Give A Little, Get A Little

[Elassa]

Dude! Check out who's back! And to show how much I love and miss you all, I'll let you check out my new writings. In other words, I'm gonna ramble a story at you.

Tiny tears poured from little Amaya’s cheeks. Where was Jiro? Why hadn’t he come back yet? Why had those men come into the house? Why couldn’t she find Mommy or Daddy? She hid in the alley behind the wooden crates where Jiro told her to stay. He always knew what to do. He was eight years old. He knew almost everything. Only Mommy and Daddy knew more than Jiro did. He had been gone a long time. What if something was wrong? She stood up to look for him, but quickly sat back down. Jiro had told her specifically not to move from that spot.

“But I have to use the potty, Jiro. Hurry up.” She whispered. A shadow stepped into the alley. Maybe it was Jiro. Amaya jumped up to greet her brother and tell him that she had to use the potty. Jiro wasn’t in the alley. It was a lady dressed in nice clothes. She smiled sweetly and walked toward Amaya.

“My, dear, what on earth are you doing out here all alone?” the woman asked.
“Oh, I’m just waiting for my brother to come back. He told me to wait right here for him, so that’s what I’m going to do,” Amaya said timidly but confidently. The lady smiled and offered her hand to Amaya. Amaya pulled away from her.

“No, Jiro said he was coming back for me. I shouldn’t be talking to you anyway. You should leave before he comes back and gets mad,” she said, clutching the locket around her neck. Mommy had always said that the locket would keep her safe from anything. Mommy never lied. The locket made Amaya feel safe and strong. The lady took a few more steps toward her. Amaya kicked the lady and ran out of the alley. She only got three feet before running into a big, burly man. She screamed, but he covered her mouth and carried her to a limo parked on the street.

“Come on, Marlina. We need to take her to your place,” he said, holding the door with one hand and the squirming five-year-old girl in the other. The lady stepped out of the alley, holding the locket she had pulled from Amaya’s neck when she ran. She grimaced at it and threw it into the alley.

“She won’t need that anymore. I’ll just bet in ten years she’ll have more lovely jewels and trinkets than that old thing.” Marlina said with a sneer as she got into the limo.


Yeah, so that's it. Yup. Well, that's the very tip of it. It's taking on a life of its own, really.

[twyrch]

That's a good start. I like it.

[Elassa]

The next part is about her brother. I'ts sectioning itself off. All on its own.

Jiro ran back into the alley, out of breath. He had found someone who would take them home. A nice couple who had wanted to adopt children, but hadn’t yet. He knew he should be careful, but he wanted to stay off the streets. Mom and Dad had always said the streets were very dangerous. Something was wrong. He looked around the alley, searching behind every crate. She wasn’t there. His foot hit something small and golden. Her locket.

“No…Amaya…where did you go? I can’t go with those people if you’re not with me. I promised Mommy I’d keep you out of trouble. I promised her,” he said through teary eyes. His sister was gone. A car pulled up to the curb, and a young lady got out.
“Are you all right, Jiro?” she asked. Was he all right? His sister was missing. He put the locket into his pocket and shook his head.
“I can’t find Amaya,” he whispered. The lady smiled and wiped his tears away. She promised to help find her and persuaded him to come to the car with her.
“Gary, we can’t just leave him out on the street. We can’t leave his sister, either. We have to send out notices to look for her,” she said gently.

Jiro fought to stay awake on the drive to his new home. He couldn’t possibly call it home without Amaya. He had promised to keep her safe. He couldn’t keep her safe if she was missing. As he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts replayed the horrific scene he had witnessed earlier that night.

“Jiro! Get Amaya and get out of the house! You promised to take care of her for me!” his mother shouted. He didn’t move. He only stared as a man ran into the room. The man was holding a gun, and his face was blocked by a flamboyant mask. Jiro’s mother pushed him into the hallway and slammed the door shut.

There were crashes, lots of crashes. Jiro pushed the door open as slowly as he possibly could. The masked man was standing over Jiro’s mother, gun bloody. She was unconscious at the man’s feet. It was then that he heard the shot. It was a sound he would never forget. There was a shout and more crashes from the next room. Jiro’s father was brought in, held by a man at each arm.

“You thought you could trick your way out, didn’t you? Well, we have ways of dealing with traitors. You won’t go to the police again. You won’t go anywhere again. Wait, I take that back. You’ll go where your wife just went,” the man sneered. He raised his gun and fired three shots into Jiro’s father’s head. Jiro ran then. He ran as fast as he could make his legs move. He found Amaya and pulled her with him.

“Where’s Mommy?” she asked.
“She’s coming later. Just keep running.” Jiro shouted back to her. He pulled her all the way into the street. He could hear gunshots and shouting behind him, but refused to turn around until Amaya was safe. Just as they reached the alley, the world came to a painful stop.

“We’re home, little one,” the nice lady said. She picked Jiro up and pulled him from the car. He looked around carefully as they made their way to the front door.

“This is going to be your home now. Isn’t that wonderful?” the lady asked as they came into the parlor.

And this one's long.