Fern runs after he dads car her long brown hair falling around her face.

“Dad! Wait!” she hollers.

She knows he cannot her but it was worth a try. It was 1923 and the car was as loud as could be. All she knew is that her mother is infected and she will be gone for a while. When her dad left he said to not be afraid because he would be back soon. The house quivers, it is a stormy night and the houseboat does not do well with big waves. Yes, Fern, her 2 younger siblings, and her parents live on a Mississippi river shanty boat. They have a grand life and it has come crashing down.

Earlier that evening her mother said goodbye like it was her last. Fern asked her why she said it like that but she just responded with,

“You will be okay, dad will come home later and explain,” as she said as tears filled her emerald green eyes.

Fern dad carried her mother out of the room and to the dock where his car was waiting. Fern was so confused but her dad had put her in charge because she was the oldest and he trusted her to do the right thing. What Fern did not know was that it would be many years until she saw her father again.

Fern saw that her youngest sibling was about to run after the car but she caught his scrawny arm.

“It’s okay, Alfie, they’ll be back,” Fern assures him.

Zara, Ferns younger sister, runs down the doc to reassure that their mom and dad were gone. When she got back to the boat she was drenched in rain. The three siblings warm all warmed up with some hot with some hot cocoa. Alfie kept asking Fern when their parents would be back and she kept on answering that she was only ten and for all, she knew it would be a day or two and boy was she wrong.

As they went to bed that night all in the same room with their tree identical beds the storm had cleared up but the night was cold, Fern could not stop thinking about her mom. How was she? Was her mom thinking about her right now? Fern got out of bed because she knew she wasn’t going to sleep that night. She put on a long coat that when down to her knees. The coat was a deep red with wooden buttons it reminded her of Christmas which was only in a few weeks. Fern stood there all night with the cool Mississippi breeze chilling the back of her neck. She stood there all night until sunrise thinking about her mother and father.

In the morning Fern attempted to make eggs like she had seen her mother do many times but she gave up after the third attempt and toasted bread instead. The same thing would happen for three days after until someone came knocking on their door.

“Anyone home?” the voice yelled.

“Mom! Dad! They're finally home after four whole days!” Alfie screamed.

Fern had a feeling this wasn't them, but she didn’t want to hurt her little brother so she let him run to the door just to fling the door open to unfamiliar faces. They seemed to look confused at Archies the last outburst because he yelled so loud they could hear him through the wall.

“Hello, we are here representing the Mayberry school. The one that you go too? You three must be Alfie, Zara, And Fern Finley, right? Yes, well you haven't returned any letters so we came here to look for you. Are your parents home?” the three strangers peeked inside.

Zara and Fern already knew they didn’t like these people, they wore funny dresses with long poofy sleeves and tight around the waists.

“We are here because you haven't been showing up to school. We wanted to know what’s going on. Are your parents home?”

Fern and Zara looked at each other and decide they weren't going to say anything but Alfie didn’t get the message. He started from the beginning.

“You know when it started to storm four days ago?” Alfie started, “Well my mom, our mom, got very sick and dad had to take her away to a safe place where she is getting better but now they have been gone for four days and we have been living by ourselves ever since.”

I slap my forehead. The ladies turn around and begin to talk to each other. Once they seem to come to a conclusion they turn around and told The children that they were going to take all of them to their new home and they would love it there with so many other kids to play with. They led the three siblings into a car similar to their dads but not quite as loud. Little did Fern know that she was about to step into a house that was not as pleasing as these strangers make it sound.

As the three children arrived at the house to notice it isn’t a house at all but a small orphanage.

“But miss, we have a home and we are not orphans,” pleaded Zara, “please, can we go back. We only packed small bags.”

“No! Don’t you children get it? Your parents aren’t coming home.”

“Yes! They are!” The children all yell.

But even though they yell this to persuade the strangers they needed to persuade themselves

Were their parents really coming home?

How long will it be until they see them again?

“Now get out of this car and go meet your new friends”

The strangers waited but the children did not get out of the car.

“Fine” one of them said

There was a shimmer of hope when...

“Ahhhhh!” Alfie screamed for help.

“What happening?” Zara panicked

“They’ve got me!”

“Who!”

“I don’t know!”

Fern turned to see two men had Alfie by the arms and they were pulling him away, Fern ran for him but noticed Fern was suddenly being pulled out of the car too. Fern saw Zara running for her. But it was too late.

“Alfie!” Fern yelled, “come back!” I cried.

“We will see you again at the boat, Okay? When dad comes home. I promise”

The look in Alfie's eyes where hopeful she knew he would find a way to get there. Fern and Zara knew they would see Alfie again, sooner or later they would find a way to escape.

In the orphanage, there were lots of little girls there waiting for their parents to come home so they can get out of this horrid place.

They waited for days trying to get out then finally one boiling night a two weeks later after the two sisters lost Alfie the ladies were feeling kind enough to leave a window open. Fern and Zara were just about small enough to squeeze out of.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Zara asked

“Yes,” Fern said

“That’s what you said when we went outside to play and started running.”

“That was different.”

“Yea? What about when you asked if you could get an airplane stuck in a tree and ran.”

“That was different too, they knew we didn't have any paper so they were  already suspicious.” Fern said with patients, “They won’t see this coming.”

Fern and Zara crept out the window with the glimmering hope of seeing their brothers small round face one more. Event with the hope to at last find their father, to feel his long arms wrap around them ones more.

“What if we don’t find him, Fern?” Zara whispered

“We will, Zara. We will.”