The Oak

[Kid Blink]

((New day, for Wendy))

After ditching Wendy's chaperon at Stu's, Blink decided they should head for Pelham Bay Park--near enough that they wouldn't be too put out to get there, and large enough that Mistress Ada might not be able to find them so easily while they plotted what they would do today.

One of Blink's favorite features of this park was a gigantic oak tree, a bajillion years old and perfect for climbing. There were good climbing trees in Central Park, of course, but none as tall as this one. He'd liked coming here when he was younger and climbing to the very top, where he could see the entire park. It made him feel important, like he was King of the World or something.

'Course, he'd had to stop coming here so often when he got older. Wasn't his borough to be king of, even if it was make-believe.

He led Wendy to his favorite tree, kicked a mushroom aside and took off his jacket, laying it down in the dirt to give Wendy a less-muddy place to sit.

"So," he started. "Kansas, you said? Never been there. Never been much of anywhere, really. What's it like?"

[wendy]

Wendy smiled when she realized what Kid Blink had done for her, how thoughtful of him to set down his jacket so she didn't have to sit in mud, even if she wasn't the kind of girl to care if she got dirty, there was an adventurous spirit still inside of her, even if she was taught now to behave like a young lady. She shook her head, yeah right. She grinned at him though, closing her eyes listening to the birds chirp, the breeze rustle the leaves in the trees, and childrens' shout, and eventually the wonderful sound of Kid Blink's voice.

"So, Kansas, you said? Never been there. Never been much of anywhere, really. What's it like?"

"Yeah Kansas. Oh it was wonderful, fields to run and tumble through, horses to ride, flowers to pick, chores to do. It was big and colorful and green. We had a small farmhouse, I can still remember it, clean white with green shudders, and a porch to sit on in the afternoons. Pa would play his harmonica, Ma would sing, and you'll get a kick out of this, guess who always smoked Grandpa's pipe, not grandpa, but Grandma!"

She laughed, her curls shaking and her blue eyes lighting up. she reached out to touch the bark of the large tree. "I had three brothers, no sisters, but I didn't mind. I loved going swimming with them, or playing ball, or racing them through the fields or I would sit in the loft and read and read and read, or help my Ma clean and cook in the house. It's nice when you have a job to do, when you're not served on, makes you feel more important. What about you Blink, were you born a city boy?" She asked her second question a little more softly, "What happened to your family?"

[Kid Blink]

Blink grinned to himself as Wendy rattled on about her home and her family. Goodness, but this girl could talk! Definitely not like most of the other classy ladies Blink had met in his day. The change was refreshing, though. It was kind of nice to hear someone speak of their family with fondness; the lodging house was home to a lot of runaways and orphans, kids who usually spoke ill of their family if they had one to speak of at all. Blink liked to think that maybe "family" meant something other than "people who birthed you," who more often than not would start getting a little too friendly with the bottle, and who even more often than that would resort to settling arguments with his fists.

Then she turned the tables on him.

"What about you Blink, were you born a city boy? What happened to your family?"

He thought a moment before answering, "I can't really remember. I been a newsie ever since I was big enough to carry a stack of papes. I had parents, I'm pretty sure. I think I can remember them. A little. Maybe. I think she had ginger-blonde hair, sorta like mine--when it's not filthy, I mean--and freckles." He broke off for a moment, thinking hard. He had a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, like there was a memory buried there, trying to resurface. "Yeah," he said, coming back to himself, "that's all I got. Just a woman with hair like mine and freckles, who might'a just been a dream." He scrubbed at his face with his hands, smoothing his brows and wiping away the sweat that liked to collect just under his eye patch. "The 'Hattan kids, they're my family now."