Little Orphan Emmi ~part 4~

(Hurray, part four is FINALLY here! Just a quick FYI if you have not already read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 please do!)(and there is not a “Cast” picture as there are no new people added to the series and if you have read the previous parts you are well aware of who-plays-who. :))(remember this was set in the early 1900’s but past the Victorian era.)

Naomi and I were searching for edible bugs in the grass (we were starving, we hadn’t eaten since I first met her!). Town was too far to walk to on an empty stomach with no energy.

And we had been kicked out of our wondrous mountain-home by a family of snakes. :(

Right when we thoughet absolutely nothing could get worse, we heard a horse winny not too far away! “Let’s find it!” I shouted to Naomi and we raced to the sound.

“A stray horse! Wow!” Naomi breathed. “It must’ve gotten loose from the herd it came from…” I observed. “Let’s keep it!”

It looked pretty tame so I hopped right on! “Well I’ll be,” Naomi smiled. “There has never been a greater bond between a girl and her horse.” I was about to speak up and say I’ve had way greater bonds than with this horse, but I decided to keep quiet. I wanted to really ride this young female horse so I needed to focus! After all, how hard could it be with just a little work and my GENIUS brain?

OK, it was VERY hard! I apparently could NOT figure out how to steer her! The horse was tame so she didn’t buck me off but she did NOT recognize me as her rider. “Maybe if you speak to her she’ll move,” Naomi suggested, trying to pull the horse by the reins. “C’mon horsey horsey, MOVE!!!” That didn’t work either. “I know! Let’s name her! The horse will recognize it’s name and obey you.” Naomi said matter-o’-factly. “OK. Priscilla? No. Gingersnap? No. Winter? No. Mary? Ugh, no!” I tried naming her everything but she didn’t respond. Finally Naomi blurted, “Ugh! That horse is a nut-ball, just like this acorn!” she kicked an acorn as she said it. All of the sudden the horse began to move! “Acorn, that’s her name! Keep calling her that!” I cried. “C’mon Acorn, follow me!” Acorn followed Naomi’s hand guiding her reins, and finally mine when I rode her! YAY!We were as free as the wind.

We found a shack to put her in, and then Naomi sat down. “Emmi, I’m starving, let’s try to find some food.” Naomi told me. “All right. Stay here Acorn, good girl.”

I patted her nose and went off with Naomi.

“Is this bug even edible?” I asked. “I don’t know. Better to be safe than sorry, right?” Naomi answered unsurely. “Uhhh…I don’t know what my stomach’s gonna say to that.”

“Do these flowers look good to you?” Naomi cried helplessly. “I don’t know! But if they’re not safe to eat than let’s not eat them!” I yelled out, cranky and starving. I sat down and sobbed for a bit. Naomi sat down next to me and gave me a hug. I re-gained my strength and hugged her back, then managed to stand up and walk back to Acorn. “Hey, there’s always the horse,” Naomi smiled. “WHAT?!” I screamed startling Acorn. “YOU WANT US TO KILL ACORN AND EAT HER?!!! NO!!!! I’D RATHER STARVE TO DEATH THAN EAT MY HORSE!” I started sobbing all over again. “Maybe we could ride her into town to steal some food?” Naomi suggested hopefully. “And risk getting caught? No thank you!” I answered hotly.

“Wait! That’s it!” I finally piped up. “We try to steal some food, right? And who cares if we get caught, because even if we’re put in jail, we’ll still get three meals a day!” I stated my genius idea. “I don’t know. What if they send us back to the orphanage?” Naomi asked unsurely. I gulped. Naomi and I would be separated, and I would probably be punished for

A. Running away.
B. Not coming back.
C. Stealing a horse.
D. Stealing food.

“We have to try, it’s better than starving to death!” I finally said. “Fine then, let’s go!”

*****

The next few minutes were a blur. We did get caught stealing some hot corn (they took Acorn to her original owner too :(), and even the the officer tried to get us to tell him who our parents where/whether we had parents/where we lived but he couldn’t get anything out of us. So he threw us in jail, just like we hoped.

“Excuse me sir, but when do we get fed?” I asked the officer on duty. “Not ’till you tell me where you rascals came from.” He answered gruffly. Then he snored off to sleep. “Oh, no! Now we will starve to death or face going to the orphanage….Hey look, there’s my mama! Mama, hi!” Naomi spotted her mother a few cells away. Her mother looked at us, then turned away.

“Plan B?” Naomi asked.

Then she burst into tears. “Naomi, hush! My plan will only work if the guard stays asleep.”

Naomi immediately stopped and I showed her how easily we could slip through the wide spaces between the bars.

“Try it Naomi, quick!”

Naomi slipped out and asked me, “OK, now what?” “We find where they stash the food. We do this every time the guard falls asleep, eat food, come back quick, and we don’t have to tell him anything!” I answered mischeviously. Naomi grinned. “I like the way you think.“

TO BE CONTINUED, DUN DUN DUNNNN!

;)