“No,” Myra frowned. “This is a hard thing to endure.”
All the children that laid quiet as each woman came around with different colored bonds eyed the stranger. He was brood, but very light on his feet. So far, he hadn’t murmured a single word. The bald girl guessed he couldn’t speak Hindu. He looked foreign. Yet very much like a brother of her own. She was the closest to him, sitting legs crossed, elbows almost touching his shiny shoes.
“Sir?” she whispered over the sound of running water.
The stranger still heard her. He looked down at her with tears filling his eyes, and his mouth parted slightly to speak. “Hello darling,” he smiled.
“Hi,” she breathed. “What’s your name?”
She saw a twinkle in his eyes as he settled next to her, mimicking her exact pose. She noted the only difference was his long arms, reaching to pull the fallen blanket from her shoulders back in place.
“Eli,” he said in the kindest voice.
She appreciated the warmness that suddenly grew over her shoulders “Ida,”
The man called Eli nodded slowly removing a small plastic bag from his pocket. “I bought some fruit on my up here. Would you like some?” Malina watched as the frail armed girl accepted his offer with the biggest smile she had yet to see from these kids.
Not long after, most of them surrounded him, picking fruit and giggling at his silly faces. Myra crossed her arms in short approval, while Malina settled further back in her seat. “Wait till Pavia sees this.” She soothed. “We have to get these kids out of here.” She noted, changing the subject.
“We will,” Myra believed. “We will,”