I trudge in the faint light of the city, sopping wet from the continuous rain and muddy streets. Nancy's dress has kept me warm enough, but it feels like the water is soaking into my bones. The only thing I want now is to sleep, to find a comfortable place, perhaps find Dodge and…
Stop thinking about him! I scold myself. It's too late to go back, and they'll never accept me anyway. I don't know why I keep thinking about Dodger, even a month after I left the thieves. I need to move on from my stint with them.
An idea finally comes to mind on where to stay the night (or whatever remained of it). I look up and down the old English street, trying to determine which houses were currently unoccupied, which is difficult at night since everyone is actually asleep. Oh well, I'll just have to risk it.
There are some lights on in a few of the houses and I can hear men shouting. At least I know some houses I can rule out. No, I'm not actually going to invade a house. I'll just find a garden I can settle down in until dawn and work from there.
After trekking around the city for which seemed like forever, I decide that it was too risky to settle here, even for only a few hours. Just as I reach the edge of the city, the tall houses and apartment buildings thin out and I can see a small cottage through the rain. There are no lights on and it almost seems vacant, not that I really care anymore. I take this chance and run towards the house, my holey shoes splashing in the musty rain puddles.
The cottage has a large garden with plenty of tall arbor trees that provide decent enough shelter from the rain. Luckily it isn't a thunderstorm… I've heard horror storied about people standing under trees during thunderstorms and getting struck by lightning.
The garden is neatly plotted and coordinated, beautiful blooms and grasses galore. I won't have enough time to view their splendor in the morning though, for I must leave before anyone wakes up. The wonderfully kept landscaping is a sure sign that the cottage isn't vacant.
I settle down under a tree, squeezing some of the rain water from my hair. The dress is ruined, but it still provides more benefits than my old rags I had been wearing earlier. I lie down among the grasses, the ground uncomfortably squishy, and close my eyes, trying to get at least a few heartbeats of sleep. I'm used to sleeping outside, but I'm afraid the mushy ground will swallow me in my sleep.
I wake up to the sound of something falling beside me. I bolt upright, prepared to run as fast as my toothpick legs with take me.
"Who are you?" I hear a young. male voice say. I turn around and almost jump a mile high. What I see is… He looks like me, exactly like me. Is he me? For a second I think I'm having an out-of-body experience.
"W-who are you?" I stutter, crawling back a few paces. I silently curse myself for sleeping in past dawn. The sun is almost midway across the sky by now.
"I'm Oliver," the boy says, standing up and offering me his hand. "Oliver Twist,"
I take his hand awkwardly and stand up groggily. Oliver stands almost exactly my height, which is unusually short. He looks about my age, perhaps a year or two younger.
"And you are…?" he asks me warily, letting go of my hand.
I sigh. "Ebony. And I don't have a last name."
"Oh," Oliver says, giving me a slight smile. "I like that name, Ebony." He looks at my muddy red dress and choppy blonde hair, big blue eyes widening. "Did you spend the night in the garden? You look…"
"Terrible, I know," I finish. "Listen, I really need to-"
"Go?" he interjects. I raise an eyebrow at the mental synchronization. "Are you sure? You don't look like you have anywhere to go to."
I roll my eyes. This Oliver kid's dressed up in a tuxedo shirt and slacks, he probably never knew what it was like to not have anywhere to go. "No, I do have somewhere to go. If you'll excuse me…" I try to walk past him but he blocks my path.
"Where, then?" he asks sincerely. Curious little bugger.
"Just…"
"I know you don't have anywhere to go," Oliver lowered his voice. "Trust me." he looks at his shoes (recently shined, of course…). Taking my hand again and walking towards the house, he says, "Now, I'm going to get you acquainted with my family."
"W-what?" I stammer, stopping in my tracks. "But… but I'm…"
"Don't worry." Oliver smiles. "They're very understanding."
