Chapter 11

"Stop!" came the loudest voice I had ever heard.

The whole room paused and looked back at a frail-looking woman walking slowly towards us with a tiny cane. I recognized this woman from one of the stores in town. She was always sitting on the bench talking to the pigeons she would feed, treating them like children themselves. The few times I had stopped and talked to her she had always been genuinely nice. The best time had been when I had asked her if she needed some food or something, she had chortled and pointed to the bread bag next to her.

"If I need to eat, I'm sure the birds will share," she had informed me still chuckling.

We had all considered this woman crazy, but it never stopped me from smiling and nodding a greeting to her whenever I had seen her. Now, I had never been so happy to see the crazy bird lady in my life. She continued to walk slowly until she stopped in front of me and started examining me closely.

"You sick, girl?" she finally asked in a gruff voice.