Story One-Shots (Ongoing)

Penny Arrowmann Chronicles (Part 2)(Unedited)

Monday, March 26, 2006

One week later, we had the funeral. I stared down at the two caskets side by side. One held my loving and amazing mother and the other, my caring father.

The wind was strong and chilly, but I ignored the goosebumps running down my arms and legs. I could faintly hear the preacher talking in the background, but I never looked up. Tears blurred my vision as they dripped down my cheeks. Camilla stood beside me with a warm hand on my shoulder.

I stared and stared at the caskets, willing them to open up and Mother and Father running into my arms, safe and healthy. But even at ten years old, I knew that would never happen. Could never happen.

I couldn't handle this anymore. Turning around, I took off, running into the woods behind me, not knowing where I was going. I could hear Camilla calling my name behind, but I didn't let that stop me. My legs were caring me as fast as they could. I dodged trees and jumped over bushes.

All I did know at that moment was that my mother and father died and I had no one to take care of me anymore. No one to cuddle with when I got scared or lonely. No one to sing me songs or tell my stories like Father told me. No one to kiss my cheeks and tuck me into bed. I had no one left.

I stopped and leaned against a tree trunk, gasping for breath as I looked around me. How could this happen to me? Why now? This should never happen to anyone.

Listening closely, I could hear running water in the distance. I followed the sound and soon came to a small river. Sitting down, I got on my knees and reached into the cold water, splashing my face. I searched my brain for the best memories of my parents. They took me to the beach, all of us singing and dancing with me. I lingered on that memory for as long as I could handle it.

Roughly an hour had passed when I heard voices in the distance. I stood and listened more closely. Hearing Camilla's voice, I started to walk in that direction. The closer I got, the more I could hear. Finally, I got to the graveyard where my parents were buried. No one seemed to notice me there, so I followed Camilla's voice to where she was at the edge of the graveyard, away from everybody else. She talked to a man who appeared to be in his early twenties. I hid partially behind a tree and listened to them speak.

"She's only ten, Marcus! What is going to happen to her now?" Camilla's voice sounded sad and nervous.

The man, who appeared to be Marcus, gently grabbed Camilla's shoulders and spoke in a low voice. "I don't know what is to become of Penny, but what I do know is that she doesn't have anybody to watch over her. Her parents were only children, and her grandparents died many years ago."

"I would love her to come and live with me," Camilla said. I could feel hope rise inside of me. But then she continued. "But I wouldn't be able to watch after her for very long due to my full-time job." And just like that, any hopes I had inside of me crashed back down. A sob broke out of my mouth and, upon hearing the sound, Camilla and Marcus turned their heads in my direction.

"Oh, Penny." Camilla raced over, kneeled in front of me, and pulled me into her arms. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that. I'm truly sorry about what happened. I tried looking for you after you ran off, and you scared me when I couldn't find you."

I cried hard, my tears soaking into her shirt. A headache started to form in my head from how hard I was crying. "What's going to happen to me, Camilla?" I whispered, my voice cracking with every other word. I pulled away to look at her. "What's going to happen now that they are gone?"

Camilla glanced at Marcus then turned back to me. "I . . ." She started to say, then cleared her throat and chose her words carefully. "You have to go somewhere. Somewhere different." She looked me in the eye as she spoke. "Where people can look after you and take care of you."