Writing group
Jul. 6th, 2006 10:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maisfeekaThe prompt this week was "Where have you been?"
Cold. Alone. Curled up in the corner - knees pulled up to her chin. Hoping desperately to go unnoticed. Watching everyone and everything. If she could just make sure she knew everything that was going on, maybe she could find some small amount of control.
She'd know if she was safe or if she should run. Would know which people she could trust and which would betray you when your back was turned.
She watched the nice woman with particular interest. That one was hard to figure out. That one always seemed to find Nessa no matter how hard she tried to hide herself.
And the nice woman was strange. She never tried to ask Nessa questions or get her to do things. Half the time she'd just sit there in silence, smiling, but not really even looking at Nessa - always with some small gift of food which Nessa's skilled fingers would quickly secrete in a fold or pocket of her oversized clothing.
Tara, the woman said her name was, but it was hard to call her that. Named things, especially good named things were scary. If you cared about someone enough to name them, it hurt more when they went away.
And around here the good ones never stayed for long. Nessa darted a glance over at the nice woman. Definitely too good to stay.
Besides, she didn't think she'd called anyone by name since Bird.
Poor Bird. Gone Bird.
Nessa had tried to tell Bird to be careful, not to trust, not to just go with anyone who asked, but Bird was too happy to believe in bad things.
Poor Bird. Taken away Bird. Never again seen Bird.
Nessa had hidden under Bird's bed for two whole days after they'd taken her away. She knew Bird wasn't coming back, knew it all the way down to the aching scared place in her stomach, but she couldn't make herself run away just in case. Just in case Bird danced in, with that laugh of hers, and told Nessa what a silly she'd been to worry.
Then they came and took the sheets off Bird's bed and Nessa huddled as far against the wall as she could get, hoping no one would see her. But they were too busy looking through Bird's things, whispering to themselves and taking anything they could hide..
Poor Bird. Never more Bird. Dead Bird.
Nessa startled as Tara sat down next to her. She dropped her head onto her knees, hiding her face while her heart beat 'I didn't see her, I didn't see her!' It took her a minute before she could hear anything other than that panicked sound.
When she finally dared a glance over, Tara was sitting there peacefully, chin on her knees, smiling out at the room. Tara's head turned a little, as if she'd felt Nessa's glance, and she wordlessly slid a brownie on a colored napkin toward Nessa. "Had an extra in my lunch," she said in that quiet voice she had.
Nessa hesitated a moment, then took a small piece off the corner before wrapping the rest up and hiding it away. She glanced up at Tara, catching the woman's smile.
"I'm glad I found you," Tara said softly. "I wondered where you'd been."
~Meb
7-6-06
Let me know what you think.
Cold. Alone. Curled up in the corner - knees pulled up to her chin. Hoping desperately to go unnoticed. Watching everyone and everything. If she could just make sure she knew everything that was going on, maybe she could find some small amount of control.
She'd know if she was safe or if she should run. Would know which people she could trust and which would betray you when your back was turned.
She watched the nice woman with particular interest. That one was hard to figure out. That one always seemed to find Nessa no matter how hard she tried to hide herself.
And the nice woman was strange. She never tried to ask Nessa questions or get her to do things. Half the time she'd just sit there in silence, smiling, but not really even looking at Nessa - always with some small gift of food which Nessa's skilled fingers would quickly secrete in a fold or pocket of her oversized clothing.
Tara, the woman said her name was, but it was hard to call her that. Named things, especially good named things were scary. If you cared about someone enough to name them, it hurt more when they went away.
And around here the good ones never stayed for long. Nessa darted a glance over at the nice woman. Definitely too good to stay.
Besides, she didn't think she'd called anyone by name since Bird.
Poor Bird. Gone Bird.
Nessa had tried to tell Bird to be careful, not to trust, not to just go with anyone who asked, but Bird was too happy to believe in bad things.
Poor Bird. Taken away Bird. Never again seen Bird.
Nessa had hidden under Bird's bed for two whole days after they'd taken her away. She knew Bird wasn't coming back, knew it all the way down to the aching scared place in her stomach, but she couldn't make herself run away just in case. Just in case Bird danced in, with that laugh of hers, and told Nessa what a silly she'd been to worry.
Then they came and took the sheets off Bird's bed and Nessa huddled as far against the wall as she could get, hoping no one would see her. But they were too busy looking through Bird's things, whispering to themselves and taking anything they could hide..
Poor Bird. Never more Bird. Dead Bird.
Nessa startled as Tara sat down next to her. She dropped her head onto her knees, hiding her face while her heart beat 'I didn't see her, I didn't see her!' It took her a minute before she could hear anything other than that panicked sound.
When she finally dared a glance over, Tara was sitting there peacefully, chin on her knees, smiling out at the room. Tara's head turned a little, as if she'd felt Nessa's glance, and she wordlessly slid a brownie on a colored napkin toward Nessa. "Had an extra in my lunch," she said in that quiet voice she had.
Nessa hesitated a moment, then took a small piece off the corner before wrapping the rest up and hiding it away. She glanced up at Tara, catching the woman's smile.
"I'm glad I found you," Tara said softly. "I wondered where you'd been."
~Meb
7-6-06
Let me know what you think.
