Chapter 10.1

My time with the Anderson's was both the best time of my life and the most difficult. There were many things to get used to. Firstly, I'd never lived with a family. Now I had a mum and a dad and even a brother. Or at least they would like me to call them that. Elliana Anderson was a kind woman, I could really see how she was related to Luke. She was generous, and she really wanted us to feel welcome. Alex brought a lot of stuff from his old home, but because I had nothing apart from the things I borrowed from the military facility, one of the first things we did was to go shopping for essential items.

That was one of the many things I'd never experienced before and I started to realise how small my world was. For one, the concept of money. I knew that you never got things for free, but the concept of money was novel to me- that a coin or a small bit of paper that in actuality was worthless, but represented the promise of value by the government, and can be used to exchange for goods. The idea was crazy.

Sean had to work, but Alex tagged along with us, glad to be back in civilisation. Elliana bought me a lot of things I thought I didn't need, I told her the I only needed a couple changes of clothes but she only replied "That won't do, you're family now." In the end we had enough clothes for me for every day of the week with some extra and some night clothes.

The shopping district in Cenderhan was magnificent; there were so many colours and people and smells. It was a sudden sensory overload, but I loved it. Sweet smell of creps mixed with the smell of hot dogs and steamed buns. The sounds of cashiers going, people talking, advertisements, and vehicles. It was a vibrant place to be, and the stark opposite to Garlantias capital, which was dark and monotone, but the reminder left a sour taste in my mouth.

"Whats wrong? Do you want to go somewhere else for lunch?" Elliana asked. I was so lost in thought I didn't notice that she was ordering food at a street stall.

��No. I'm fine. I don't mind." I tried to rid myself of thoughts of Garlantia, but I felt like the whole situation was surreal, it was too good to be true. How could I possibly be here with people this kind? Maybe I was dead, or this was a dream... That's ridiculous, I thought, and focused on the foreign names of food I didn't know.

I was handed something round and fluffy looking, and when I bit into it, steaming filling spilled out of the fluffy dough. It burnt my tongue and I started coughing.

"Careful. It's hot!" She warned too late.

I nodded while trying to swallow. The dough was slightly sweet, and the filling was meaty. It was nothing like I'd ever tasted before, but I liked it.

Somehow Alex was immune and had already wolfed down two before I could finish my first. Alex adapted quite quickly to our lives with the Andersons, only a day had gone by and he was pulling us into his favourite toy stores and bumbling on about characters I didn't know about. Elliana offered to buy us a toy each, but I didn't really know what to get or what I would want, so I turned down her offer. Alex gladly took her up on her offer and went about debating which toy to get with considerable deliberation.

Our last stop of the day was the grocery store. A place that sold enough fresh food to feed an army; there were fruits, vegetables and breads and things I'd never seen before. Rows and rows of jars of every colour, brightly coloured packets and pastries that made us drool (so Elliana brought one for all of us, including Sean for when he got back).

When we go home, Sean was back from work, and getting dinner ready in the kitchen.

"Hey Hon. We're back!" She gave him a quick hug from behind while he was washing vegetables in the sink. I found it strange- I'd never seen someone show so much affection to another person, I was a bit fascinated and when Eliana look back at us, our eyes met and I realised I'd been staring.

"Why don't you play a game while we get dinner ready?" she suggested.

"Okay! Lets play hide and seek!" Alex piped.

"What's that?"

"One person hides while the other person counts with their eyes closed and then they go and find them. We'll just play in the house so no hiding outside."

"How long do you count for?"

"One hundred. You can hide first." He said, turning around with his hands over his eyes and started to count out loud.

Suddenly, my heart was racing, I rushed from the kitchen into the living room and my eyes scanned for an appropriate hiding spot. There were many things to hide behind or in but there was a tall cabinet where the space from the top and the ceiling was wide enough for a person. The top was way above his head so he unlikely to see me.

I used the top of the fireplace to climb on top of the cabinet, sinking low into the shadow of the chimney breast. I could hear him faintly counting from the kitchen, and when he reached one hundred and he finished "ready or not here I come!", I felt my body tense in anticipation. I wondered what the penalty was if I got caught. How long was I meant to hide for?

I saw him enter the room and check behind the sofas and under the table, then leave quickly after, not even looking in my direction.

About half an hour passed and my legs were going dead when I hear him start to call my name throughout the house.

"Alex's what's wrong?" I hear Sean call.

"I can't find Ezra." He complained.

"Isn't that the game though?"

"yeah but I've searched the entire house and I can't find him." There was a bit of irritation in his voice.

"Do you want me to help you find him?" he asked. "Do you think he went outside?"

"I told him we're only playing inside."

"Ok I'll help you."

"I've searched everywhere!" he complained again, I could imagine the pout he wore in his expression. And then Sean joined the fray, shouting my name and searching the house.

A little later, Elliana sat on the sofa opposite with a tea nestled in her hands. The smell of dinner was starting to waft through the rest of the house and smell of it made my stomach grumble. It was quiet, but it was loud enough to be heard.

She must have heard it as she looked around in confusion until her eyes locked on mine. Damn! I've been found! I thought she'd call out to the others but instead she held back a laugh. A moment later, Sean flopped on the sofa next to her, looking a bit exhausted.

"Well he's either a master of hiding or he's left the house. I can't find him."

"Don't worry he hasn't left the house."

"How can you be so sure? We don't know much about him and-"

"Sean, stop! I know where he is!"

"You do?"

She nodded, trying to hold back a laugh.

"Well, where is he?"

"Hmm… I wonder." She played.

"Elliana! We need to find him before dinner!"

She grinned and nodded in my direction. He followed her gaze and his eyes searched in puzzlement until he finally spotted me.

"How did you get up there? You were there all this time?" he asked.

I nodded, "Should I get down now, or should I wait until Alex finds me?"

"It's alright. I think you won so you can get down now."

My legs had gone numb, so it was harder to get down than it was to get up, and my feet slipped on the fireplace and the bandage on my leg restricted my movement a bit, but I managed to land semi-successfully on my hands and knees.

"Careful!" Sean shouted a word of warning just as I slipped.

"I'm okay!"

"Alex you can come back now! We've found him!" Elliana called.

"God you're like a monkey!" Sean laughed, pulling me up into standing position.

"Where were you? I couldn't find you!" Alex demanded, storming in the room.

"I thought that was the point?" I asked. Did I play wrong?

Elliana and Sean laughed at that, but Alex pouted at me, sulking. By the time dinner is served, he's forgotten about it and he was chatting happily again about random things I didn't understand.