Little Sparrow

Chapter Three

We did not see the Atkinson's for three days.

I spent those three days completing my chores and trying to push any thought of a possible adoption out of my head. There did not seem to be any point in even thinking about it if Matron was wrong and they were just curious people who were intrigued about the odd-looking girl who opened the door to them. Until I had any confirmation from the Atkinson's themselves, I tried not to let the thought pass my mind.

Charity kept wanting to mention it, but every time she went to Ethel would shush her and give her a pointed look. I know she wanted to mention it, but I did not. I would be content if the word adoption was never mentioned in front of me for the rest of my life, but even I knew how improbable that would be. The term would come up again, I just did not know how soon that would be.

On the day of the Atkinson's second visit, we were all outside for our scheduled recreation period. The air was bitter, a cold wind darting around and not even the few strips of sunlight could protect us from its harshness. The ground had been covered in a thin layer of ice that our boots failed to grip, causing us to slip and stumble on the icy surface. Despite that, we spent our winter recreation trying to stay warm, playing a game of tag and also trying not to slip over in the process.

"I tagged you, Charity! I did!" Sally yelled, standing near the fence

"No, you didn't! You brushed me, it doesn't count," Charity said.

"It does too!"

"Just go after someone else, Sally, I'm losing feeling in my fingers." Ethel rubbed her hands together to try and create some heat, staring at Sally.

"Not fair," Sally murmured.

She turned to face me and furrowed her eyebrows, charging head-first across the icy ground towards me. I darted to the left just before she got within reach, her fingers missing me by the smallest of margins. I turned and moved to the other side of the concrete, standing near Ethel and watching Sally to see where she would go next. Ethel looked at me and grinned, bouncing on the balls of her feet to keep warm, Sally standing in front of us to decide her next move.

All of us stood, staring at Sally. Her eyes darted between us all. Sally's mind tended to work rather fast, deciding which direction would be better and who she would be able to hit first. We were all spread out across the concrete, Charity looked like she was prepared to climb the fence if Sally decided to go after her and everyone else planning their escape. Our recreational space was small, but it meant we had learnt to dodge and weave rather well.

After a little while, Sally looked between Ethel and me, scrunching her fist at her side. I glanced at Ethel and we both agreed on the path we would take without having to say a word to each other. The air seemed to get colder, the small strips of sunlight starting to cloud over as we waited for Sally to make her move. She appeared to be dragging it out a little longer just to see how she could put us on edge. She was strange that way.

Eventually, after staring at us for so long that I started to lose feeling in my fingertips, she narrowed her eyes towards Esther and me and ran across the ground. Her boots slipped across the ice, but she managed to remain standing. She reached out to try and catch Ethel or me, both of us moving to the side just as she reached us and running around to where she had been standing only moments ago. Unlike Sally, I had not been so lucky when it came to maintaining any form of grip on the concrete.

Just before I could join Esther on the other side of the grounds to where we had started, I hit a patch of ice. My boots slipped across it and I lost my balance, toppling onto the concrete and sliding a little before coming to a stop next to Ethel.