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The little girl laying flat on her face screams. Enjin’s whole body goes stiff, he didn’t even see her as he ran past! But he slammed into the poor creature while running from the people chasing him- he couldn’t fucking help it! He was hungry!!! He hadn’t eaten anything but moldy trash in days! And they had food- good, warm, soft food!!!
The little girl’s grandmother grabbed Enjin by the scruff of his shirt. “What the hell do you think you’re doing little boy!?” The woman is bald, and rough around every edge, hard set wrinkles in the creases of her mouth and forehead. If Enjin wasn’t good at reading people he would’ve assumed grandPA instead.
“I’m sorry!” Enjin dropped, attempting to pick the girl up and set her back on her feet. He kept frantically looking back the way he came. Causing a scene was the last thing he needed. “I’m sorry, really!”
The woman sneered, another child at her side. “I cannot BELIEVE the youth of today!” She scolded, on and on but Enjin was ready to shrug out of his shirt and leave it behind because he needed to get away!
He’d lose a whole lot more than his shirt for stealing.
His fingers itched while they grasped the little pinky-blonde girl under her armpits. “Cmon lady!” He finally snapped. “I gotta go!”
The woman stilled. Face suddenly dead calm, but her eyes were wild and full of warning.
“I’m sorry, but it’s not-” He looked back to see the men finally catching up to him. The woman seems to also catch them, but it doesn’t stop her rage.
“You! Little brat! Causing trouble for everyone!” She releases his shirt and before he could bolt she grabbed him by the ear. “You’re coming with me now!”
Things were shoved into arms, bags of food, and other supplies. The woman lifted the little girl, still sobbing up into her arms. “Ohhhh shhshhhshhh, sweet Eishiaaa,” she cooed in a way the rest of her abrasive attitude would lead Enjin to believe her incapable. “You!” She pointed at Enjin, then at the small boy. “Make sure he doesn’t get lost. Follow me.”
On instinct, Enjin moved the stuff so his hand was free and grabbed the boy’s hand.
Enjin was completely silent on the walk down the ward, and down a dark alley while Grandma cooed at Eishia to calm, and the boy kept blabbing on and on about whatever kids blabbed on about.
“My baby sister is suuuuucha cry baby,” he says as the woman propped the girl on her hip, using the leverage to hold her up while she unlocked and opened the door into a small, shockingly clean clinic.
“At least she’s yours.” Enjin muttered, releasing his hand so he could run inside. Enjin stayed outside.
“What the hell are you doing!?” The woman shouted. “Get in here now!”
Enjin scurried in. He placed all the things on the counter and put his hands at his side.
Eishia was set down on the cot in the center of the room. Her knees were scraped and bleeding, so were the palms of her hands. Enjin had felt guilt in his life, actually he had mostly been guilty. Every wrong turn in his life, every action and its life ruining consequences, Enjin was to blame for it all. But looking at the little girl and knowing he had been the one to hurt her made him feel like a monster.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” Enjin continued. “I was hungry so I stole from those guys and I didn’t see her when I was running, I’m sorry.”
“You can be sorry all you want.” The woman scoffed, cleaning the girl’s knees first. “Ohh, you can be sorry for all I give a damn. That doesn’t make it better, nor right.”
Another sorry nearly fell from his lips but he just shut his mouth, bowed his head and headed for the door.
“Where do you think you’re going!?”
“Wha-” Enjin startled. “What do you want now!? If I can’t say sorry I’m gonna leave!”
“Get over here!”
Enjin obeyed, joining the woman next to little Eishia.
“Now, put the bandaid on her knee.” The woman handed him a gauze and tape. His work was sloppy, but Eishia stayed still as her other knee was cleaned by her grandma. “This one now.” More gauze, more tape.
The woman handed Enjin more gauze, damp with disinfectant. “Be gentle, clean her hands.” Enjin stared at Eishia’s tiny palms for a second.
“Why am I doing this?”
A hand smacked him upside the head. The boy laughed. “Because I damn well told you to! You hurt her, you fix it!”
Enjin wanted to jerk away and yell back, he wasn’t a kid and he wasn’t this woman’s kid to smack away either! But he looked at Eishia’s big eyes, the soft pink of her cheeks blotchy with tears and he couldn’t raise his voice.
He held her hand in his free palm, gently pressing the gauze to her cuts, he cleaned out the little dirt and rocks and watched her face for pain. “Good girl,” he uttered. “You’re so brave.”
Eishia sniffled. “Tank you.”
Right to his heart. She was undeniably adorable.
“Keep it up, don’t stop until she’s all fixed up.” The woman walked away, leaving Enjin alone with the kids while she brought the food up the stairs, likely to where they lived.
“So… What’s your name?” Enjin asks the boy.
“I’m August! That’s Grandma!”
“What’s Grandma’s name?” He asks Eishia, wondering if she might be the brains of the operation.
“Alice,” she answers. Her voice is soft and shockingly raspy for a girl so little. Must be the air population that does it.
