Little Girl Lost Read Free Page A

life, if not out of it. If the Nabs got her, she’d be put on the block with a bad mark on her record. Only the worst professions took children like that and most of those children didn’t come back for another cycle on The Blocks. They were usually too crippled by whatever work they had been doing to do anything else or just disappeared.
    There was no safe place to go for her. Eventually, someone would notice her and take her to the Nabs. From the Nabs, it would be The Blocks and then it wouldn’t be much longer after that. Tavera sobbed, trembling so hard she almost toppled over onto the snow, dreading whatever was to come and take her away.
    The sound of footsteps barely registered in her ears as she faded away. The alley was staring to swim before her senses and she felt herself being lifted up. Tavera thought she heard, “red is my lucky color today.” Before she could try to figure out what it meant, she passed out.
 
    Tavera sniffled, shaking her head from side to side slightly as she came to, still under the impression ill fortune was all that was hers. As she moved her head, someone came towards her and sat next to her, laying a soft, warm hand on her forehead. It was one of the kindest ways anyone had ever touched her. Still she started to cry again, trying to bring her hands up to push them away. Something seemed to be sitting on her chest and legs, weighing her down and the girl began thrashing around, trying to push the weight off her. Pressure came down on her shoulders and there was a low shushing sound beside her, something quiet and soft. Tavera managed to open her eyes, as sleepy as she was, trying to focus them on the person who had their hands on her shoulders.
    It was a woman with blond curls and light eyes, her cheeks very rosy and her nose covered in some kind of white dust. She was plump without being fat, her pale bosom pushed up and out by the woman’s belt she wore around her torso. The expression on her face was kind and as her eyes met Tavera’s, she lifted her hands off the little girl’s shoulders, releasing her.
    The woman smiled, her face a mixture of anxiety and relief under the make up. “You gave us quite a fright there, little one. Don’t worry, you’re safe with us.” Tavera’s eyes darted around the room, first across her body and then around her, trying to take in everything at once. She was covered in thick, warm blankets; this was the pressure she felt over her body. The room was lit with two oil lamps and over against one of the walls was the biggest mirror the little girl had ever seen. The woman smelled good and was still looking at her kindly.
    “Where’s my clothes?” Tavera asked. She realized that she was naked under all the quilts. The woman laughed, leaning closer to her and brushing a stray hair out of the girl’s face.
    “Don’t worry about those old things. I just had to get them off of you so we could look you over. ’Sides, they were wet and we had to get you warmed up.” The woman reached over to the side of the bed, where a bowl sat, steam still rising off the top. She dipped the spoon in a few times before blowing on whatever she pulled out, looking at the girl again. “Kept the ribbons, though.”
    “I don’t want them,” Tavera mumbled, eyes filling with tears as she looked to the side. Those ribbons...they had been the first thing the old crone had noticed. She never wanted to see them again. Tavera sniffled, the aroma of whatever was in the bowl wafting up to her nose. The little girl shifted under the blankets, deciding this was the warmest she had been in a long time. She rather liked it. Her mouth was a distrustful pout as she tried to look into the bowl, the woman still holding the spoon. “What’s that?”
    “It’s soup,” the woman said, putting the bowl under her chin and offering her the spoon. “Ain’t you hungry? It’ll warm you up.” Tavera looked down into the spoon, opening her mouth slightly so that the woman could