FOREVER AND ALWAYS

1 - RUNAWAY SIBLINGS

It was past midnight. A young boy stood under the moonlight, staring at the house he had just gotten out of. His 4 ft 1 height made him look younger than the ten-year-old he was. His short brown hair fluttered in the wind as he stood in front of the small bungalow he'd called home. Tears flooded his eyes, causing his amber-colored irises to sparkle in the moonlight.

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 his sister who was silently watching him.

"Do we really need 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 should have been on the road but Caleb had insisted on saying goodbye to this place in his heart. Evie understood because after all, he was just a kid. 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. Vera was checking up on them. Evie grabbed Caleb by the hand and ran as fast as she could. Any minute from now, Vera 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.

* * *

The police siren blaring from a distance awoke Evie. The commotion that resulted in it put her on panic mode. She knew that the police were probably after some thugs but she still felt that they were looking for them. She tapped Caleb gently while calling out his name in an effort to wake him.

He opened his eyes and they were red. The cold had gotten to him. Tears formed in her eyes as she placed one palm on his forehead and the other on hers. He was having a fever.

"It's just a little cold, Evie. I'll be back on my feet in no time," Caleb wheezed, brushing her hand off his face. "Don't cry, okay?" He forced a smile on his face and reached for her face.

She held his hand to her face, breathing softly. "Okay. Now let's go get you some help," she said, turning her back to him. He got on her back and she carried him to the nearest market to ask for help.

Everyone turned a blind eye, treating them like filth and Evie realized they had been fortunate to have been taken in by Vera. But, she had ruined it all by running away and if she even decided to go back, she wouldn't see light of day. So she would never turn back. Rather, she would survive out her and thrive. Together with her brother.

She took Caleb to a drugstore and seated him beside the store. Her back and shoulders ached but she was willing to bear any pain. She ran to the front of the store and knocked. A pregnant woman came outside. She seemed to be the attendant of the shop.

“How can I help you?” She asked, eyeing Evie from head to toe.

She swallowed hard, wiping her sweaty palms on her dress. “My brother is sick. Can you please check on him?”

“I'm not a doctor, Kiddo. And you don't look like you can pay.”

“I'll offer my services instead. I can work hard. Anything at all. Please, just check up on my brother.”

“Sorry, Kiddo. I can't help you. It's gonna get me fired.”

“I understand.” Evie bit her lip and tried not to cry but the tears wouldn't stay back. She had never been this helpless. She made her way back to Caleb and sat beside him. She could hear him snoring gently and she placed her hands on her mouth to quiet her sobs.

After crying for a few minutes, she hugged her knees and placed her head on them. Closing her eyes, she said a prayer. She prayed for a savior. Almost immediately, she felt a tap on her back and she opened her eyes. It was the attendant. She had come and was checking up on Caleb. It was like a dream to Evie. She introduced herself as Mabel and carried Caleb back to the store with Evie walking slowly beside her, saying a prayer of thanks in her heart.

Mabel treated Caleb and gave Evie some drugs for his fever and also for body pains. She tried to inquire about them but Evie was reluctant to talk. Since Caleb needed to rest, she insisted that they stay a while and had them spend the night at her house.

The next morning, Caleb was feeling better and so she gave them a meal, a bath, fresh clothes, and some money before sending them off. As she watched them leave, she said a prayer in her heart for them before going off to the store.

* * *

Evie held Caleb's hand as they stepped out of the train. She led him through the crowd to a much quieter part of the subway and they sat to rest on a bench. She brought out the camotes she had bought earlier and fed it to Caleb. Now that she was in the city, faraway from her town, she could finally breathe. Now, neither Vera nor Eva would get to hurt her. And although she didn't know how, she was certain that once she settled down here, her life and Caleb's would improve significantly.

“Evie, I'm full already. Please eat,” Caleb spoke weakly. It was the first time since they left Mabel.

“Oh okay!” Evie nodded repeatedly, stuffing the remainder of the camote in 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. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and Evie wiped it off 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 her back, praying and wishing silently 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 sounded extremely rude. Evie gave him a dissatisfied look and scrutinized 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?” He spoke rudely while pointing a finger at them.

Evie wanted to get rid of this person as soon as possible. “We don't have any money. Go beg somewhere else.”

“That is not why I am here. Every newcomer has to greet the boss first,” he continued, rudely.

“I'm not interested,” Evie retorted.

“I don't think you understand. You don't have a choice. The boss is in charge here. If you want to survive here, the boss is the only chance you have. So it's up to you whether or not you would come with me. You and that chicken,” he mocked, giggling eerily as he disappeared into the darker part of the subway.

She held Caleb, squeezing his hand gently to reassure him, before walking off with him into the darkness after the boy. She was in a new place, a strange place. She didn't want to die here. Not now.

***************

Nana T, as she was called by everyone, walked in circles round the kids. The scary-looking 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 any more 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?" Nana T frowned at how clueless the young girl was.

"No. I don't do such things." It was Evie's turn to frown. She now understood why she and her brother were brought here.

"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.

* * *

A black car speeding through the highway, came to an abrupt stop as a boy ran across the road. The boy, Caleb, fell to the floor after almost colliding with the car. A woman, who seemed to be in her late forties, walked out of the car, her hand placed on her chest.

With her heart in her hand, she knelt beside the boy to check his injury. As she bent over him, her chestnut brown hair fell over her face and the necklace bearing her name, Joanna, fell out of her chest. Her hazel eyes glinted with joy and she breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the boy's heartbeat. She had hit the brakes right in time. He was alive.

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 the 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 realized that he was in a hospital.

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

"My name is Joanna Morales. 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." He muttered, a slight feeling of assurance engulfing him.

"Where are you from? Do you have any guardian?" Joanna queried, trying her best to sound as warm as possible.

Caleb knew that she would call his uncle 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.