Haze Jilhain's Story

Mommy wasn't coming to look for him, Flynn had figured it out the morning of the fourth day he was alone at the mall. Of course not, he thought bitterly, Mommy doesn't love us. She hasn't loved us since... since... always! Of course it was just the childish side of him acting out, but he didn't know that. Flynn thought he was just like every other adult, just as good as those older kids. He wasn't, but who would break a little kids heart and tell him otherwise? Since last year, it seemed like he just wanted to hurry up and grow up. Be an adult, just like everyone else. In a way, his mother had let him. Pretended to let him make the decisions, to hear his opinions and all that. It was just to please the little boy though, once he pulled the pouty face and stuck out his bottom lip, Mommy would feel bad and try and make him happy again.

He was always quite stubborn, for a child his age. Especially since he always seemed to think he was right, though half the time he wasn't. Things had to go his way, if they didn't, he would get upset. Then he would probably refuse to do anything else. It had gotten so bad once that they ended up just picking him up and carrying him, since he wouldn't get off the ground. Strangely enough, it was like a game to him. Everyone knew that a little brothers job was to aggravate the older kids, attract the attention to themselves but make sure that the others got in trouble for it, or at least that they ended up having to clean up afterwards. Though it had gotten boring after awhile, and he calmed down a bit after that. That was when he took up running out of the house and into the woods, hiding in the trees until he felt like coming back down.

Finally, he stopped bouncing up and down on the bed and settled with crossing his arms and looking unhappy. They had stuck him, a seven year old boy, in a room all by himself. And it wasn't even close to anyone elses room! He was all by himself. Arms still crossed and pouty face still present, he left his room and stomped to where he had recently seen people gathered in the social area.

A small young girl toddle-walks through the door of the mall. She looks curiously at all the people here. A man, a girl, a woman, and more women. The girl was talking to the man. The women were talking to each other. The little girl picks up names. Mikayla,Dean, Ade. She keeps walking until she bumps into the other girl. "Haze." Haze says, picking up pieces of the conversation before she came. "I am Haze. You are Mikayla. You said Mikayla."

Haze frowned when the girl wouldn't pay attention to her. Haze walks to the man, the one named Dean. Haze pulls on his shirt. "Daddy?" Haze says curiously. "Dean! Listen! I need food!" She says, her belly rumbling. "Listen now, please, someone! I am Haze and I just came. I did not eat for a day! Please help!"Haze looks at the people around her to see if they heard. "Please." Haze whispers. Haze sits on the ground. All this walking was hard. She stares at the place where her mom bit her pinky finger off. It has dried blood on it and a hard scab is forming. "I just want food." She says softly.

Haze looks at Mikayla. "You take me? That is okay." Haze, shorter than Mikayla, grabs her hand. "You get food? I want... fries. You have fries here? If you don't I can eat other things. My name is Haze. I do not know you, but I know we are going to Hazel." Haze says, slightly emphasizing the E in Hazel. "Let's go get eats, and on the way, tell me your name!" She say gleefully.