Ember by Kristen Callihan

i n d i n g h i m hu dd l ed on t he fl oo r i n t he f am il y pa rl o r when she ’ d f o ll owed t he sound of c r y i ng one co l d n i gh t . The l as t of t he ir va l uab l e possess i ons had been so l d, and t he house was an emp t y she ll . M ir anda had kne lt beside h i m t hen, and he ’ d cu rl ed up aga i ns t he r as if he was t he babe and she t he pa r en t .
    “ I c a nnot los e this hous e, M ir a nd a. I t wa s th e dr eam th a t pull e d me out of th e gutt e r . I c a nnot go b a ck th e r e. ”
    Ha d sh e th e a bility to e xpir e on th e spot , sh e wou l d h a v e don e so th e n . “ I t w ill be a ll right , ” sh e ’d said. Lies. N o on e wou l d b a ck hi m now . He wa s don e for as a me rch a nt .
    H i s f r a i l h a n d h ad c l u t c h ed h er s l ee v e. “ Y ou h a v e t o h e l p m e, D a u g h t e r . Y ou a r e t h e o n l y o n e l e ft . T h e l o y a l t y of o t h e r s has sunk t o t he l eve l of p l a tit udes on t he li ps of cowa r ds. ” He had l ooked at he r t hen, spea r ed he r hea rt w it h h i s r ed— r i mm ed e y e s . “ B u t n ot y o u , M i r a n da R o s e. Y ou w i l l s t ay a n d he l p me, won ’t you? ”
    E v e ryon e e ls e h a d l e ft . S h e h a d st a y e d b e c a us e it wa s h e r f a u l t . He r voic e cr a ck e d wh e n sh e spok e. “ Anyth i ng . I ’ll do any t h i ng. ”
    And she s till wou l d.
     
    The ir fi gh t con ti nued t o p l uck at M ir anda ’ s ne r ves an
     
    hour l a t e r as sh e stroll e d a long at a d e corous p a c e, h e r skirts sw a ying e v e r so s li ght l y , h e r p a r a sol — nick e d fro m a distr a ct e d l a dy on this m orning’s o m nibus rid e— up a nd open to th e p a l e sunlight .
    D on ’ t co me ho me em pty - h a nd e d . Ce rt a inly not , Fa th e r . He r f a c e burn e d , a nd y e t sh e k e pt h e r w a lk st ea dy as sh e turn e d onto a busi e r a v e nu e. He r e, p e opl e wa lk e d at a rush e d p a c e : cl e rks on th e ir wa y ho me, shopp e rs s ea rching for b a rg a ins , a nd p e ddl e rs w a nting to ma k e a shilling . A group of urch i ns ma d e a g ame of tossing rubbish at th e bo a rd ma n on th e corn e r , t a king a dv a nt a g e of th e f a ct th a t h e couldn’t fight b a ck b e c a us e of th e h ea vy a dv e rtising bo a rds h e wor e ov e r his should e rs . S pl a tt e rs of so me thing d a rk a nd foul dott e d th e b a ck bo a rd , turn i ng , “ He nry K iss me g a st’s Em poriu m for th e D istinguish e d Ge ntl eme n ” into , “ He— y Kiss me–a s – s ——D istinguish e d Ge nt l eme n . ” M ir a nd a ’s lips twitch e d; th e littl e d e vils h a d quit e th e a i m.
    She t ook t he oppo rt un it y t o lift a f ew pocke t s fr om t he men who s l owed t o l augh at t he s i gh t . La t e r , she ’ d come back and g i ve t he poor boa r dman a bob as a b it of a r ewa r d f o r hav i ng t o endu r e such da il y t o rt u r e.
    Despite th e w a r m th in th e a ir , sh e f e lt cold as sh e l e ft th e sc e n e. P rickl e s of un ea s e d a nc e d a long h e r spin e. M ir a nd a st ee l e d h e rs e lf not to turn a round . I nst ea d , sh e wov e deeper into th e cro w d , h e r p a c e incr ea sing p a st d e coru m. But sh e could not sh a k e th e f ee ling of b e ing w a tch e d , follow e d .
    A quick peek confir me d th e sudd e n sid e st e p of a ma n , his for m no m or e th a n on e silhou e tt e am ongst ma ny on th e cro w d e d sid ewa lk . S h e turn e d a w a y .
    Swea t trickl e d do w n h e r n e ck to cr ee p und e r h e r coll a r . W ho wa s it? I nst i nct told h e r it wa s a str a ng e r , so me on e who mea nt h e r h a r m. S h e ’d been living this uns a vory lif e long e nough to a cquir e a h ea rty r e sp e ct for h e r instincts .
     
    Faces b e c ame a b l ur , th e c a cophony of London n ea r d ea f e ning wh e n paired w ith th e b ea ting of h e r h ea rt . He wa s h e rding h e r , m