Chapter Four

He woke up feeling at peace. He looked around as the previous night's events came back. He smiled in spite of himself. For the first time in a long time he felt loved. Wanted. He flipped himself out of bed and landed on his feet. Suddenly his knees gave way and he found himself crashing down to earth. Rubbing his back he mentally cursed. Standing up he rolled back onto the bed. He felt so happy he didn't want it to end.

Suddenly he sat up straight. There was a strange smell coming up the stairs. He ran to the door and scuttled down to the ground floor. He burst into the kitchen and there it was. The source of the smell. Something he thought only existed in fairy tales…WAFFLES!

He cautiously looked around. Being on the streets had taught him to be careful when food was involved. If you were caught taking it you were in a lot of trouble. He saw Abraham cooking and the little girl, Lianne; she was eating her way through a stack of waffles. He edged closer to the delightful smell and stood by the table.

Abraham turned round and jumped. "My…you made me jump!" He laughed and set a plate of waffles in front of the place the boy was standing by. The starved boy looked at them, his stomach growling. He moved away slightly expecting Abraham to sit in that chair. To his surprise the old man pushed him into the chair and set a knife and fork in front of him. "Eat. You're obviously hungry. You haven't eaten much after all." The old man's eyes twinkled amusedly. He shuffled over to the fridge and poured three glasses of milk out. He set one glass in front of the boy and another in front of the young girl. The glass remaining he put by the only remaining place, upon which was set a plate filled with a yellow and white substance.

"Mashed potato and apple sauce." Abraham explained seeing the boy look at his plate. "The only thing I can eat without hurting my teeth." He laughed. Lianne nodded and informed the boy that 'grandfather' had recently been for a small operation at the hospital to fill one of his teeth with a plastic casing, thus removing all nerves, meaning it was hard to eat for the moment.

He shivered as he thought about people poking inside his mouth, removing a number of nerves. He couldn't stand the thought and slowly cut a piece of waffle up. He stared at it sat on his fork. The only thoughts going through his mind were, 'this is a dream. When I wake up I'll be all alone in pain. There will be no waffles…no Lianne…no Abraham…'

His tongue darted out of his mouth and enveloped the waffle. He expected to wake up on a concrete floor, his mouth filled with the filth from the floors he had been used to. His eyes shot open. There was no foul taste. No cold grit. There was a sweet sensation in his mouth, warm and inviting. He stared at the fork, now empty of contents. "That…that was…" He started. Suddenly his whole stomach lurched. He found himself racing to the bathroom to throw up.

Lianne watched him go sadly. "Grandpa…what is wrong with him?" She asked unsteadily.

Abraham was also watching the retreating form. "He's not used to it Lianne. Give him more time." He smiled weakly at her before taking his plate to the sink and washing it. Lianne watched him and glanced back to the empty door. That's all that had been said. By the doctors, the surgeons, the nurses and now her grandfather.

"Give him time" She closed her eyes. 'What if he doesn't have that time?" She asked herself subconsciously.

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End of next chapter

TO:

wolf's lament

Thanks for the review. I'm hoping this also had an emotional feel to it. Please review again!