Dear Marla

3. part: "b"

"Did you hear what happened to that kid!?" The woman sipped her tea as she looked at her husband.9
"Yes, I can't believe someone would do that...Poor child..." He shook his head in disgust and lit a cigarette. His wife sighed and looked at her children, who were happily playing among equipment, laughing and tumbling over one another.
"I'm just worried Peter. About our children... What if this happens to them?" She placed her tea cup on the bench and gently squeezed her husbands hand with a look of worry.
He smiled weakly, hiding his fear and reassured her. "I doubt it Lucia, our kids our safe with us. You know that!'
She looked at him grimly and turned away, pulling her hand out of his grasp. "But this is the third time it's happened this month..."
"I understand your concern, but please. They are safe with us, and it won't be long before we move. Just a couple more weeks and then we're out of here" Peter shimmied his head to hold a gaze with her. Lucia wiped a tear and leant her head on his shoulders. She let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes.
Peter puffed on his cigarette a few more times before dropping it on the ground and squashing it with his foot, to make sure it was fully out. He looked into the distance, not at his children but the trees. The way they swayed calmly from side to side like a rocking chair. A figure.

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Lucy reached higher, struggling to reach the branch above her. She finally caught it and she gripped it so tightly that her knuckles and fingers became white.

"Phew... Now what? I still can't see anything but more trees!" Lucy called down to Bryce as he watched from below, shielding his eyes from the hot sun.
"I don't know, go higher?" He said with uncertainty. Lucy looked down at him with a blank stare, obviously not amused by his comment.

"If I go any higher I'll either fall down, or I won't be able to get back down!"
Lucy shouted indignantly as she tried to look around for something to do.

"Why don't your try to shimmy around the tree? There's bound to be something other than the forest" Bryce slightly wandered away from the tree, kicking leaves into the air as if he were a child again.

"HEY! I see something!!!" Lucy shouted ecstatically as she pointed into the distance.

Her loud voice startled Bryce and he scampered over to see what it was she spotted.
"What can you see!?"
"It looks..."
"Looks like what?!"
"A house...It's a house, I think. I'm pretty sure!"

Lucy began to make her way down, keeping the vision of the house fresh in her mind. Although it didn't help, she almost missed a branch and jolted at the sudden scare.

"Careful!" Bryce called up. Finally there was something apart from trees and forestry. Once Lucy managed to get down she shook her hands and stretched out her legs.

"Ok, so which direction did you see the house in?" Bryce came up to her and handed Lucy her cardigan, making sure she was ok.

"That way. I couldn't see much of it, but I saw a roof and a couple of windows, the rest of it was covered up from the trees"

Lucy pointed in front of them and began to follow her finger, Bryce smiled and came behind her.

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Bobby and Layhla both walked in silence. The path was beginning to become harder to see as more of the slabs were stuck in the ground.

Layhla grumbled whilst Bobby just made his way quietly. They looked at eachother from time to time but didn't speak; it was awkward.