RUNAWAY SIBLINGS

Caleb looked at the house one last time with tears in his eyes. He had been living here for much longer than he could remember. Most of his memories were made there. He turned to look at Evie who was silently watching him.

"Do we really have to leave?" He blinked and the tears in his eyes quickly rolled down his cheeks.

"Please Caleb. We've discussed this many times already." Evie was beginning to shiver. The night was cold and they were wearing light clothes. They needed to leave but Caleb insisted on saying goodbye to this place in his heart. Evie understood because after all, he was just ten years old. So she had given him time. But Caleb was beginning to waver.

There was a creak and the lights of their room were turned on. Veron was checking up on them. Evie grabbed Caleb by the hand and ran as fast as she could. Any minute from now, Veron would raise an alarm and all the neighbors would start looking for them. If she got caught this time, she wouldn't have another chance at escaping again.

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The police siren blaring from a distance awoke Evie. The police were pursuing some thieves but Evie felt they had come to find them. She awoke Caleb but he couldn't stand up. He was having a fever. She carried him on her back and ran to the nearest market to ask for help. Everyone turned a blind eye to them and Evie realised how lucky they were for Veron to have taken them in. But she couldn't turn back anymore. She would survive. She and her brother.

She took Caleb to a drugstore and laid him in front of the store. Her back and shoulders ached but she was willing to bear any pain. She begged the attendant of the shop to check her brother but even though the attendant felt pity for them, she couldn't do anything since they didn't have money.

Evie bit her lip and tried not to cry but the tears wouldn't budge. She had never been this helpless. She closed her eyes and prayed for someone to help them. She prayed for a savior. Someone tapped her back and she opened her eyes. The attendant had come and was checking up on Caleb. It was like a dream to Evie. When she asked the attendant why she came, she pointed to a receding figure and told Evie that he had paid for them. The attendant who then introduced herself as Mabel carried Caleb back to the store with Evie walking slowly beside her, blessing her savior in her heart.

Mabel treated Caleb and gave Evie some drugs for his fever and also for body pains. When she heard that they had nowhere to go, she wanted to take them in, but for fear that they might steal from her like all other street children do, she gave them a meal, a bath, fresh clothes and some money before sending them off. She prayed that they would be safe and then returned to her store while waiting for her children who would soon return from school.

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Evie and Caleb sat to rest. She had been walking for hours while carrying Caleb. Evie brought out the bread she had bought and fed it to Caleb. She had asked around and she was told that she was now in the city. Faraway from her town. Finally, she was safe from Veron and Eva. She would definitely succeed.

"Evie, I'm full already. Please eat." For the first time since they escaped, Caleb spoke.

"Oh okay!" Evie was nodding and crying as she stuffed the remainder of the bread into her mouth. She choked and was coughing when Caleb gave her some water.

"Chew slowly, Evie. I'm here and I'll be here always. So don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise."

Evie wiped her tears with the back of her hands and hugged Caleb. She was so blessed to have him as a brother. Caleb on the other hand, patted his sister's back while praying and wishing that he wouldn't be a burden to her anymore.

"Hey, you two." A young child called out ruining the siblings momentary solace. He was roughly ten but was rude. Evie gave him a dissatisfied look and scrutinised him. He was dressed in rags, had thin arms and legs, big head and stomach due to malnourishment. He was probably a beggar.

"You must be new here, aren't you?"

"Yes we are. Anything else?" Evie wanted to get rid of this person as soon as possible.

"That is not how things work here. You have to greet the boss first."

"Who is your boss and why do I need to greet him?"

"The boss in charge of every street kid around here. Anyone who defies the boss disappears without a trace. So it's up to you if you would keep on asking or you would come with me. You and that chicken." He refers to Caleb as a chicken because as soon as Caleb saw him he hid behind Evie.

Evie carries Caleb on her back and followed as the boy led the way. She was in a new place, a strange place. She didn't want to die here. Not now.

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Nana T as she was called by all walked in circles around the kids. The scary woman sized both of them up, her eye penetrating to every inch of their body. Caleb hugged Evie tighter as the smell of tobacco and alcohol increased in the environment. Evie felt nauseated and held her breath, not wanting to inhale anymore of the poisonous substance in the air.

"Tsk tsk tsk, too skinny." Nana T shakes her head as she held Caleb's arm.

"What can you do?" Nana T had an authoritative voice that made people shiver when she spoke. She also had this effect on the siblings.

"I can wash, cook, clean...." Evie spoke with a quaky voice.

"Can you pickpocket?"

"No. I don't do such things."

"Oh yes you will. Take her." Nana T signaled to some ladies and they came and dragged Evie away. Caleb used that opportunity to wiggle out of Nana T's grip and run. Some kids went after him but he was able to outrun them.

Joanna hit the brakes at the last minute. She walked out of her car with her heart in her hands as she checked the kid lying on the ground. She must have been stupid to have answered a call while driving. She cursed herself inwardly as she placed her hand on the chest of the child. He was alive. Thank goodness. But he was bleeding. He had probably scraped his knee when he fell. She heaved a sigh of relief as she carried him into her car. After looking round to see that no one was looking, she entered her car and drove off.

She took him to a hospital and after running a series of tests, she confirmed that she didn't hit him and that he fainted due to shock. She waited for the boy to wake up so she could talk to him before she left.

After a good sleep on a comfortable bed, Caleb opened his eyes to strange faces and a reality that Evie was in trouble. He tried to stand up but a warm hand held him to the bed and a soft voice told him not to get up. He looked at his hand and on seeing the injection needle, he realised that he was in a hospital.

"What's your name, dear?" The soft voice resounded. Caleb stared at this woman, his head blank. He had no idea who she was. As if reading his mind, the woman spoke.

"My name is Joanna. You ran into my car this morning. I took you to this hospital but I couldn't leave you here alone without a guardian. What's your name?"

"Caleb."

"Where are you from? Do you have any guardian?"

Caleb knew that she would call his aunt if he told her he had one so he simply said he lives on the street and that Joanna didn't have to worry about him. When Joanna repeated her question about his guardian, he began to cry and told her about Nana T and what she did to Evie. Joanna promised to help him and as soon as he stopped crying, she called the police and told them to raid the place Caleb described to her. When she finished her call, she hugged Caleb who had began to cry again and assured him that everything would be fine.