Little Bird (new version)

AMARA

I stay standing. The chair looks enticing, and my legs hurt so bad, but I don't want to get in trouble for sitting down.

She returns after what feels like years. She walks in and looks over at me. She smiles. "We're going to get into contact with your family."

     I furrow my eyebrows. "Huh?"

     "Your file has quite a lot of information in it. It should be easy to return you back to where you belong." She tells me.

     Family?

She walks over to the desk and sits down again. She picks up something on the desk and starts to tap something else. She puts the thing up to her ear.

I tune out her words as she speaks. Slowly, I lower myself down onto the cold floor and hug my knees to my chest. I like sitting like this; it's comfy but also helps me to stay warm.

Eventually her foggy words cease. She walks over to me and crouches down beside me. "The chair is much comfier than the floor."

"O-okay?" I whisper, confused why she's telling me this.

"You can sit on that instead."

"No th—thank you."

She tilts her head. After a moment of just looking at me she sighs. "Alright. I need to go out there but I'll be back very soon."

I nod swiftly, looking down at the floor. She leaves.

EMILIANO

My oldest daughter bubbles with excitement beside me. As we walk through the dark, dirty hallway of the building my eyes dart around, wary of anything that could go wrong.

     As we walk further, I begin to hear people talking. Crying. Even screaming. I open the double doors in front of me, revealing a hallway crowded with people. To my left, a young girl is sobbing, holding onto an older woman who grips her tightly. Views like this happen all the way to the end of the hallway, where a woman stops us.

     "Who are you both looking for?" She asks.

     "My daughter Amara." I say quickly.

     "Follow me." She responds. She walks down the hallway right to the end of it, pausing outside of a grey door. "I let her stay in here because it's quieter. She's very timid. Try not to be too loud and in these situations it's best not to touch victims, especially younger ones."

     My heart cracks a little at her words, because they make me realise how much she's gone through.

     "Okay." I say.

     She opens the door and walks through. "Amara." She says gently as we follow her inside. I let Aria go in before me, then step in after her.

     I look over to the chair behind the desk, finding it empty. But then I notice the woman looking down at the floor, so I follow her gaze to the little girl curled up in the corner of the room, using her arm as a pillow.

     My heart softens immediately. I look down at Amara—my lost little girl, and exhale a relieved breath. She has brown, frizzy hair and soft features. I can't see much of her face since it's leaning on her arm, but her eyelashes are dark and long.

     "Amara." The woman says softly. She stirs. "Amara." She says again.

     This time, her eyes dart open. She sits up quickly, then looks up at the woman. She glances at Aria, then at me, and her bottom lip begins to wobble. "I—I'm sorry." She whispers. Her voice is small and afraid and tired. "I won't f-fall asleep a-again."

     "You don't have to be sorry." The woman responds. "It's good you're getting some rest." She looks up at me and nods.

     Amara's gaze trails back to me, and she scurries closer to the wall. When she hits it, her eyes water.

     "Amara." I say. "I'm your dad. This is your older sister, Aria."

     She looks down at the floor. "I don't k-know wh—what they are." She says, so quietly I barely catch it.

"We're your family." I respond gently. "We're going to take care of you."

Her eyes widen. "H-how?"

"Not in a bad way." Aria rushes out. Amara's scared brown eyes snap over to her. "We're going to protect you."

Amara continues to look at us, her fear evident on her face.