The Kid From The Hill
Benjamin’s pulling out all the stops now. Looks like he’s determined to find us.
Suddenly, Arissa had a thought. Why don’t I just hand them over myself?
Danna might have been apprehended, but it would take some time to determine whether she would be
put behind bars.
If Benjamin could somehow influence the court’s decision, Danna would face the consequences of her
crimes.
After all, the children are me. Danna couldn’t take them away from me.
Now that the woman had been exposed, Arissa felt it was a smart deal to return Gavin to Benjamin.
The bounty was one thing. Whether they take it or not was another.
Nevertheless, Arissa began to form plans in her mind. She was certain that Benjamin would not be able
to locate them easily.
After they were done with breakfast, Arissa took the children for a stroll.
The children noticed a clear stream up ahead and got excited. They rolled up their pants and went
there to catch fishes, shrimps, and even snails.
“Be careful!”
Arissa sat by the riverbank and watched them play. Fortunately, the stream was fairly shallow. Aside
from some slippery pebbles on the river bed, it was perfectly safe for the children to play in.
“Aren’t you coming down, Mommy?” Jasper shouted happily as he played with the snails he caught.
“I’ll come down when you’re tired!”
“Are you kidding? We won’t tire that easily!”
Jesse laughed aloud. “Mommy, I caught a shrimp! It’s so tiny!”
“Come down and play with us, Mommy!” Oliver called out to Arissa.
“Come help us catch some fish, Mommy! We haven’t gotten any luck with them!”
Zachary summoned his siblings to come over, but the fishes in the stream easily evaded capture.
“The water’s cool and refreshing, Mommy! Come take a dip!”
Unfortunately, Gavin stumbled and slipped as he waded through the stream. His clothes were soaking
wet.
Seeing her children having fun, Arissa could not resist joining in. She removed her shoes and rolled up
her pants before wading through the cold water to join them.
Eventually, all of them gave up fishing and started a water fight among themselves.
Not far away, a young boy spotted the family from his spot on a hill. He envied them.
“What are you looking at, Danny? We’ve got to go now. If we don’t leave soon, it’ll be too late for us to
earn some money.”
An older boy called out to the young boy, who was unkempt and rather shabby. Carrying a basket on
his back, he walked up the hill.
At the end of the narrow path was a mineshaft. They would dig for coal and sell them to make a living.
The boy, known as Danny, reluctantly looked away from the happy family by the stream and followed
his companions.
Arissa was still in a daze as she watched the young boy disappear from view. For some reason, her
heart skipped a beat.
“A boy was peeking at us just now, Mommy!”
Zachary was the first to spot the boy. He grew suspicious of him.
“Maybe he’s just curious about us!”
Arissa’s heart sank just thinking about that boy.
The kids living around here seem to have a tough life. Perhaps they have never experienced fun. They
probably wished they could do what we did just now.
“I think we’re almost done for the day. Let’s go home now!” Arissa called out to the children.
“Mommy, how are we going to bring all these snails home? Should we go get a bucket?”
Jasper had both his pants and sleeves rolled up really high. It looked like he was wearing short pants
and a tank top.
Arissa was amused by his outfit. “Why don’t you run along and get one?”
“But I’m tired, Mommy!” Jasper pouted.
“Come on, let’s just bring them home in our clothes. Save the hassle.”
The five children exchanged glances.
“We’re going to soil our clothes, Mommy!”
Jesse was hesitant to ruin her new clothes, as she had only worn them that day.
“You’ll have to change out of them when you get home anyway. They’ll be clean again after a wash.
Hurry up, it’s getting really hot!” Arissa urged them.
Gavin was the first to follow Arissa’s instructions. He rolled up the hem of his shirt and filled it up as
many snails as he could hold.
When the other children saw that, they followed suit and stuffed their clothes with the snails and wild
shrimps they had just caught.
“What about the fishes, Mommy?”
Zachary turned around and looked at her.
Arissa smiled. She then plucked some reeds from the riverbank and used them to skewer the fishes.
“You’re amazing, Mommy!” Jesse grinned from ear to ear.
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