Grady slowly peeked over the edge of his bed. Gray morning light filled the dimly lit room, and the sounds of stirring children met his ears. He rolled over, wincing as he pushed the covers off and swung his feet to the floor. He yawned. Glancing over the room, he observed everybody was still in their beds. He tiptoed through the room, careful not to disturb any of his roommates.

Grady crept into the kitchen and snitched two rolls, slipping one into each pocket. 

As he made his way towards the front of the orphanage, he stopped as a worn sheet of paper caught his eye. Sitting on the front desk, the documents must have been left out from the night before. At the bottom of the page, “Grady Fennons” was written in faded letters. 

Glancing towards the doorway, he quietly stepped up to the desk and picked up the paper. It included his date of birth, parents' names, and many more official scribblings. Grady swallowed as he realized it was his papers— for adoption. 

With a sweaty hand, he thumbed through the pages until he found an identical document for his sister Violet. His eyes widened. Who had wanted these papers? Someone— he put down the pages— someone was going to adopt them?

Grady suddenly felt nauseous as he ran out the door, pausing to shut it carefully behind him. He almost lost his balance as his foot snagged on a low-hanging vine. Shaking his head at his carelessness, he slowed his pace as he made his way around the side of the orphanage. Grady halted at the back wall, and then began counting evenly placed steps as he continued walking. 

Reaching up, he brushed aside some ivy crawling down the rough walls. Behind it stood a skinny ladder, crudely twisted together from sticks and twine. It was tiny but sturdy, and it easily held Grady as he crawled up to the red terracotta roof. 

Waiting at the top was a petite girl with long black hair and brown eyes. “Hi Violet,” he smiled at his younger sister, not yet ten years old. He drew a roll from his pocket and offered it to her, finding a seat in the small space next to her. 

A rooster crowed in the distance as the siblings ate their rolls together.

“We have to leave.” Grady began abruptly.

Violet swallowed the last of her roll and stared out across the dew-covered fields. “Leave?”

“I found some papers on the desk this morning— with our names on them.”

Her eyes widened.

“Vi, someone is going to adopt us. I don’t know how long we have. And if they do—”

“We can’t find our brother.” she finished.

Grady nodded. “I’m not just gonna give up on him.”

“Adopted,” Violet whispered, still shaken by the thought. “I mean, it’s nice to be wanted and all, but our brother wants us too. He will always be our real family.”

Grady folded his hands. “Which is why we have to leave before we are adopted.”

“I just,” Violet paused, “I just don’t understand why Mother Rose wouldn’t let us visit him. She knows where he lives after all, right?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t after all…”

“Well it doesn’t matter now.” Violet decided. “When do we leave?”

“How about tonight?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Violet gulped as Mother Rose stepped beside her bed. “Goodnight dearie,” the lady whispered, fingering the girl’s long hair.

“Goodnight,” Violet managed, her brow creasing as the woman’s feet shifted closer towards the bed. Her knuckles whitened as she tried to slip the sheet further down. She bit her lip as the mother lingered, seeming to have something to say. Mother Rose just shook her head and turned towards the next bed. Violet let out a sigh. 

The lady was out of the room in ten minutes. 

Violet slipped onto the floor and grabbed two bundles from under the bed, each wrapped in a white sheet. Tiptoeing out of the room, she was careful to close the wooden door without a sound.

She cast a glance over the desk as she passed through the front room. The papers lay on the table, just as Grady had said. She swallowed and paused at the front door. If they couldn’t find him, if they were caught… well, it was a risk worth taking.

Grady was waiting outside. Violet handed him a bundle wordlessly. He nodded and they began around the side of the orphanage. They took care to be extra quiet when passing by Mother Rose’s room. The glow of a candle flickered in the windowsill, and the smell of broth drifted out into the chilly night.

It was rumored amongst the orphans that Mother Rose had a child of her own, that no one had ever seen because they were sent away to a rich school. Grady and Violet both agreed that was nonsense— for one, only childless women run orphanages, and for two, if she had a child they would be at the orphanage with her instead of away at the schools. Violet had once wondered where the child would sleep, if there was one.

A small sound was heard at the window and the children instantly froze, leaning into the shadows on the wall. Grady’s heartbeat quickened. It was silent but for their heavy breathing in the night air.

Two minutes passed, and the children crept back out into the light, moving painstakingly slow. A net suddenly flew out of the window, pulling Grady and Violet to the ground. It tangled around them, and the bundles were dropped. They were surrounded by two pairs of arms, and hauled into a room.

