I've started writing again (hooray!) Because I've settled down a little.
I am now living in Italy till January next year. I've been to Rome which was amazing! If anyone is thinking of going to Europe/Italy, then Rome is a must see city.
Right now, I am living in Lecce, which is near the ocean.
Anyway, getting back to what I was saying: I just finished writing this chapter. The flashback will be going on for a bit longer than expected, but that's how the flow of the story is going.
I am also informing you that I will be writing two different endings for this story: the first can be considered the 'sad' ending, whereas the other is a more 'happy' ending. Of course, though, the second ending will be longer than the first by a chapter or two. It's just because I have two endings planned in my head for this story, and some might prefer a different ending to what others see.
Anyway, sorry for the delay. I will try to update at a more frequent basis (say at least once a month). If I don't keep up to this scheduled, then you may hunt me down and force me to update
As always, enjoy and review please~!
Chapter 13 –
The chirping of birds woke Marita up, feeling more awake than she had in a very long time. Looking to her side, she notices Aaron sleeping in the bed next to her and she smiles. Sitting up, she stretches her arms before standing and walking into the kitchen. She didn't know what she wanted to eat first: the fruit that was sitting in a bowl, or the bread that was laid out on a wooden chopping board with a bread knife next to it.
Marita cuts herself a slice of bread before looking in the fridge. There was milk, butter and cheese on the top shelf. No meats were present but she did notice vegetables in a little draw on the bottom of the fridge.
Opening up a cupboard, she finds plates, cups and bowls, spoons and knives and forks. The cupboard next to it held dried fruit, nuts and oats, along with some jam jars and what appeared to be chocolate.
She closes the cupboards, smiling, as she hears Aaron wake up. Turning around, she smiles at her brother as he stands and walks towards her, reaching for the oats.
"What are you making?" She asks as he pulls out a saucepan from the cupboard underneath the bench.
"Porridge." He replies as he grabs out the milk from the fridge. Looking around, he opens up a different cupboard and pulls out a small container with raw sugar in it.
Marita watches him as he pours the milk into the saucepan and heats it up over a stove. He then places in a cup full of oats and a pinch of raw sugar before stirring it all together. Noticing his sister watching him, Aaron smiles to himself as he looks at a few cupboards above his head. Frowning, he leaves the saucepan and looks in a few others to no avail.
Returning to the saucepan to stir it, he turns to Marita. "Hey," he says, breaking her trance. She looks up at him as he smiles. "I need you to go and see if we can borrow some honey from anyone." He says.
"Honey?" She asks. He nods his head. "What do we need it for?"
"Well, I like putting honey and strawberries on my porridge. We have the strawberries, but no honey." He answers.
Marita nods her head. "Alright, I'll go and ask someone then." She replies as she bounds out of the tent. Aaron smiles after her, not knowing where she gets all of her energy from. It was a wonder that she hadn't fallen over in her haste to explore the circus.
Marita looks around the campsite, her excitement of being free and able to do anything she pleases causes' her to nearly trip in her hurry to explore everything she possibly could.
The sound of the tent flaps to her left catches her attention as someone walks out of them. A woman steps out, her long grey hair falling beside her as her red eyes look around lazily. She stretches and yawns, before looking to Marita. "Can I help you with something?" She asks her voice sweet and soothing.
Marita smiles at her. "My brother asked me to get some honey. Do you have any that we may borrow?" She asks.
The woman nods her head as she holds up a finger and ducks back into the tent. A few seconds later, she re-emerges with a jar of honey in her hand and passes it to the teen.
"Thank you." Marita says as she goes to walk back. Turning around, she smiles at the woman again to which the woman looks a little startled at the action. "I'm Marita, by the way. Marita Young." Marita says before walking back to her brother.
The woman's lips cure up into a smile as she shakes her head and walks away from her tent.
Entering her own tent, Marita spots Aaron standing over the stove, stirring something in a pot. Walking over towards him, she looks into the pot to see a creamy concoction being stirred by the wooden spoon that Aaron was holding.
"This is porridge." He says as he looks down at her. "I've been eating this since I was young. It's simple to make, and an easy breakfast. Did you get any honey?"
"Yeah, I did. I met this woman out the front of her tent and asked her if I could borrow some honey. She handed me this jar." Marita replies as she holds up the jar in her hand.
"Place it on the table." Aaron replies. Marita nods her head as she does so. "I thought you would have been out longer." Aaron says, turning off the stove as he pulls out two bowls.
"Why would you think that?" Marita asks.
"Cause," he replies. "You've been cooped up for so long; I thought you would have wanted to explore a little. Can you grab some spoons?"
"Sure." Marita replies. She places two spoons on the table while Aaron walks over with the bowls, placing them down next to a spoon each. He then picks up the honey jar along with some strawberries and sits down.
"I do want to explore more." Marita says as she sits down in front of her bowl. "But I would rather explore with you as well, so that we could get our bearings straight."
Aaron looks up from his food, a strawberry in one hand as the other held a knife. "You we're waiting for me?" He asks.
She nods her head.
"You shouldn't have." He replies.
"But I wanted to."
"You don't need to worry about me; I can take care of myself." He answers back. "I've done so for a long time now. You, on the other hand, have been locked in that hospital for too long. I don't want to hold you back. Once you finish your food, I want you to go out and explore on your own, do you understand?"
Marita pouts and nods her head.
She didn't wait because she was worried about him. She just thought it would have been nice if they had a look at the circus together. It seemed like there was a bigger gap between them than she originally thought.
Marita left not long after she had finished her bowl, taking Aaron's advice to explore the circus. He didn't want her to have to wait for him; he wanted her to get back what was taken from her and not to rely on others so much.
The sound of the tent flaps moving disturbs the silence as Aaron turns around. A young girl, a few years older than Marita, enters the tent with a bowl of fresh fruit. She looks up at Aaron, a crimson blush encasing her cheeks, as she takes a few steps into the tent.
"H-hi." She stutters.
"Hi." Aaron replies.
They stand staring at each other for a few seconds in silence before the girl bows her head and holds out the bowl. "This is a welcoming gift." She says. "From the circus to you."
Aaron picks up the bowl, a little surprised by the gesture, before holding it awkwardly in his hands. "Thanks, I guess." He says.
She looks up, a hint of a smile on her lips, before she turns and begins to walk out of the tent.
"You just gonna leave without telling me you're name?" He asks mockingly.
She freezes, the sound of a nervous laugh escaping her lips, as she turns around. "Lu-lucinda Bell." She replies before leaving the tent.
Aaron chuckles to himself as he looks down at the bowl of fruit.