I didn’t know what else I could do. I did everything they wanted me to do, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. So they kicked me out. I only had time to pack my bag and leave. I had no place to go, no person to turn to. I was alone. That first night I spent sleeping outside on a bench. I felt the cold spread true my body like a thousand knifes. When the sun began the rise, I got up and went on my way out of this horrible place. I was 17-years-old and I had been in six different foster homes. I didn’t want to be put in another foster ホーム again, so I decided to leave for good. I would just disappear. It’s not like anyone would miss me anyway. I just had to get out of here first. This was one of the worst foster homes I had been in. But I couldn’t think about that anymore. It was in the past now. If I would stand still and think about every bad thing that has happened in my life, I would never be able to 移動する forward. I have to survive on my own and the only way to do that is to stay in the here and now. I couldn’t let myself get dragged down every time again. There’s only so much one can take. Before I’d left the house, I had stolen some 食 and a bottle of water. I knew I had to be careful with it, since I had no idea how long it would be for me to find 食 somewhere else. Especially now that I was sure I wouldn’t be going to another foster home. I had to disappear for at least one year, then I would turn eighteen. Officially an adult. I had no plan what so ever. I just went to the nearest bus stop, got on the first bus with the little money I had stolen from them as well, and left. I was looking outside the window, but I couldn’t see clearly. I realized I was crying. Every time. It didn’t matter what I told myself, it still hurt every time. Each time worse than the last. The bus stopped and I got out, I had to clear my head. Alone. I didn’t like the other people on the bus staring at me. They probably just thought I’d broken up with my boyfriend または something like that. There was no one that would look at me and think; ‘Hé! This might actually be serious!’I walked for hours, at least I think I did. The only thing I knew is that I had to keep moving forward. My dad always used to say; ‘Never look back, always keep moving forward.’ It’s the only thing I remember from my real dad. I don’t even remember what he looked like. So many years have passed, I wonder if he even remembers me. My whole life I thought about trying to find him. When I was small I had this dream. I was in a foster home, as usual. But then the doorbell rang and there was my dad. He’d come to save me, to take me away with him. That dream died four years ago, when I discovered the truth. When I was 5-years-old I wasn’t kidnapped, like I thought I was. My dad had sold me. He was a drugs addict and I cost him too much money. So he sold me in exchange for some drugs. I never knew who my real mother was, if you’re wondering. And I’m not sure if I want to know her. What if she’s like my dad, または maybe even worse since she wasn’t even around before good-old-dad decided to sell me.
It was getting dark and my legs hurt. I was hungry, but didn’t eat anything. I had to save it for when it got worse. Because if life has taught me one thing, it’s that it always gets worse before it can get better. But I’m still waiting for it to get better. My whole life I’ve been waiting for it to get a little bit better, but I guess that’s too much to ask. I lied down on the ground and tried to get a little sleep. Tomorrow was another day.
Chapter 1
‘Hé! Look daddy! There’s a girl sleeping there!’ A man and his son were taking a walk when the boy saw a girl sleeping on the cold, dirty ground. The man walked over to the girl and woke her up. ‘Hé.. Girl.. Wake up..’ He saw her eyes open very slowly and then they widened. She looked scared. ‘Hé, it’s okay.. It’s okay..I’m not going to hurt you. Is everything alright?’ The man asked worriedly. The girl just stared at him, obviously not trusting the man who had woke her up. ‘I’m fine.’ She said. The man slowly shook his head. ’Doesn’t look that way to me. Wanna tell me why you’re sleeping outside on the ground?’ The girl quickly grabbed her bag and started to stand up. ‘I had no other place to sleep, so it was either the ground または staying awake all night.’ The man’s face softened. ‘You had a fight with your parents? Did あなた run away from home?’ The girl shook her head. ‘I don’t have parents. And I also don’t have a ホーム to run from..’ She started to walk away, tears glowing in her eyes. ‘Wait!’ The man said. ‘Let me help you. あなた look like you’re hungry.’ The man looked at her honestly. He didn’t seem to be one of the bad guys, but she had thought that about her dad too. The man didn’t seem to take no for an answer and she was hungry. ‘I’m Nicolas and this is my son, David.’ The girl hadn’t seen the little boy until now. He stood behind his dad, looking a bit scared but mostly just curious. ‘We would 愛 to help you.’ The girl turned around, she didn’t like other people seeing her cry. Seeing her vulnerable side. ‘You’d do that for a stranger? あなた don’t even know my name and あなた want to help me? Just like that?’ She turned around again to face Nicolas. He had a little smile on his face. ‘You know, there still are good people in this world. People who can’t just stand によって and watch, when someone is in need for help. And if you’d tell us your name, we would be one step closer to knowing each other.’ He smiled encouragingly.