There was loud whispering, and Grady caught sight of the cook pointing a finger at them. The other figure’s back was turned. They seemed to be arguing, and then something crashed into his head. It went pitch black.

It was dark. Grady’s head swam and his eyes felt heavy. He sat up, feeling the ground under him move. He was on a bed. Grady’s eyes slowly began to adjust and he surveyed the room around him. His sister Violet lay on another bed next to his. The mattress felt hard and lumpy and Grady wrinkled his nose at the odd smell in the room.

The bed creaked as Grady got up and felt his way to the wooden door. He tried it gently, then hard at first, but the handle only rattled in place. They were locked in. As far as he could tell, there was no window in the room. He shook his head. So they had been caught. A nauseous feeling grew in his stomach as he wondered what the orphanage would do to them.

It must have been hours but felt like ages until the door opened. Grady looked up to face— he gulped— Mother Rose. She didn’t have the same smile on her face as before.

She folded her arms and let the silence hang before speaking. “Grady Fennons and Violet Fennons,” Violet turned over in bed, waking up.

Mother Rose stepped aside as a man appeared in the doorway behind her. He had a neatly trimmed beard and a black suit so clean it was almost shiny. His eyes were narrow and his lips pinched tightly together. Mother Rose waved a hand at him. “Children, Mr. Laurier is here to adopt you. You will leave within the hour.”

Grady’s face twisted in horror. Surely not— this man. His eyes darted to the doorway as he began calculating the best moment to run for it. He tried to catch Violet’s attention subtly, but she was staring at the stranger like he was a bowl of her least favorite soup. 

The man smiled and tried to send them a reassuring look. Grady didn’t buy it. He and Violet had to get out of there before it was too late.

“Come along, children,” Mother Rose snapped her fingers.

“Mother… but… I thought… you would take us to our brother… why…”

She frowned. “Why, child? Why? For far too long, this orphanage has raised you children in ignorance. Child after child passes through in poverty, unable to learn any valuable lessons. I’ve seen too much of it. My children are my only pride in life. I won’t stand to watch them suffer as you have. I need this money,” she motioned to a small sack in the man’s thin hands, “if my sons are to be any better off in life than you.” Rose pointed a shaking finger at Grady. “You should be grateful, boy, for another chance at life. This man can provide you with more than you think. The papers have already been signed.”

She has multiple children? Grady was speechless. A sudden anger began to rise within him. So Mother Rose had been running this orphanage in “poverty”, and all the while sending her children off to school to have a better chance at life than them? What a traitor.

The woman turned to leave, but was shoved against the wall. Grady flew out of the room at top speed, Violet behind him. Things were not going to end this way. 

But then things did. Grady’s feet were still in motion as Mr. Laurier picked him up. “Let me GO!” Grady almost screamed. Violet turned to face the tall man.

“Put my brother down!”

“Violet, don’t you recognize me?”

Grady paused. The man did have a strangely familiar look about him. Take away the beard and shrink a couple years and— his jaw dropped. Barrett Fennons?

He unexpectedly wanted to cry, but didn’t know why. “You— you’re Barrett?”

The man set him down. “Hi, little brother.”

They stared at each other, each hardly believing how much the other had grown.

“YOU!” A voice came from behind. Mother Rose’s face was scarlet. “You deceived me, Laurier,” she almost spat the name.

Grady frowned. “You didn’t tell her you were our brother? You wouldn’t have had to pay any money.”

Barrett nodded toward Rose. “She would have hidden you. I might have never seen you again had I told her.”

“But…” Grady’s brows wrinkled. This was all so confusing.

Barrett walked over to the woman. “You may keep the money, ma’am. I wish you and your children well.”

“I— I— I,” Mother Rose stammered.

Barrett turned to Grady and Violet. “Well, she said it herself. The papers are signed. You can come live with me now.” 

Grady pulled Violet aside. “Well?”

She frowned. “He’s— he’s not really what I expected, you know,”

Grady nodded. “Yeah.”

“I think,” Violet searched for the right words, “I think he never would have been. People aren’t ever exactly what you would choose, because perfect people don’t exist.”

“I guess, I just— I don’t know. It’s kinda weird, him being so different and all.”

She smiled. “Maybe he thinks the same thing about us.”

He laughed. “You really think so?”

“Sure. You’ve become quite a strange brother, Grady Fennons.”

“Is that so?” he chuckled, as they turned to follow their brother, ready for a new adventure.