The Little Girl and The Man

Chapter Five

Although he never went back into their yard, he would pass by on his walks past the house to see if she was home. The home was always dark. In addition, the lawn was overgrown because no one cared to mow it. The house looked sadder than ever. Was it missing its owner? Was it lonely? Or did it know that trouble was occurring among its residents.

But there he passed day by day and the house was still clearly empty. Until a couple of days later the house was glowing with warm lights throughout the house. It looked cheerful again. He was happy that the little girl was home again. But he was still wondering what happened with the family. Did the father get caught? If so, was it he who was in there? How? But one thing he knew for certain was that she was back.

"Rise and shine princess! It's time to get ready for school."

"What...?" The little girl was still unfamiliar with the gentle, female voice. (She was also unfamiliar with someone waking her up for school.) "Oh, right..." She says as she pushes herself up.

"I am making pancakes for your first day back to school! You need your energy to make up all that work. But, hopefully, your teachers will understand and lighten the load a bit." She said brushing the little girl's hair out of her eyes.

"Pancakes?" She said rubbing her eyes. "Pancakes! Yay! Thank you!" It has been a long time since she had pancakes. It was her favorite food. (Plain pancakes with a little bit of butter. Mmm... so nice!)

The woman left and she jumped out of bed. She slipped into some random clothes that probably didn't match and brushed her hair, hurting her head because she brushed too hard. She leaped into the bathroom and brushed her teeth singing the alphabet twice like her teachers told her. Then she ran into the kitchen where the pancakes were still cooking.

"Oh hey! I wasn't expecting you this early! You're a little bunny you hop so quickly! The pancakes will be ready shortly. Do you mind getting out a couple of plates and the toppings that you want? I'm still a little unfamiliar with the kitchen. Hehe."

"Pancake day!" She cried and bounced around the kitchen getting all the stuff out of the cabinets and drawers. "Pancakes!" She chants as she sets the table.

"Wow! You really are excited about pancakes." Says the lady placing the breakfast on the table.

The child smiles and nods. "My favorite food!"

"Oh wow! Perfect then. Well, dig in!"

They both grab a couple of pancakes each and start putting their favorite toppings on theirs.

The lady puts on strawberries and chocolate sores on hers. She notices the chick looking at hers. She giggles and says, "I may be old, but I am a child at heart. Oh! Look at you! Just butter. Very healthy. But I'm sure you aren't worried about carbs haha you can burn more off than you can take in! But I like it!"

"Thank you!" She also giggles at the silly comments. After a couple of bites, they start up a conversation. "Miss Sarah?"

"Yes? And please call me Sarah. We will be living together for a while and I don't want to seem like a nanny! I hate nannies. Always had bad experiences with them. I wanna be Sarah: a friend."

"Okay. Sarah. When will I see my daddy again?"

"Oh, well. That depends."

"On what?"

"Well, many things. Mostly stuff like luck and a good lawyer."

"Alright. Will I ever see him again?"

"Of course you will! It may be a few years, at most, but you will."

"Few years?" She sniffles.

"At the most. Probably just a few months. But don't worry, it won't seem that long with all the school work and fun we will be having! I promise."

"Cross your heart?"

"Yes, sweetheart." Smiles Sarah.

"Hey, Girly?"

"Yes, Sarah?"

"What is this?  Crazy hair day?" She lightly chuckles.

"No?" The little girl looks curiously at Sarah. "I always wear my hair like this. My daddy says it looks good."

"Oh. Well, you know what will make you look even more beautiful?"

"No, what?"

"How about you find me a brush and some hair ties and I'll show you, okay?"

"Okie!" the little girl smiles and skips off to find the required objects.

Oh God! This little girl is going through a tougher life than we thought. If we knew he was this neglectful... I gotta tell the court. It will break this little angel's heart to find out that it will be a long time before she sees her "daddy" again, if not ever again. However, it'd be for the best. And the worst part is, she thinks that this life is normal... Poor girl. I wish—

"Found them!" the little girl cheers as she comes skipping back into the kitchen, holding the objects as if they were prizes she had won at the county fair.

Sarah snaps back into reality and smiles at her. "Good job, honey! Let's move to the living room so I can fix your hair."

They sit on the couch in the living room and the woman brushes the little girl's big mess of tangles. As gentle as Sarah tried, the hair was fighting the brush and she received a few painful "Ow's!" the way. After the little girl's hair finally was tangle-free, Sarah neatly braided the girl's hair into a braid and finished it with a bow.

"Now!" Sarah said, "You look absolutely amazing! Here, take a look in the bathroom mirror."

The excited girl hops off the couch and runs to the bathroom as Sarah follows. She reaches the bathroom just in time to hear the little girl squeal with delight.

"I look like a PRINCESS!" the little girl shrieks.

Sarah smiles in reply: "That you do!" Now let's hurry along because we are running a little bit later than I expected.

"Okay!"

"Aren't you excited to show your friends your new hair?"

"Uh... I don't really have friends. They don't seem to want to play with me. But I am sure my teachers will like it! They are always curious about me!"

"Oh, I am sure they are." Sarah mumbles under her breath. And the little girl is just too happy to notice.