‘My name is Sarah.’ Nicolas’ smile grew bigger. ‘There あなた go. So, Sarah, あなた like chicken? My wife is making chicken for lunch.’ Sarah felt a tears roll down her cheek, but she didn’t even care. ‘I 愛 chicken.’ She just 発言しました with a little voice. Nicolas turned around and waved her to follow. ‘I have to warn あなた though. We have five kids, so it’s kind of a chaos at our house. Little David here is the youngest.’ Sarah had to do her best to hear what he was saying, the only thing she could think about was chicken.
The rest of the time they walked quietly, until they stopped at a big farmhouse. Sarah couldn’t believe her eyes. It was just so beautiful. The house was perfect and they had the biggest garden Sarah had ever seen. The nicest house Sarah could remember living in, was a cheap little flat. She didn’t even have her own room, she’d had to sleep on the ソファー, ソファ in the living room. ‘You ready to come inside?’ Nicolas asked. ‘Ye.. Yes..’ Sarah stuttered. She had to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. For the first time in a very long time, Sarah felt hope. Who knew, maybe there really were still good people in this world. Maybe it was finally getting better. As they walked to the main house, Sarah felt everyone’s eyes on her. David had run off to two girl that were playing in the garden. They were about 8-years-old and Sarah could see that they were twins. Not far from them was a 12/13-year-old girl lying in the sun. She looked curious, though she tried to hide it. And at last, in the furthest corner of the garden she saw a boy. He was 読書 a book and looked like he was about Sarah’s age. As Sarah and Nicolas walked true the garden, he told her the kids’ names. The twins were called Alexandra and Jessica, though Sarah didn’t know who was which. The girl lying in the sun was named Ellen and the boy’s name was Joseph. When they entered the house, a woman was cooking in the kitchen. That smell was the most delicious thing Sarah had ever smelled in her life. She had to do her best to focus on the woman and not on the food, as Nicolas explained to her what had happened. The woman’s name was Katherine and she welcomed Sarah with open arms.
After they talked for a while, Katherine led Sarah upstairs and told her where she could シャワー and change into clean clothes. Meanwhile Katherine was finishing lunch.
Sarah still had the feeling that she was dreaming. This had to be too good to be true. How did she end up here? Were they really just trying to help her? Sarah still remained in shock.
When she finished up having the greatest シャワー of her life (warm water!), she slowly went downstairs. Everyone but Katherine was in the garden. Katherine smiled warmly. ‘Ah, Sarah. Feels much better, doesn’t it? あなた can go ahead to the garden if あなた want.’
When Sarah went outside, the twins came running to her. They wanted to know everything. Who she was, what she liked, if she wanted to play with them. Sarah just answered in simple, short words, but they didn’t seem to mind. Nicolas and Ellen were setting the table. David was bothering Ellen to play with him, but she didn’t want to. In the corner of the garden, Joseph was still 読書 his book. He hadn’t even looked up for as far Sarah noticed. Strange. Nicolas went inside to discuss something with Katherine. The twins finally stopped firing 質問 at Sarah and went to play with David.
Sarah finally had time to sit によって herself and just to think. It was really weird, she’d never seen such a happy family before. Except for on TV of course. She looked at the kids. The twins looked exactly like Katherine and David was like a little Nicolas. But Ellen and Joseph were different. They somehow didn’t seem to belong in the picture. Not only didn’t they look like Katherine and Nicolas, they were behaving different than the rest as well.
