Jane's Innocence

Mr. I mean Wesley

Once Jane got up she knew she could not stay where she was at. It was too dangerous. Dressed only in her nightgown and no shoes, she began to walk in the woods. A normal 6 year old probably would be terrified. Being in the woods alone at night with unusual noises. Yup you guessed it terrified. Jane was not just your typical girl though. Jane loved roaming in the woods. She would often sneak out her window just to walk in the woods. She knows there's danger but it just never really bothered her. She made her way towards town hoping she could get there and find a house with lights on. The first house she came to was Ms Jenkins house. Jane climbed up on the porch trying to peak in to see if she was awake. She went to the.door, but could not reach the bell. She began knocking. It wasn't a loud knock though. Jane was exhausted after trekking through the woods. After about five minutes she gave up and walked off the porch. She rubbed her arms warming them from the wind.

Jane set off again to find another house to get help. By the time she got to the next house the sun had started to show its vibrant colors on the horizon. Jane climbed up on the porch which was more like a stoop and started beating on the glass door with everything that she had left in her. She was tired, freezing, and very hungry. She looked down and her feet were all cut up and bloody. Seeing this made her beat harder on the door. After a few minutes Jane thought there was no hope and slid down the glass with tears rolling down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do. Her body screamed exhaustion and she knew she needed to rest. She did the only thing she could and curled up in front of the glass. She pulled her arms and legs into her nightgown and fell asleep. A little while had passed and she woke screaming because her dream was of the fire the previous night. Once she looked around and saw she was still on the porch the screams stopped and her breathing started to slow. Jane laid back down curling back up and fell asleep again.

A man walking down the road towards his house just happened to look over and see something on his neighbors stoop. Odd he thought. The couple that lived there were currently out of town and pretty sure they would have either stopped their mail or changed a delivery date. He thought it best to go and investigate what was on the stoop. When he got to the steps he was shocked. Questioning himself as to why a little girl severely underdressed for this weather was fast asleep on their porch. He tried to nudge the little girl but she did not wake up. He checked her wrist to see if there was a pulse. He knew that he could not leave this little girl there. He questioned himself as to where this little girl's family could be. He picked her up and carried her to his cottage. The man gently placed her on the couch in front of the fireplace and covered her with a blanket. He stoked the fire already going and added extra logs. He knew that he had to get her warm. After getting the fire burning really well he went into the kitchen. He started a pot of coffee. While it brewed he made a pot of oatmeal so that when the little girl awoke she could have something to eat. After he ate his own bowl and drank his coffee he settled down in the recliner and picked up a book. He started dozing off when all of the sudden he heard an ear piercing scream. He looked around and realized that it was coming from the little girl. He sat his book down and got out of the recliner. He made his way over to the couch and gently nudged her. Her eyes sprang open and fear overtook her. In a soft voice he shhhhhhed her and kept repeating you're safe you're safe. The man introduced himself to her, "My name is Wesley and what is your name?" She sat there for a few minutes before she whispered, "Jane".

"Are you hungry Jane," he asked.

Her reply was fierce nodding. He chuckled at her response and told her that he had cooked some oatmeal in case she was. Wesley went into the kitchen and made her a big bowl of oatmeal. He walked out of the kitchen to see her stretching her hands out towards the fire.

"Jane here's your food. what would you like to drink?" Wesley asked.

"I would like some milk if you have any." Jane replied.

Wesley went back into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. He glanced at the shelves looking for a jug of milk. He didn't find one but he did find some orange juice. He picked the jug up praying silently that it was still in date. Just his luck it is. He turned around and hollered at Jane saying, "I don't have any milk but I do have orange juice is that okay?" It took a moment but she replied, "yes

Mr that will be okay." After pouring her a cup and heading back to the living room he asked Jane to call him Wesley not Mr. He told her that Mr made him feel old. They both laughed at his response. After she finished her oatmeal and orange juice she rested against the back of the couch Wesley had been patiently waiting for her to relax, because he wanted to ask her a couple of questions. He was trying to wait till the opportune time. I guess now is better than never he thought. He looked over at Jane from the recliner and said, "Jane, I have a few questions that I need to ask you okay?" Her eyes grew as big as saucers and her heart and breathing began to pick up. After several minutes Jane replied in a whisper, "okay". He barely heard her response as it was so low he almost didn't hear her. "Jane why were you on that stoop all alone and so underdressed? Where's your family?" Wesley asked. Jane began to sob reliving the night before. He didn't move just sat and waited for her response. When the crying finally slowed and her breathing became more regulated she started to speak. "Last night was scary. I thought maybe it was a dream. The image though is too detailed not to be though. Ma and Pa tucked me into bed last night like they always do. They kissed me and told me they loved me as I fell asleep. At some point I woke up coughing. When I tried to open my eyes they burned. I found my way to my window where there was a scary man with different colored eyes. He finally left and I climbed out the window. I ran to Miss Jenkins house but there was no answer. I continued on till I collapsed on that stoop and woke up here. I don't know where Sam, Ma, and Pa are. I did look for them but, but, but I couldn't find them." After Wesley listened to her story he knew what had to be done. He went into his room and gathered some old clothes that Jane could layer in from head to toe. He handed them to her and asked her to layer up so that they could try and find her family.