The Holy Accused
Flashback
Mark Valerian walked along the grimy streets of New York City with his head tucked into the hood of his jacket. It felt like the dirt covering the people on Death Row would gather up from their sickly coughs and suffocate him if he didn’t hurry up and get out of there. Hopefully he could find what he needed and get out quickly. The only light Illuminating the long alleyway was the sliver of moon through the tops of the buildings. Somehow he needed to see long enough to find it…
Then he heard the high pitched shriek of a child crying.
“Shhh,” whispered the soft voice of a mother to the child. It was coming from a small crack underneath the building next to Mark. Pipes and wires were pulled out and tossed in the alley to make an opening the size of an oven. He looked down and saw a lady covered in just a thin, muddy blanket lying on the ground with a little girl wrapped in her arms. He kneeled down and reached through the crack. As he touched the back of the little girl, she turned around with a jolt and squinted at him with crusty eyes and a nest of hair waving in front of her face.
“Go way,” said the little girl in a small crackling voice as she hugged her mother. The lady looked up at Mark with fear and sunk back as far as she could into the building, which wasn’t very far.
“Who are you?” asked the ill looking lady when Mark didn’t leave. She held onto her child like it was life itself. Then he saw another child’s head appear in the middle of the mother and the first girl, identical to the other little girl. They both looked around the age of 4-5 and were as skinny as sticks, with their bones appearing underneath baggy potato sacks used for dresses.
“I’m here to help you,” Mark said with an inviting smile.
Then he heard the high pitched shriek of a child crying.
“Shhh,” whispered the soft voice of a mother to the child. It was coming from a small crack underneath the building next to Mark. Pipes and wires were pulled out and tossed in the alley to make an opening the size of an oven. He looked down and saw a lady covered in just a thin, muddy blanket lying on the ground with a little girl wrapped in her arms. He kneeled down and reached through the crack. As he touched the back of the little girl, she turned around with a jolt and squinted at him with crusty eyes and a nest of hair waving in front of her face.
“Go way,” said the little girl in a small crackling voice as she hugged her mother. The lady looked up at Mark with fear and sunk back as far as she could into the building, which wasn’t very far.
“Who are you?” asked the ill looking lady when Mark didn’t leave. She held onto her child like it was life itself. Then he saw another child’s head appear in the middle of the mother and the first girl, identical to the other little girl. They both looked around the age of 4-5 and were as skinny as sticks, with their bones appearing underneath baggy potato sacks used for dresses.
“I’m here to help you,” Mark said with an inviting smile.
♠ ♠ ♠
this is Ruth's father's flashback to how he found her. I wanted to connect this story to the story of Ruth in the Bible but its very different. In the Bible they were stepsisters and obviously not twins and Ruth was the one who stayed with their mother. Also she didnt leave her mother when they were kids and they werent adopted. Her mother wasnt sick.