The Face of Death

away two months ago. Karen figured she was probably heading down the same path as her whore mother.

'It'll be the usual routine. You need to get her in school, make sure her shots are up to date, and so on.'

'We know.'

Karen nodded in approval. 'Then I'm going to leave her with you. I brought her bag, she has plenty of clothes and underwear and shoes, so you won't have to worry about that.'

'Sounds good.'

Karen stood up, shook Rebecca's hand, and headed toward the front door. Sarah went to follow her.

'You're staying here, kid.' She turned to Rebecca. 'I'll be in touch.'

And then she was gone.

'Let me show you where your room is, honey,' Rebecca said. Sarah followed the woman in a daze.

What was happening? Why was she staying here? And where was Doreen? What had they done with her puppyhead?

'Here it is.'

Sarah looked through the door into the room. It was small, about ten feet by ten feet. There was a single dresser and two small beds. The walls were bare.

'Why are there two beds?' she asked.

'You're sharing the room with Theresa.' Rebecca pointed toward the dresser. 'You can put your clothes in the bottom drawer. Why don't you go ahead and unpack your stuff, and then come meet me in the kitchen?'

Sarah had managed to cram all of her clothes into the bottom drawer of the small dresser. She'd arranged her shoes under her bed. As she'd unpacked, she'd caught a whiff of a familiar scent, the smell of the fabric softener her mother used. It had caught her by surprise, a punch in the stomach. She'd had to bury her face in a shirt to cover up her crying.

Her tears had subsided by the time she'd finished emptying out the small bag Karen had left. She sat down on the edge of her bed, filled with bewilderment and a dull ache.

Why am I here? Why can't I sleep in my own room?

She didn't understand any of this.

Maybe the Rebecca lady knew.

'There you are,' Rebecca said as Sarah showed up in the kitchen. 'Did you get all your stuff packed away?'

'Yes.'

'Come have a seat at the table. I made you a bologna sandwich, and I got you some milk--you do like milk, right? You're not lactose intolerant or anything?'

'I like milk.' Sarah sat down in the chair and picked up the sandwich. She was hungry. 'Thank you,' she said to Rebecca.

'No problem, sweetie.'

Rebecca sat down at the other end of the table and lit up a cigarette. She smoked and watched Sarah as the little girl ate. Sad and pale and small. That's too bad. But everybody learns the same thing sooner or later: It's a tough old world.

'I'm going to explain some of the rules of the house to you, Sarah. Things you need to know while you're living here with us, okay?'

'Okay.'

'First of all, we're not here to entertain you, understand? We're here to give you a roof over your head, to feed and clothe you, make sure you get to school and all of that--but you're going to have to keep yourself occupied. Dennis and I have our own lives, and our own things to do. We don't have time to be your playmates. Understand?'

Sarah nodded.

'Okay. Next thing, you'll have chores around the house. Get them done and you won't get in trouble. Don't get them done and you will. Bedtime is at ten. No exceptions. That means lights out and under the covers. The last rule is simple, but it's important: Don't talk back. Do what we say. We're the grown-ups, and we know what's best. We're giving you a place to live and we expect to be treated with respect. Understand?'

Another nod.

'Good. Do you have any questions for me?'

Sarah looked down at her plate. 'Why am I living here? Why can't I go back home?'

Rebecca frowned, puzzled.

'Because your mom and dad are dead, honey, and there's no one else that wants you. That's what Dennis and I do. We take in kids that don't have anywhere else to go. Didn't Karen explain that to you?'

Sarah shook her head, still staring at her plate. She looked numb.

'Thank you very much for the sandwich,' she said, her voice small.

'Can I go to my room now?'

'Go ahead, honey,' Rebecca said, stubbing out her cigarette and lighting another. 'You new ones usually cry for the first few days, and that's okay. But you'll need to learn to toughen up fast. Life goes on, you know?'

Sarah stared at Rebecca for a moment, taking this in. The little girl's face crumpled and she fled the table.

Rebecca watched her go. The blonde took a long drag on her cigarette. Pretty girl. It's a shame what happened to her.

Rebecca waved her hand in dismissal, though she was alone. Her eyes were angry and miserable and surrounded by too much mascara. Well, that's too bad. It's a tough old world.

Sarah lay on her strange new bed in her strange new house and curled into herself. Tried to make herself small. To make herself (Go away)

Because maybe if she could

Go away

She'd reappear back at home, with Mommy and Daddy. Maybe--

and this idea perked her up, filled her with hope--this was all just a long, bad dream. Maybe she'd gone to sleep on the night before her birthday and never really woken up.

Her brow furrowed in thought. If that was true, then all she needed to do was go to sleep in her dream.

'Yes!' she whispered to herself.

That was it! She'd just go to sleep here (in her dream), and then she'd wake up in the real world. Buster would be there, snuggled up next to her, and her mother's painting would be there, hanging on the wall at the foot of her bed. It would be morning. She'd get up and go out and Daddy would tease her about not having any presents or cake, but there would be presents and cake . . . Sarah hugged herself in her excitement. This had to be the solution to--she looked around--all this.

Just close your eyes and go to sleep, and when you wake up, everything will be happy again. Because she was exhausted and only six, Sarah fell asleep without any effort at all.

26

'WAKE UP.'

Sarah stirred. Someone was shaking her. Someone with a soft female voice.

'Hey, wake up, little girl.'

Sarah's first thought was: It worked! This was Mommy, telling her to get up on her birthday!

'I had a bad dream, Mommy,' she murmured.

A pause.

'I'm not your mommy, little girl. Come on, wake up. It's almost time for dinner.'

Sarah opened her eyes in surprise. It took a moment for her to focus on the girl speaking to her. The girl had