Page 76 of Bones
I frowned. “They can’t get food at the canteen?”
“Only working folks can get food at the canteen.” His voice didn’t waver, butsomethingflashed in his blue eyes.
“What about the kids who have parents?”
“If the parents can work, they’re allowed a little extra for their children.”
I thought about all the food I’d passed up and the guilt ate me alive. After he left, I quickly divided my ration into half a dozen small packages, leaving just the broth for myself. I gulped down the broth and then shoved the food into a bag that I slung over my shoulder. When I stepped outside, Trey looked up at me, surprised.
“I’m just runnin’ an errand,” I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
He frowned at me. “What errand?”
“A personal one,” I snapped. “I’ll be back, ok?”
I strode off without waiting for an answer. When I couldn't see the clinic any longer, I slowed, watching the shadows for the tiny figures. The first one took off when I got close. I didn't have much luck with the second, so I started leaving the little packages on the ground near their hiding spots. I tried to do it stealthily, slipping through the shadows like they did. I wasn't sure what Madame would do if she caught me, but I doubted she'd be happy about it. I never saw any of the children take the packages, but when I would glance back, the ground would be empty.
By the third night, the children stopped running from me. They didn’t approach, but they stayed put, watching me with giant, hungry eyes. I tried to give my small meals to different kids every night, spreading the food around to as many children as I could. Some were so young it hurt to see them.
On the fifth night, I tried talking to them. Not directly. I didn’t want to scare them off. But when I would set the food package down near them, I would talk in low tones, keeping my eyes on the ground.
“I’m Bones. I’m the healer. If you’re ever sick or hurt, come to the clinic.”
Another few nights passed before the first tiny person slipped through the clinic door so quietly I didn’t hear them, and when I turned around, I nearly jumped out of my skin. A little girl stood inside, her clothes hanging off her thin frame. Her pale blue eyes took up most of her face. When I jumped, so did she, retreating a few steps toward the door.
"It's ok," I blurted out, trying to think of a way to keep her from running. I sank until I sat on the floor, crossing my legs in front of me. "You just scared me a little."
She stopped moving backward, eyeing me. I could tell she had a fever just by looking at her flushed cheeks and glassy eyes.
“I’m Bones,” I said. “What’s your name?”
She didn’t answer for a long while, but I forced myself to wait.
“Apple,” she whispered.
“Hi, Apple,” I said. “Are you hurt? Or sick?”
She chewed on her lip for a few seconds, but then pulled her filthy sleeve up to reveal an infected gash in her arm.
“Ouch,” I murmured. “That looks like it hurts.”
She hesitated, then nodded.
“Did you know I can do magic?” I asked. “I can make that go away. You wanna see?”
Her eyes got even larger. I waited and after about a minute, she took tentative steps up to me. I held out my hands, palms up, and let her place her injured arm into my hands.
“It won’t even hurt,” I whispered. “Watch.”
I gently wrapped my fingers around her arm and sent that warmth down my arms and into hers. She jumped when it flowed into her, her eyes widening in surprise, but didn’t pull away. Her little mouth fell open as she watched the oozing wound slowly close up and disappear, leaving a small pink scar. I let go as soon as it healed, folding my hands into my lap. She touched the scar with a filthy finger and then looked back at me, her eyes clear again.
For a moment we stared at each other. She had to be about five or six years old with dirty blonde hair and those huge blue eyes. I wanted to ask her how she got that wound, what happened to her parents, and where she slept at night, but I knew that would just scare her away. So I just stayed quiet and unmoving until she backed to the door before cracking it open. She spared a glance outside, checking for Trey, I assumed. A second later she vanished.
The next night, Apple brought two little boys with red, infected eyes nearly crusted shut. It took some convincing before they let me heal them, but once the first one went, the second one quickly followed. Apple even gave me a tiny, shy smile before the three of them slid out the door.
I sat on the floor for a few minutes after they left, tears pricking in my eyes. I never would have been able to do something like this with Juck. I still wasn'thappyto be here, but this felt like somethinggood.I could do something really, trulygoodhere. Something no one else cared to do. I took a deep breath, my mind made up. I wasn't gonna stay, but Icouldstay through the winter. I could find a way to deal with my soul being shredded during torture sessions if it meant I could make sure these kids survived the winter.
It snowed for the first time three days later. When I set out for my evening "errands," huge flakes of snow drifted through the air. I'd only seen snow once before, so I walked a little slower, holding my hand out and admiring the snowflakes that landed on my thick mitten. Apple met me in the narrow alley between the stables and the blacksmith where we'd arranged to meet that night. The number of kids kept growing. I'd started saving half of my breakfast ration to divide up with my whole dinner ration, but it still wasn't enough. I learned from talking to them that in the summer and early fall, they could eat fallen fruit from the fruit trees and sneak a few vegetables from the garden or a couple of eggs from a chicken nest. Now that winter approached, those options had disappeared. The chickens who ran free through the spring, summer, and fall had been confined to a coop in the giant barn. All the fruit trees had been stripped bare and the fields barren. And despite my help, every night only a third of them got food. They took turns fairly well, but I knew sometimes fights broke out after I left because I healed the injuries.
