A Child's Heart, page 2

The next morning, Wendol woke up to see Justace standing in front of the door, peeking through a crack. “Justace, what-” “Shhhh!” He hushed the little boy and motioned for him to come stand next to him. Curious, Wendol searched until he found a crack at his level to look out of. He saw a man standing in the doorway of a run-down house nearby, yelling and shaking his fist at the girl in front of him. After the angry man went in side and slammed the door, the girl turned and proceeded to stomp off down the street. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Justace said as he slipped out the door. Wendol watched as Justace approached the girl. After talking for a few minutes, Justace returned with the girl right behind him. “This is Rylen. She’ll be staying with us for a while.” Rylen spoke up “Only till I kin find’s me some work.” She said gruffly. Wendol studied the girl. She looked to be about 12. She had honey-brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, and wore dirty, torn clothing. “Well what are you starin’ at?” Rylen snapped. “Sorry.” Said Wendol softly. Justace cleared his throat. “Well, let’s all have supper!” He said cheerfully. Over leftover fish and crackers, the three shared their stories. After Wendol told of his sad fate, Rylen asked, “What was you doin’ on the fella’s property, anyhow?” “I was just trying to rescue a kitten that was caught in a trap.” He replied. Rylen just snorted. Then she told the boys about her life. “My old man’s a drunk, see? And so he expected me to provide for the two of us. But when I got fired… he kicked me out of the house, the good fer nothin’ scoundrel. Wendol looked up at her with a somber look on his face. “That’s so sad, Wylen.” “Yeah, whatever.” Rylen said nonchalantly. Later that night when Rylen went out for a walk, Wendol asked, “Justace, why doesn’t Wylen like me?” Justace sat down beside Wendol and sighed. He was quiet for a moment, and then answered, “Rylen probably does like you, even though it may not seem that way. She’s had a hard life, and she’s probably not used to kindness.” “But she acts like she doesn’t care about how bad her life is.” Wendol said. “Oh, she does. But… well, sometimes people try to hide their true feelings.” “Why?” Asked Wendol. Justace tousled Wendol’s dark-blond hair. “I don’t know, buddy. We just need to pray for her, okay?” “Okay, Justace.” Said Wendol smiling.