"It's getting towards morning Harry, let's try and find a nearby village," I whispered once Harry had stopped crying and he simply nodded, remaining silent which I understood completely. He was remembering it all, finally coming to terms with his past.

We began to traipse through the field we were in as the morning sun rose above us, warming our cold bodies. The ground beneath my feet was hard and I could feel the soles of my thin shoes being worn away but I decided to focus on finding a place to stay. Preferably a hostel or somewhere that would take us in for free seeing as we both had no money whatsoever.

After walking for an hour, we found a small village that didn't even have a sign to announce its presence. There were a few people outside; a lady was carrying a shopping bag and there was a man carrying a newspaper. This was a place where people went to retire, away from the chaos of the city life.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to channel my inner confident self. I had to do this for Harry and not only myself. It was strange to make contact with the concrete pavement again after walking on mud and grass for the past few days but I was happy to be back in civilisation again.

Noticing a local newsagent, I decided that asking a local would save us a lot of time. I didn't really want to spend the whole day scouring this rural part of Cornwall for a homeless shelter.

As I opened the door, a bell went off and the few people that were inside the small shop all turned to face us. Harry hadn't spoken to me yet, I could tell that he was still plagued by the past. Putting on my most convincing smile, I walked up to the counter where a slightly round old man stood, staring at me through his circular spectacles.

"Sorry to bother you, but we were wondering if there was any free accommodation around here?" He gave me a quizzical and judging look which made any confidence I had disappear, "You know like a homeless shelter."

I felt ashamed to even be asking the man, I felt ashamed to admit that I was indeed homeless. I knew that he was judging me, I could see it in his small eyes.

"Got nothing like that round here, sorry. We don't have any homeless lot. Maybe find a bigger city, not some small village," his tone was crude and curt, not even feeling an ounce of sympathy for us.

I was feeling desperate, we needed a place to stay that wasn't outside. We couldn't spend our whole time moving from field to field, eating the bare minimum and squatting in people's houses. We needed somewhere permanent- or at least semi-permanent.

"Is there anyone here that will take us in- even for a night? Anyone that you think would help us?" I knew that the man was becoming impatient but I was beyond caring, all I cared about was helping Harry and myself.

"No, I've already told you. Now scram if you're not going to buy anything," he pointed at the door and I slowly turned around, trying to stop the tears spilling out my eyes. I had tried my best but my best still wasn't enough.

Walking out, I held Harry's hand, trying my best to reassure both of us. I wiped away the small tears that had escaped from my eyes because I knew that if I started crying I wouldn't be able to stop.

"Wait!" I heard a voice call as we walked down the street and I stopped to see an old lady walking out of the newsagent (that we had just been in) waving at us.

She made it to us and had to bend over for a second while she caught her breath. I had no idea why this woman was speaking to us but I stood politely and waited until she spoke again.

"I heard you needed a free place to stay. Normally I don't do things like this but I can tell you really need some help. I've got a spare room in my house and you can both stay in it if you help me out," I couldn't believe what I was hearing- was this woman an angel in disguise?

"What would we help you with?" I asked, trying to hide my excitement and joy.

"Carrying my shopping bags, keeping me company, writing letters for me since my hands are too shaky to do that any more. Cooking for me- I'm getting too old to do this stuff by myself," she smiled at me and her eyes crinkled up. She seemed like a kind, old woman who was desperate for some company.

"I cannot thank you enough," I gasped before hugging the woman in front of me and Harry kissed her cheek. For once, things seemed to be going our way.

***

"I never mentioned my name, I'm Judy," the old lady was showing me around her modest, two bedroom house that was located near the seafront. It had floral wallpaper and their were pictures of children, who I assumed to be her grandchildren, on every table.

"I'm Matilda and this is Harry," I said and gave her a smile, feeling slightly awkward but extremely grateful. I still couldn't believe that I had a house to stay in, that this stranger had helped us.

"I'm so lonely in this house by myself, it would be stupid to pass up any company. And you're both cheaper than hiring someone to look after me," she laughed to herself before showing us our room.

There was a big double bed in the centre of the room and two bedside tables next to it. A large wardrobe stood proudly by a wall and there were paintings hung everywhere.

"There are some clothes from my children when they were your age still in the wardrobe I think. They won't mind if you wear them, they never come here anyway," there was a slight somber tone in the lady's voice as she spoke and I could tell that no one had visited her in a long time.

After leaving us to get settled, I looked in all the drawers to find a notebook and a copy of Pride and Prejudice which I had studied at school only a year before. Harry was still remaining silent, and I had to respect that fact that he wanted space for the time being, but I really wanted to talk to him. I needed a comforter as well.

"Soup is ready!" Judy called from downstairs and my stomach instinctively growled at the prospect of food. It felt like years since I had last eaten something. Things were finally going right.

So they have somewhere to stay! Why has Harry been so silent for so long- is there something else to his story?

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