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Even from over here I can tell they belong to a different universe. One where children don’t wonder where their next meal will come from. One where no one has to run alone through a snowstorm just to stay alive.

I really should keep walking.

People like them don’t exist in my world and kids like me sure as hell don’t belong in theirs.

But then I see her.

White hair.

Sparkling silver shoes.

Honey-colored eyes.

Pretty...

God.

I can’t look away.

And all of a sudden everything else disappears.

The cold.

The hunger.

The pain.

The memories.

The loneliness.

All gone.

The world blurs until there’s nothing left but her.

She stands a few feet away, watching me with curious eyes. Not with pity. Not with fear. She only looks…curious.

As if she’s been waiting for me to show up.

I have the strangest feeling I’ve been waiting for her too.

Weird.

Really fucking weird.

I watch her the same way I’ve been watching the moon only minutes earlier. Completely mesmerized.

The strange girl steps away from her family without a hint of hesitation and starts walking toward me.

One step.

Then another.

And with every step she takes…the cold loosens its grip on my bones.

How the fuck is she doing that?

Why is she looking at me like I’m not something people cross the street to avoid?