One: Finding
The day wasn’t idealic, nor was it anything too special on its own. Russell Dahl doesn’t remember that day because of the weather – but then again, who does? He remembers it for a completely different reason entirely.
Dahl was a man that was probably shadier than your average Joe, as he dealt with the buying and selling of (largely) stolen goods. He was a fence, but thought nothing of it. It was something that had just fallen into his lap one day, and suddenly Dahl Pawn, the rustic little antique shop that sat on the corner of the city block, became a place for pickpockets and desperates to pawn off whatever they could.
That day was a miserable one for sure. It was a muggy summer morning, temperatures already crawling into the nineties by ten, but still, he drank his coffee from the cardboard cup that had been purchased from the café down the street. His storefront looked the same in the shadow of the rising sun, and even though it was old, he still smiled a bit. It wasn’t just a building, it was his building.
Except something was a bit off this morning – and it was in the form of a child sitting on the front stoop.
“Oi, kid,” he called out to the child, who was simply sitting there, eyes wandering across the landscape. He sighed, taking a sip from his coffee before stepping towards her and calling out again. “Hey, kid.” This time she snapped to attention and stared at him.
“Oh – hi!” she said to him, perking up in her posture. “Do you know…where I am?”
He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow as well for good measure. “Uh…you’re at my shop right now, kid.”
She continued to stare at him, eyes wide in innocent curiosity, her bottom lip protruding in thought. “Oh…”
She was wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts than hung to her knees, but on her feet were…snow boots. Her hair was a wild mess of black, hovering over her shoulders and tucked behind her ears to clear her vision. From his observations, Russell was able to form a quick analysis: Most likely she came from a single-parent household somewhere in the projects, or at least a household where both parents worked and had little time for their children. And if nothing else, she was in desperate need of a bath.
“Where’s your mommy?” he asked, stepping closer to her as he did, sipping his coffee to keep his nerves down. Her eyes bothered him, and it wasn’t for their unusual (but not impossible) yellow color. They were just so…innocent.
“I dunno.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay…where’s your daddy?”
“I dunno.”
He sighed. “Then how’d you get here?”
“I – you’re going to get mad if I say I don’t know, aren’t you?”
He raised his eyebrows, musing his response as he drank from the cardboard cup. “Nah, I won’t…”
She suddenly broke out grinning. “I like you!” she said, hopping to her feet. “You’re the first person to talk to me.”
Russell shifted the weight on his feet, tapping his free hand on his khakis. “Like today?” he asked, rustling around his pocket for the keys to the shop.
“Well…I guess?”
And then his attention diverted to her again. “How d’you figure, kid?” he wondered, withdrawing the keys from his pocket and making a motion towards the door.
“I was just…here. I…just…” She looked around, still jittery with curiosity. “I just opened my eyes and I was here.”
Unlocking the door, Russell turned to look at the girl again, eyebrows cocked. “What’s your name, kid?”
There was a moment’s silence before she looked up at him. “I dunno.”
Again, he stared at her, this time with mouth agape. “Do you know…anything?”
“I know that I’m here.”
