Sebastian couldn't believe it. Another kid! In his corner of the neighborhood, there were no families with kids. Even just being a few blocks away from other kids felt like a wall, a vast distance between him and the others, one that even impacted his friendships in school. Well, his lack of friendships to be honest. He was forbidden from making the journey to their part of the neighborhood. His mother feared the handful of homeless people who wandered the neighborhood, seeing them less as people in need but roving predators in need of an easy meal. But standing on the porch next door was a girl, in overalls and a red shirt, dark hair and skinny arms.

Sebastian felt a little uncomfortable, gently pulling at his shirt so it didn't feel so tight against his stomach.

"Hi!" He called.

The girl turned to him. Then she looked to the side and behind her. She gave a small, half wave. Sebastian jumped from his porch and walked to the fence separating their yards. His house was blue with a white trim. Hers was peeling paint and faded wood, as it always had been. The Meeks place. Just worn down enough to inspire fear in kids instead of pity.

"I'm Sebastian," he said. He stopped at the fence, grabbing two of the fence posts tops, drumming his fingers on them to dispel his nervous energy. Maybe if he got to know her before she went to school, she would be his friend.

"I'm Marlene." She didn't move toward him, standing still on the front porch. She smiled, but it appeared more like a grimace.

"You live with Mr. Meeks? I didn't think he had kids."

"I'm his niece," Marlene said. She crossed her arms and again, glanced to either side of her, lingering her gaze on the window behind her.

"You staying here?" Sebastian said.

"Yes."

"Have you started school yet? Maybe you're in my class?"

"I have to go."

With that, Marlene walked briskly to the front door and almost leaped inside, the door slamming behind her, leaving Sebastian outside, alone with the sounds of crickets and grasshoppers. He wiped sweat from his forehead and went inside for a glass of water. He talked to a girl! Was it heat or nerves that sent him inside? It was hot outside, but in this corner of Oklahoma it was always hot outside. Your best summer days were in November.

He thought again of the girl. Marlene! Maybe he would see her at school.

Inside, he ran to his mother. She was standing on a plastic drop cloth, repainting the kitchen to mask the lemons she painstakingly painted on the walls the previous summer.

"There's a kid next door! A girl, she's my age!"

"At the Meeks place?" His mother asked. She sat down the paint roller. "I never knew he had any family. Certainly not kids. What's her name?"

"Marlene," Sebastian said.

"Is she 45?" His father asked, sitting at the kitchen table and not looking up from his phone.

"No?" Sebastian said.

"That's a 45-year-old's name."

"Instead of teasing our child you could grab a paint roller and help me?"

"Nah, I'm here for the emotional support."

She shook her head and cursed under her breath. Then she put a smile on her face and turned back to Sebastian.

"You'll have to go over there and say hello then, welcome her to the neighborhood. Just wait until I'm done here, so I can keep an eye on you."

"A dangerous place, these streets," Sebastian's father said.

* * *

Marlene shut the front door behind her and slid to the floor. Her heart raced. She fought tears and sucked in air, breathing out slowly to calm herself.

Someone saw her.

Someone talked to her. Would that be enough? Would people asked questions? Would they investigate? Mr. Meeks stood to her left, a sentry. At times he felt like a piece of furniture, an extension of the house. When he spoke, she jumped.

"Are you okay?" Mr. Meeks asked. The man was at least as old as her grandfather, a man she would never see again. She would never see any of them, would she? He wore the same dark cardigan over a white shirt, one stained with sweat. His body convulsed, as if often did. The real Meeks was in there, may he was fighting his way out? She thought their keeper should at least allow Mr. Meeks to change.

"Are you asking or is he?"

Mr. Meeks said nothing. His shaking subsided. His face relaxed. He was still again.

She went upstairs and remained in her room. She peeked out at the house next door, but didn't see the boy or his family. What was his name? Sebastian? Would they call in a wellness check? Should she have acted out? Marlene often tried to hide from the world. So many had helped them, and paid the price. Aside from Sebastian, she only encountered one other person. A man in oil-stained clothing and a long, scraggly beard, bearing a massive backpack on his shoulders. She shouted out to him that day. She sun was high so the creature slept. Mr. Meeks was beyond earshot. She told the man she was in danger. He stopped and looked up at her house, like he could sense the creature's presence.

"I don't think I can help you."

He said it without looking at her, then continued his walk, head down, overstuffed backpack on his back.

She knew then.

No one was coming to save her.

The sun sat. The dark overtook the twin. Outside, she heard the creature's howl. Did anyone else?

"I just have to wait," she whispered to herself. "The big sleep is soon."