She thanked the train driver and stepped into the train station. Now all she needed to do was to go North.
Kitty thought for a moment, all she had was a magnet from the train, a jumper and food. And none of those could help her, they were all useless objects, or were they. Then a memory blossomed in Kitty’s mind, “The Magnet!” she cried, to no one in particular. Magnets, She thought, They always point to which way is north. It was a scientific breakthrough, well, for Kitty at least. She’d never paid attention to anything her science teacher had told her when she went to school, and back then she never thought that it would help her, well, it did. “Thank you, Mr Spencer, I’m sorry I never really paid attention to anything in science.” Kitty whispered under her breath.
Then Kitty placed the magnet on the concrete train station, it turned several times, trying to figure out which way was North. Then it stopped, and Kitty stood up, staring in the direction that the magnet was pointing at, and this is what she saw:
Snow, white, cold, empty snow. There were mountains too, tall, white, lonely mountains, “No,” She said to herself in disbelief, “No, Olive can’t have thought me to go there, just No.” Kitty turned and headed back to where the train had dropped her off. But there was no train to be seen. She staggered over to the bench and lay there, crying her heart out, “Mama! Papa!” she cried, but her dead parents couldn’t help her now.
After a while, Kitty was sleeping soundly, dreaming of her old life, where she was happy. She slept through the night, through the rain and snow, through the train arriving, through the loud sobs of a child. She only woke when the child's tears stopped.
She sat up, and wiped her own tears away, and there sitting on the edge of the concrete dangling their legs over the edge was a small girl, with dark-blonde hair and a small suitcase. “H-hello?” Kitty stuttered, nearing the little girl. “H-hi.” The girl stuttered back, turning to face Kitty, her piercing blue eyes full of sorrow.
“What is your name? Mine’s Kitty.” Kitty asked, sitting down next to the girl. The girl turned to look at Kitty once again, “M-my name is Jana (Pronounced Yana)”
“Why are you here? Where are your parents?” Kitty asked, looking around searching for Jana’s family. Jana’s eyes began to flood and she leaned into Kitty, burying her face in Kitty’s cardigan, “They hate me, they said I had to be a good girl so they sent me here and laughed and said, “Let’s see this spoiled rat try to survive out there”, but I have been a good girl, I was playing and I broke the telly and then - and then they didn’t even come with me!!!” Jana cried, sobbing loudly into Kitty’s cardigan.
“There, there, it’s alright, you can stay with me, but - but first I have to complete a mission. Would you like to come with me?” Kitty put her arms around the child, hoping to comfort her. Jana’s little head nodded, “Will you be my Mama?” she asked hopefully. Kitty smiled and nodded back. “Let’s go.” And the two girls stepped into the crackly snow.
The two had talked all day, Jana was quite the talker, she told Kitty about her pets and her humongous family tree. Until the sun began to set and Kitty had to stop her, “Jana, why don’t we find a place to stay tonight, Yes?” Jana nodded. Then pointed at the closest mountain and happily said, “Can we sleep there?”
Kitty almost fainted when she saw the cave. What if there was a bear in there, or bat’s, anything would be better than bats, but she had to agree, there were no other caves anywhere nearby. “Can you climb?” Kitty asked, looking down at the 5-year old. She nodded. And they began to climb, slipping at any movement they made, but finally they reached the cave, and lucky for them, it was bear free.
Kitty laid out the soft blanket she’d taken from the orphanage, and the thin pillow. Then she searched around for sticks and once they’d been found, she lit a fire, as her dad had taught her when she was five. Then she took out the food. One cheese and jam sandwich, Kitty ripped it in half and gave the bigger half to Jana. They both ate hungrily and then they tucked themselves into bed while Jana sang one of her favorite lullaby’s,
“Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh,
Shadows of the evening,
Steal across the sky.
Now the darkness gathers,
Stars begins to peep,
Birds and beasts and flowers
Soon will be asleep.”
Both woke the next morning hungry enough to eat a horse. And they both sat around the charred sticks that used to be a fire, and Kitty rummaged through her bag searching for breakfast, but none could be found, she opened her arms, and Jana ran into them, crying with hunger. How would they ever survive now? Without any food. How?
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