Flashback 5

My falling resulted in a sprained ankle, and as much as I begged, I was made to rest my leg for a few days before the Oswin would use any magic on it. He insisted on a bit of natural magic before he decided to intervene. So on the second day, I sat in the living space with a book that Alexandra and given me.

Then the giant doorbell rang, and Alexandra opened it.
"Hi, Miss Aly! Mind if I keep Miss Essie company?" Terrence's voice echoed through the house.
"Why don't you ask her? She's in the living room."

"Terry?" I asked in surprise when he rounded the corner and I sat up. I must've looked like I was getting ready to stand because Alexandra pushed me back down. "What are you doing here?"
He grinned when I called him Terry, and explained, "Figured you'd like some company. And it isn't every day that the leaders adopt a kid who happens to be my age. Of course I want to get to know you better." He smirked.

"Oh." I was surprised. Nobody had ever done that before.

"So you came from Munchkinland, eh? I been out there once. It was pretty weird. Everything is so… small…."
"I know!" I giggled. "I was as tall as all of the adults. They called me Bigfoot."

"That's pretty bad."

"I got used to it." I said proudly, and realized how much nicer it really was without all of those nicknames.

"So when do you start school?" he asked.
"School? Gosh, I don't even know. What school do you go to?"
"I don't technically go to a school. We have our own little classes at the orphanage."
I was taken aback, "Orphanage… you mean…"
"Mum died from the Ozian Influenza when I was 3 and Dad got drunk and ran off a few years later. But only after he left me at the orphanage in the heart of Oz. Miss Aly frequently pays visits there and reads to the younger boys, which was me a few years ago. I'm 9 now. So I watch out for a lot of the little ones. Still like to hear Miss Aly's stories though. She's one of the kindest people I've ever met. You're real lucky."

"Are you happy there?" I asked, remembering the same question Alexandra had asked me only a few days ago.

He smiled, "You know, I never thought I would be. But it's my life. It's home. They aren't mean, and we get along with one another. I'll be ready to go off on an adventure when I'm older, but for now, I'm pretty happy."
"Good."
"So, Ess, wanna play a game?"
"I can't walk, if that's what you mean."
"I know that. I brought cards!"

Terry pulled out a deck of cards from his back pocket and we wound up playing a few rounds of Go Fish for an hour. His dedication to me, even when I was stuck in a chair, was my first glimpse at friendship, especially one that lasted quite a long time. After that first time playing Go Fish, we spent many more of our free afternoons together. Our early days would always mean a great deal to he and I. We related in ways that were hard to explain, and somehow, through those ways, we were bound for life.