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(a young zara shahid)
zara shahid
'but is it still a home when your all alone?'
"This is your new mom and dad, Fred and Mary Andrews." The old mean lady said in a sweet tone, "Go on." She ushered me towards the red headed women and the brown haired man. They had sweet smiles but I knew I shouldn't trust that.
"Hi there Zara. You're gonna come live with us. You have a new brother now too." The red head told me.
"Meri pass bhai hai! I have a brother!" I yelled, wanting my own bhai. While I understood their language I didn't know how to speak it properly. I didn't want to go with them but I knew I would have no choice. Also, I wanted my own brother. He'd gone out, a freedom only a few of us got, and I wanted to see him - one last time.
"It's okay Zara. Go with them." My new parent's took my hand and I sat in the back of their pick up truck. We drove to a house in a town called Riverdale. When we arrived there, I saw a blonde girl and a red haired boy playing in the next door house. What with with all the red heads in this town? Did they all use mehndi? I walked into the house and little red head followed us quickly.
"Hi, I'm Archie." He put out his hand for me to shake.
"What name is Archay?" I tried my best to speak the language of my oppressors. The grown ups smiled while the boy looked confused.
"It's Archee, wanna come play?" He smiled and threw an oval shaped object in the air, "Me and Betty were playing catch."
I looked up at the taller pair who just nodded encouragingly. I followed the red head and met his blonde friend, Elizabeth 'Betty' Cooper.
"She's the nicest person in the whole town!"He exclaimed, "We're gonna get married some day!"
"No we're not Archie!" The girl squealed as she ran away from the boy giving him a hug. I looked at the ground, not used to people being so intimate about their affections. Eventually, we went in to the house to have food. I went to their kitchen and offered to help with the cooking. The ginger lady had wide eyes but told me just to sit down at the table.
That night I went to sleep in Archie's room, with a full stomach and fresh clothes on my body - I was in a house but it wasn't a home. I hadn't had a home in over a year, the last person that kept me going was gone
