Ava!!
It was Avaelyn, a 10 year old, screaming and crying after her sister. Her sister was leaving the orphanage without a farewell. She was leaving with the governor and his wife. Avaelyn was sad, despondent, and heartbroken; how could she keep living when she had no one else left. She couldn't believe that the only family she had left in the world was leaving her. Everything seemed like a dream.
She had never imagined that they would be separated from each other inspite all her efforts to make sure they stick together. Avaelyn sat on the ground, confused and heartbroken as her mind wandered back to some years ago.
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Ava and Avaelyn were sister twin born to a young couple, Mr and Mrs Rooney. Ava and Avaelyn were just 6 years old, living happily with their parents in a cottage down a road surrounded by farmlands and marshes. Mr and Mrs Rooney were farmers and traders. They owned several farmlands within and without the cottage environment. This made their lives easier. Ava and Avaelyn sometimes assisted their parents with the farm work; other times,they stayed back home to play and run around the farmlands. Sometimes they visited the wetlands to pick small water creatures.
Then, a day came and they lost everything to a small mistake.
Avaelyn had lit a small fire at one corner of the cottage; one that they would use for their usual childhood play, but within few minutes,the fire spread out, extending beyond control. It caught the dry stacks they had gathered and that alone,served as fuel to the fire. Ava had gone in to bring their cans and bottles which they used as plates for the play but before she could get out,the fire had barricaded the doorway, making it impossible for her to leave. She remained inside, screaming and crying helplessly while Avaelyn stood at the other side weeping uncontrollably; she was helpless and confused as well. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and called out to her parents who were working on a nearby farm. Seeing the rising smoke, they ran towards the cottage and both went in to save little Ava. Ava was nowhere to be found. She had gone up to the cottage window. She was sweating profusely as she kept crying; she was loosing her breath,the heat and smoke was too much, she grew weaker with each passing minute. Mr and Mrs Rooney called out to Ava, until finally,they traced her upstairs. They found Ava weak and lying helplessly; she was now unconscious.
Mr Ronney took her in his arms and in an attempt to rush down the stairs,Mrs Rooney fell down, hitting her head on the sharp planks of the staircase. Mr Ronney made to help his wife but it was impossible; he had to save either Ava,or his wife. He chose his daughter,she was just 6.
Getting down the stairs,the door was already burnt down and there was no means of escape. Mr Ronney tried to manoeuver through the fire but that was more like a suicide mission.
Avaelyn had gone out to seek help from the neighbours nearby and they were trying their best to put out the fire. The fire grew so much that the down floor was almost consumed. Mr Ronney stood confused; he was left with no other option. He took Ava up the cottage,wrapped her with a wet blanket , and beckoned on the neighbours to catch her from the window. He was going to let his precious daughter down the window. The neighbours got hold of Ava, thankfully without her sustaining any external injuries.
Mr Ronney rushed back to resuscitate his wife. That was impossible, she was already bleeding so much from her head and the fire had spread rapidly. He tried his best but she wasn't responding. Mrs Rooney was dying and Mr Ronney was helpless. He was weak, tired, with hopeless already. He tried to walk back to the window and save himself but he couldn't. He tripped and fell continuously; he felt dizzy from the smoke. Alas! He resigned to weakness and laid on the floor as the whole cottage burnt down. He watched the fire grow very wild; he saw the ceilings and holdings get destroyed. All his hard work was falling apart. Mr Ronney closed his eyes as hot tears trickled down the sides of his face, he knew he was going to die and leave his precious little darlings to the harsh realities the world has to offer. He said silent prayers for them and finally, a large plank fell from the roof of the cottage and BOOM! He passed out.
Outside the burnt cottage,Ava laid on the ground,part of her face bruised by the heat from the fire thereby, leaving an ugly scar on her face. The neighbours tried to restore her consciousness, to no avail. Avaelyn kept crying bitterly and shouting "mummy, daddy, mummy daddy". Her tears flowed freely when she got no response.
Ava finally opened her eyes but shut them almost immediately and laid unconscious again. Few minutes later, the fire service arrived but it was already too late. The cottage had been burnt to a heap of ashes without even the slightest recognition of anything. The bodies of Mr and Mrs Rooney couldn't be detected as everything was beyond recognition, save the ashes flying around. It was a terrible and pitiable sight to behold.
Ava woke up to the sounds of beeping machines and low murmuring from nurses and patients in the ward. It was a large white room; her sight was blurry as she only saw forms, dressed in white and blue moving around the ward. Her twin sister, Avaelyn sat beside her, tear eyed and despondent. Mrs Emily was present as well with few other neighbours. Ava soon regained consciousness and immediately recognized the large room. She was in a hospital! The event of the previous day flashed through her mind again. Her head ached badly and she held it in pain.
Where is mummy and daddy? She finally asked.
Avaelyn was speechless, she was confused as well. She didn't respond to the question. The neighbours had told her that her parents had gone to heaven and was with God. They told her that she would see them soon enough and she had believed them. Mrs Emily had made sure that Avaelyn never slid into depression. Mrs Emily, a divorcee had stayed over with the girls at the hospital. She spoke kindly to them and held Ava hands.
"Your mummy and daddy are doing okay" Mrs Emily said to Ava to satisfy her curiosity.
She called on the attending nurses who checked Ava's vitals. Ava was alright, save the bruises from the burn, which had covered a part of her face. She was to spend few more days in the hospital for regular cleaning up of the wounds before she would be discharged.
Mrs Emily made sure the two girls were alright; she got few clothes for them and prepared good meals while Ava was at the hospital.
Avaelyn too made sure her sister always had her company despite the weird looks they got from other kids in the ward because of Ava's bruises. Ava was emotionally distabilized; she avoided the kids in the ward and kept to herself most of the time. It was more difficult for Avaelyn because,she wasn't left out, Ava avoided her as well.
Few days later, Ava was discharged. Mrs Emily took the girls to her home. She was divorced and had no kids. She provided their needs for the meantime and served as their guardian for sometime. When no family member came to claim them,she proposed to take them to an orphange. It was a difficult decision for her but she wasn't ready to take care of them for too long.
At Grace Haven, an orphanage in the neighbouring town, Ava and Avaelyn were welcomed by the agency and got to meet other kids. The kids loved Avaelyn but avoided Ava like a plague. Her bruises were scary and ugly. They mocked at her and called her all sort of names whenever they got the chance.
Ava was lonely at the orphanage; she always sat at one corner crying bitterly. Her daddy's little princess in emotional distress. Avaelyn tried to offer all the support she could, she stayed away from the other kids just to be with her sister and to make her feel less lonely but none of that was appreciated.
"Everything will be okay,Ava, I'm sorry I did this to you; it wasn't intentional" Avaelyn would say this occasionally to pacify Ava but her twin didn't want to hear any of that.
She would yell and curse at her sister: "Would your apologies clear my face? You caused all these, you lit the fire and got my face burnt, you killed mummy and daddy; now we have to live in this slum called an orphanage,we get to share everything with the other kids" Ava would retort, raging bitterly and leaving her sister in tears.