vash did something very strange. He… put his hand behind my neck (to cradle it, I suppose) and took my hand into his other. Mr. Vash's concentrated look frightened me a little, but I took it to be nervousness instead. Vash murmered, "Lily," and held my hand tighter. I didn't know what to do! I just tried to follow his 'plan', whatever he was trying to do, as he leaned in toward me and whispered, "Lily, can I kiss you?" My eyes met his. Should I have said no? No matter what I said, I just closed my eyes and he pressed his lips to mine. It was actually a wonderful feeling, warm and smooth like buttered cookies. His tongue found its way to mine. I felt like I was melting, melting like butter.

After a few minutes in bliss, Lily pulled away. She stared at me with wide, saucer eyes, with fear and excitement. But then she turned away and shook her head.

"No, Mr. Vash, you are my bruder. What do you think you were doing?" She pleaded. She was right; what WAS I doing to my naïve little 'sister'?

I took her shoulders and tried to look her in the eye. I couldn't. "Lily, I'm sorry, that wasn't appropriate and I should have-" The wisp of a girl shrunk back from me until she was nearly out the door.

"I'm sorry, Bruder. I don't think that should happen again."

I glanced behind me again, and quietly shut the door.