"Mommy I'm cold." Ellie said between
chatters of her teeth as she hunched further down into her
thin cotton shirt.
"Oh baby" Elita broke her gaze away from
her daughters so she would not see her eyes filling with
tears.
"Daddy will be home soon my child, he promised us."
Elita said softly as she quickly wiped her eyes and pulled
her seven year old daughter closer to her. Feeling her
little body shivering and how cold her skin was sent more
tears coursing down her cheeks though. Her beloved husband
Quinn had left early yesterday morn in search of work,
blankets, maybe even an offer of a warm meal...Anything that
might help them get through this bad spell and he had not
returned yet.
They walked a few yards over and sat down next to an old
weathered fence. Elita retrieved her bag and pulled an old
tattered blanket from within it, a few holes had been chewed
in it and it smelled of mold and dust but it would have to do
for the time being.
She then pulled her daughter into her lap and covered her
as best as she could with the blanket to try to get her warm.
She sang to her daughter then, sang an old lullaby her mother
had sang to her when she was a little girl. It took awhile
but eventually Ellie's shivering ceased and she slipped off
into sleep, still curled in her mothers arms.
"Oh Quinn where are you..." She murmured,
her eyes searching the road he had taken the day before. She
was so very tired, they all were. Her husbands face had been
drawn with fatigue, but still he pushed on. She had not
wanted him to go away at all and had wanted him to stay in
the hopes that someone passing by would see them and help
them, even if only a little bit. But he had gone, he had
known it was the right thing to do.
Elita dosed off finally; her head slumped back against the
fence, her arms still curled tightly around her daughter.
Even in sleep she was protective of her child, 'twas truly an
amazing thing to witness; a mother's unfailing fierceness
when it came the safety of her children. Even in sleep you
could just sense that about her...It was like a miracle
waiting to happen almost, a ripple on a calm lake, a soft
wind that teased a lock of hair, if anything harmed her child
she could, in an instant, react swiftly and without thought
of herself, do what she had to do to ensure her childs
safety; even if it meant she might be harmed herself. To
reactwith such deep devotion and love....A miracle as I said,
maybe an unseen one, maybe one that had not happened yet, but
a miracle all the same...
Down the road a ways, a weary looking man trudged along.
On his back was a backpack that looked to be full when
previously it had been empty, depressingly empty. Now though
his face was dirty and his eyes rimmed with red at his total
exhaustion, a smile played upon his mouth as he approached
his family, his life...
Quinn set the backpack down and pulled out a blanket, this
one new and clean and he covered his wife and daughter with
it, before scooting underneath it himself. He pulled his wife
closer to him and rested her head upon his shoulder.
She stirred slightly as he kissed her forehead and
whispered "I love you" into her ear. He had such
good news to tell her but he also knew she was just as
exhaustedas he was and so he let her remain asleep in his
arms.
As soon as they awoke, they would be moving on. Heading
for the place he had just returned from. Some kind souls had
listened to his story and offered him the use of an abandoned
house till they got back on their feet, even found him some
work. They had offered to let him stay another night
but he refused, he needed to get back here as quickly as
possible and so with the blanket and a backpack full of food,
he made it back in less than half the time it took him to get
there in the first place.
They had suffered much these past few months, but somehow
they all became stronger just by surviving this hardship. He
had learned many lessons for sure and right then and there
made a promise to himself that never again, with his new
found faith, would they want for the simplest necessities
needed to make it...
He swallowed back a sudden onslaught of tears and leaned
his head back against the fence, filled with gratitude that
they were going to make it....
They were going to make it.
ARDIC 
ORE