Write a scene based off something that occurred in your life.

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A/N

All English in bold are German.
Sorry, I don't know the language AT ALL, so please forgive me if I misuse certain words. ^^;

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Mili took a last, longing look at the busy streets of San Francisco before walking into the airport, dragging her carrier behind her with one hand and clutching her passport with the other.

It seemed like just yesterday that she moved here from Germany —but it was actually five years ago— and already missed her cozy apartment at Taraval street situated in front of Ocean Beach.

Now, she was going back to the ruddy, dilapidated house she had grown up in to take care of her ill younger sister, Evony, and her small children whom she had never met in person.

She sighed as she boarded the plane. Knowing that there was no one else to take care of them after the train accident that took the lives of their parents and her sister's husband, Mili had half-willingly agreed to her sister's request in one of her few letters to come back to Germany.

How could she refuse when Evony was sick with Tuberculosis, and there were five young children still in need of motherly care?

No matter how much you want to go back to California, you can't, Mili. There are new responsibilities waiting for you, and whether you like it or not, you're going to fulfill them. Mili repeated this in her head until she fell asleep, drained from continually forcing selfish thoughts away.

~~

It had been two months since she arrived in Würzburg, and Mili was sure she was going to fall apart any second.

Waking up at five every morning to get ready to send the older children to school made sure that she didn't get more than four hours of sleep everyday. Every night, she had to stay up outside the room of a wide-awake Evony on her medications until she dozed off.

Her sister never liked to be alone for long, and Mili had no intentions on leaving her to suffer for herself. Although there was nothing much she could do, her poor baby sister seemed grateful just for the fact she had given up her dreams in California to come take care of them.

By the time she heard Evony's breathing even out, it varied from one to two am, and Mili was fast asleep before her head even hit the pillow. However, the loud clattering of a rusty alarm clock always disturbed her sweet moments of slumber too early, and never being a morning person, she was always cranky when preparing breakfast and lunch for the children to take.

Today was no exception as she cut up loaves of bread and spread margarine on them, while the sleepy kids kept dropping their heads on the table. She placed the Roggenmischbrot* in front of them with a grunt, indicating they wake up already and eat before she got crankier.

During the two months, Mili could tell Evony's children were kind at heart, like their mother —though they were like most kids, playful and naughty at times. She immediately took them all under her wing when she saw how hungry they were for love and attention.

At first, it was hard for the eldest two, Alhwin and Karlin, to warm up to her. Though they were still the tender age of 14 and 13, poverty and hardships in their childhood had bereft them of their youthful vigor and replaced it with hastened maturity.

However, over time, it felt like they were slowly opening their hearts bit by bit, and Mili made sure to handle gently the fragile trust they had in her as it increased by the day.

The twins, Adelyte and Jansen, were easier to get closer to. True to the meaning of her name, Adelyte made everyone laugh with her queer antics and always could count on the girl to cheer up the house after a dreary day.

Jansen was the opposite of his sister, quiet and reserved. Mili frequently was frustrated with him because the young knabe* never said his opinion on anything, and it nearly drove her crazy. But, as different as these two personalities were, the twins were practically inseparable.

They reminded her of herself and Evony in their childhood.

Last, but certainly not the least, was Mitzi. The surprisingly level-headed baby was the pet of the family, able to win over any heart with her large puppy eyes and long eyelashes.

However, she was a cunning little thing, fully knowing she was adored by everyone and sometimes taking that to her advantage. That characteristic had earned her the nickname 'Schuft'* by her aunt the first week.

Despite the faults, she came to love every single member of her dysfunctional family. And Mili was surprised —and on another hand, relieved— because she had never been one to like children.

"Tantchen!* I hungry!" bellowed Mitzi from her crib.

"Just a minute!" Mili yelled back, her hand continuously moving back and forth across the counter, cooking lunches. How can a two-year-old wake up this early anyway?

"I said I hungry!"

A rattle of wood followed the outburst and before she could break her crib, Karlin stood up from the table and walked away with a "I'll get her, Tante*."

When she came back, a grumpy Mitzi was in her arms, glaring at her Tantchen from behind her sister's dark hair. Mili took no mind to the spoiled baby as she cleaned up the emptied plates on the table.

"Leave Mitzi here and go get ready for school now," she addressed Karlin, and her docile niece complied by setting her sister down in a seat and following the other kids to their respective rooms.

Being careful not to get angry at the child sitting with her plump arms crossed and facing away from her, she started out soothingly while washing the dirty dishes, "My little Schuft, what do you want for Frühstück*? Hm?"

Mitzi didn't answer but pouted all the more.

Mili didn't bother to continue asking and continued to scrub the plates clean. She knew her niece would start talking sooner or later when she realized her silent treatment wasn't working.

"Me want Leberwurst*!" The pouting child shouted a minute later.

Her aunt shuddered at the word; she never did like that meat, even when she was young, and placed a plate with the same thing she gave to the others in front of Mitzi. "Sorry, sweety, this is all we have. Tantchen will make sure to buy Leberwurst today."

She hoped the picky girl wouldn't start having a tantrum.

To her relief, the older children came out of their rooms and managed to distract the little Schuft for a moment.

Mili handed Alhwin and Karlin their lunches of boiled beans and the last of the Bratwurst. They, as young as they were, went straight to work after school —Alhwin to light jobs at the railroad and Karlin to a seamstress shop. Adelyte and Jansen came home around 1pm, so they had no need to take lunches, albeit they always had big appetites when they returned.

She kissed each of them on the head as they filed out the door, the oldest two each taking their younger siblings in hand as they walked down the dirty alleyway in the early morning light. Mili whispered a quick prayer for their safety, a routine she picked up since she came, because she remembered that the poor parts of the city was known for dangerous gangs.

Locking the door behind her, she was greeted with the sight of Mitzi licking the slippery margarine off her fingers, the plate empty and a mischievous grin on her plump face.

Ü

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Roggenmischbrot - rye-wheat bread

Knabe - boy

Schuft - rascal, scamp

Tantchen - auntie

Tante - aunt

Frühstück - breakfast

Leberwurst - liver sausage

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A/N

Ok, I'll admit I've never been to Germany...so this isn't exactly something that occurred in my life, but! I have moved from a country to another, only to move back again! So it IS something that happened in my life~ sort of...

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