“Alice huh?” He cleans Eishia’s hands. “Are you okay, I’m sorry I knocked you over.”
Now that she wasn’t sobbing and Alice wasn’t shouting, Eishia nodded, swallowing a big hiccup. “Is okay,” she nodded.
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t mean to. Auggie pushes me down too.”
“Heeyyy!” August protested, but he had nothing to do to defend himself. “That’s true but don’t tell him that!”
Eishia was maybe 3 or 4, and August was no older than 7. Kids. Real kids with a (probably) loving Grandma to take care of them. He’d ask where mom and dad were, he knew. The same place anyone’s parents were nowadays, in the grave or long gone, like his own. But that didn’t seem to stop the bountiful energy August displayed, running about the room, playing whatever game his heart desired. Eishia was too young to remember them, surely, but the sad shy look on her face told him that she missed something.
Maybe their departure was more recent than he imagined.
“You really okay, sweets?” Enjin asked, placing actual bandaids over her palms.
“Mhm!” She nodded.
Enjin smiled for the first time in what felt like too long. “Brave girl!”
Eishia’s eyes brightened.
“So I guess. You’re all better, so I guess I'll go now?”
At the same time, Alice returned down the stairs. “And leave the kids by themselves? Who raised you!”
“No one?”
“Clearly!” Alice snapped. “Get up stairs, all of you.”
Enjin pointed at himself, brows knit together in confusion.
“Yes you!”
Enjin lifted Eishia off the exam table and held her on his hip as he walked up the stairs. “What the hell am I doing?”
“You’re helping me cook dinner.”
“I can’t cook?”
“Oh, like you can’t watch where you’re running? Stop complaining and wash your hands!”
Enjin set Eishia down and let her run off to her room. August chased after her, shouting waitwaitwait he wanted to pick the game they played before dinner. Enjin washed his hands and stared at Alice.
“Why are you doing this?”
Alice didn’t answer, just started unloading the ingredients for dinner. “Grab a knife.”
“You wanna give me, the strange teenager in your home, a knife?”
“Would you knock that off?”
“No- I don’t understand what you’re doing! Are you gonna kill me or touch me or something!?”
“Touch you? God no, you’re far too young for me.”
“So you’re killing me. Got it.”
“You hurt my granddaughter and tried to run off like some hoodlum, and I was not about to let you get away. Grab the knife.”
Enjin obeyed.
“Chop these.”
“I’ve never chopped before.”
“Figure it out.” Alice turned on her stove, grabbed a pan and prepped the meat.
Enjin worked in silence, his chops were uneven and jagged. Each piece was a different size and often didn’t cut all the way through. Alice grabbed his hands, adjusted his hold and forced him to do a few clean cuts before letting go and returning to searing the meat.
Enjin tried out the way Alice showed him slower, then faster as he got the hang of it. He smiled to himself, feeling accomplished as Alice seared up the veggies in the left over fat from the meat.
“Go get them to wash up,” Alice pointed down the short hallway. Just three doors. One into the kids room, one into her own room, and the smallest bathroom known to man.
Enjin knocked on the door before entering. “Hey, Grandma says it’s dinner time. Wash up!” August groaaannns and tosses himself onto the floor. Eishia drops her toys and-- “Heyyyyy, pick those up.” he points to the pin he assumed they belong to.
“Oops!” Eishia snatches her toys back up and tosses them where they belong.
“C’mon August, dinner’s special tonight! Gotta wash your hands.”
“How is dinner special!?” He crossed his arms.
“Well if I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?”
August spent a long, long, long moment deciding if he believed Enjin or not. Finally he got up, and washed his hands in the bathroom after Eishia finished. Enjin picked her up and helped her to her seat at the table, just as Alice put her plate down.
“AUGUST HURRY UP!” Alice shouted, and Enjin noted that Eishia didn’t flinch. Must be nice, he thought.
He ruffled her blonde hair and patted the back of her chair before walking over to the door.
“Would ya stop trying to leave before I tell you to!?” Alice snapped over her shoulder.
Enjin shrugged his shoulders, making a face. “What now? I’m not doing your dishes!”
“Sit your happy ass down, you helped cook, you eat it!”
“I don’t want your pity dinner.” Enjin scoffed.
“Pity?” Alice cackled something nasty. “You think this is pity? Boy, you’re gonna wish it was a pity meal. You’re working for me until I tell you to go.”
Huh?
“I got a job.”
“Not a good one if you’re still going hungry.”
Not just hungry, but homeless. His money was pennies compared to his coworkers, but he didn’t have kids nor a spine to fight for more money. It wasn’t enough for a place to stay and it was enough to eat- if he saved his wages for the week.
“I’ll get another.”
“You got another. Eat your dinner and I’ll see you here tomorrow. Or else!”
A glowing smile rose on his face as he took his seat opposite from August. “Or else what old woman?”
And he did, in fact, come back the next day.