Me and Anni-Frid

Come With Me

I wake up to the cold snow wetting my face. I am a homeless girl, I was raised on a farm and Mamma died when I was five. Daddy couldn't take it and it was hard for him to take care of me. He went to the store one day, he forgot to bring me home, and he never came back. I was left there in the alley when I was about seven years of age. Now it is two weeks until my fourteenth birthday. Some of the elderly homeless people gave me some money for my birthday a little early, so I went up to the market, about 3 miles away. I was walking around town in the cold winter. I felt singled out because of my ragged clothes. If I could afford it, I would have more and nicer looking clothes.

I was sitting on the steps of a small hotel just enjoying the view when a very beautiful lady with slightly curled brown hair that went a little past her shoulders. Her nose was small but cute, and she was wrapped in a big coat, almost 3 times larger than a jacket I got two years ago. "Excuse me," she said to me, and I looked up. "Do you have a Mamma or a Papa?" She asked.

"No, ma'am," I said swallowing my throat. I was still sensitive about the topic. "I don't."

"Who are you with?" She asked with her soft voice. A man came up beside her and took her hand.

"I'm alone..." I said looking down. I looked back up at her shivering a little at the freezing temperatures.

"Do you have a home or a family to go back home to?"

"No ma'am."

"How old are you?"

"I'm gonna be fourteen in two weeks." I said rearranging my coat.

"Come with us, we're taking you home," she said squeezing the mans hand a little. She had a warm smile and looked genuinely sweet.

"Ummm," I said. Mamma and Daddy always said not to talk to strangers. Her voice sounded familiar, and she even looked familiar like I have seen her face on a billboard or something. "You don't have to miss."

"Sweetie it's our pleasure," she said taking my hand. "Will you please?" I thought about some things I could miss. All I could think of was that I would miss the freedom.

"Yes, ma'am." I said.

"You don't have to call me ma'am or miss. I am Anni-Frida Lyngstad, and this is my boyfriend Benny Andersson. You can call me Frida." She said. My eyes widened and I smiled a bit. The Anni-Frid Lyngstad that I hear people talking about on the streets? The one I see on billboards with her band? I thought to myself.

"Thank you," I said.

Frida took me too her car and we got inside of it. Frida and Benny sat in the front seat while I sat in the back. Benny drove the clean and shiny car. "So, what's your name, you never told us?" Frida asked looking back.

"Oh I'm Roxanne."

"That's such a beautiful name," Frida said.

About 40 minutes later after talking and driving Frida and Benny took me to their home in Stockholm. I was surprised when we arrived. The driveway was paved and the house was beautiful. There were pine trees dusted with snow, along with the green grass. It looked like what was described to me by the elders. There were stairs leading up to the baby blue siding of the house. There were black iron rod railings connected to them, swirled up in a fancy design. Even my house back home didn't look this nice. Frida and Benny walked up the stairs and unlocked the door. They waved me to come also. I walked on the sidewalk and up the perfect steps, my hands brushing over the railing. Frida opened the door, walked inside revealing the most beautiful place I have ever seen. There was a dark hard wood floor leading into a living room that had a stone fireplace and couches around a coffee table. There were beautiful decorations out, everything neat and clean. They must not have children, I thought. It was one of the coldest days in June here, but inside it was very warm. I stood in the entryway and Benny shut the door behind me. "It's supposed to heat up tomorrow," Benny said taking off his coat and shoes.

"Yes, this should be the last snowy day here in Stockholm." Frida said. I smiled at both of them not knowing what to do. "Roxanne, you can take your shoes off and leave them on the rug." She said pointing to the floor.

"Would either of you like hot chocolate, tea, or coffee?" Benny asked. I stood there awkwardly looking at Frida. I didn't know what to say or do, I felt like I was invading their space.

"I'll have hot chocolate!" Frida said excitedly. "Roxanne do you also want hot chocolate or do you want something else?" She asked as she hung her coat up on the wall.

"I'm okay," I said smiling.

"Are you sure? Because you can have whatever you want, this is your home now." I blushed at her words. This is my home? I thought. Or is she going to put me in a foster home, worse than living in the alley?

"Actually, can I have water?" I asked.

"Sure!" Benny said getting out three mugs, and putting on a pot of water.

"Roxanne let's get you upstairs and cleaned up," Frida said waving me to follow her. I walked behind her and up the small set of stairs. "This is mine and Benny's room." She said walking into it. Everything was neat and organized, and it smelled like roses. "There are two spare bedrooms here, I'm not sure why but we liked this house." She said digging through her closet. "You can have one of the Geist rooms as your room, and you can have whichever one you want." She said pulling out a red sweater and a pair of jeans. She set them on the bed and put her hands on her hips. "So," she said looking at me. "Are you in the mood to go shopping today? Or do you want to wait until tomorrow?" She asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"All you have are the clothes on your back. I'll take you shopping for some clothes and stuff. We can have a girls day!" She said smiling.

"I can go whenever is okay with you," I said looking into her deep green eyes.

"Well I got you out these clothes, we can go today. You can shower and borrow these while we go shopping, okay?" She said smiling.

"Okay," I smiled.

"Oh, do you want to eat and drink something before or after you shower?" Frida asked.

"I can after," I said. The truth was I was super thirsty and starving. I would be lucky on a normal basis to get one good meal in.

"Okay," she said, and after showing me the rooms, the bathroom, where she keeps everything and how the shower works. I got in the shower and washed good. It had been a while since I had a good shower. I got out of the shower and saw my face in the mirror. I hadn't used a clean mirror in years. I took the hairbrush Frida let me borrow and started brushing my wet hair. It was slightly difficult, but it became easier after each stroke. I looked in the mirror and parted my hair down the center. I needed a haircut also. After I finished brushing my hair I put on the sweater and jeans Frida had let me borrow. Her clothes were slightly oversized on me, but not by much. She was very thin, but I was so thin you could see my ribs, and I was about 6 inches shorter than her. My family was always short. After I had gotten completely dressed and cleaned up, I walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the kitchen where Frida and Benny were sitting across from each other at the table. "We got you water," Frida said pointing to the mug in front of me at the table. I drank from it as Frida said, "Roxanne whenever you are ready we can go, I'll take you for lunch."

"Okay," I said finishing off my water. "I'm ready."