Teddy opened his eyes slowly. They were heavy and he felt slightly dizzy. As he adjusted, he heard the noise of people talking further away and the smell of old crisp paint filled the air. He realised he was on a thick soft blanket near a blazing fire. The flames danced in the fireplace which wasn't very big. He looked around. He saw a small, ragged couch was facing him and beside it, a bit further away, was a door. On the other side of the couch, there was another room, with the door open and light streamed through it. Teddy got up shakily and walked behind the small couch, there was a small, plastic table and a chair, two stools and a garden foldable chair were placed around it. He walked into the other lit room. The room was the kitchen and a bedroom. On one side, there was a stove and a counter with a microwave at the side. A small fridge was nestled between the counter and wall and a few shelves were built on the wall. On the other side of the room, there was a carpet on the floor leading to a mattress with a big blanket and some pillows on it. There was a leather box beside it and a built in cupboard was next to the mattress. There were two doors in this room. Teddy squirmed past one door and found himself in the bathroom. It was tiny, he squirmed out and approached the other door. The sound of people talking came from there. Teddy pushed the door open with his noise and entered a small room, maybe twice as large as Ben's room in the Kennedys house. On either side of the room was a small mattress for a single person. A few lamps lit up the room and an old carpet covered the floor. There were a few plastic boxes lined up near the wall and it smelt stale. Sausage man was sitting on one mattress and talking softly to a woman, he had an arm wrapped around a little boy, about Ben's age and the woman sat next to another boy, older. There was a baby, wrapped in blankets on sausage man's lap.
"Abena. It needs a home." sausage man urged.
"Khali. It's a dog. We are going to have to take care of it. We can barely take care of the kids right now." said the woman sadly, whose name seemed to be Abena.
"Please Ma. We'll do all the chores for a year." begged the older boy.
"Jo!" snapped Abena crossly but kindly, "This is between me and your father. You promised us you wouldn't talk if we allowed you to listen to us."
"Yes Ma." Jojo said sadly.
"Go get us a drink, and you can check on the dog." said Abena. Jojo got up and spotted Teddy, who was patiently waiting at the door.
"Ma! Pa! The dog is here!" he cried. The younger boy got up in excitement.
"Oh little one!" cried sausage man. The kids ran to Teddy and picked him up. They pet him and tickled him. Teddy was soon contented resting in their arms. Khali greeted Teddy happily.
"Khali!" called Abena, "Come on. Concentrate."
"Sorry. I think we should name him." decided Khali, to Abena's dismay.
"Yes!" squealed the younger boy, jumping up and down.

"Osei. You're going to wake your sister up." warned Abena. Osei stopped jumping immediately. "I think we should name him Ciqala, meaning little one." decided Khali.

"Yes Pa. Good idea." nodded Jojo. "Yes!" squealed Osei.

"Ciqala it is." Khali said with a smile.

"Ok ok. We'll talk about this later on. But for now, we'll keep the dog." decided Abena, exasperated. The whole family cheered and Teddy, feeling their excitement, joined in. The commotion woke the baby up.

"Safiya is awake." Jojo said.

"Yes I know. Which means she'll be hungry. I'll make dinner. You two boys get the dog something to eat." Abena ordered.

"Ma, his name is Ciqala." scolded Osei playfully. Abena punched him softly on the arm with a chuckle. Khali smiled broadly and they got up and went to their business. Khali smiled broadly and they got up and went to their chores. Teddy watched as Jojo leant over a dirty sink and Osei passed him a grubby bowl. They washed the bowl thoroughly before pouring water into it and placing it before Teddy. Teddy wagged his tail and yapped in thank you.

"He likes me Jojo. See how he's wagging his tail? It's because he's saying thank you." exclaimed Osei. Jojo just nodded, he was opening a cupboard and looking through plastic bowls, cups and plates and a few ceramic bowls. He took a bowl they never used and went over to another cupboard. Osei took out some biscuits but was stopped by their mother.
"Osei! I told you. Those are not to play with. The biscuits are a rare treat and you know it. We don't have enough money to waste in on good treats like biscuits so we need to keep these for us." explained Abena. Osei nodded sadly.
"Your father dropped a sausage today, it went into the snow. He couldn't serve it to others. He kept it back for us to eat, after we washed it but we can give it to the dog." Abena proposed.
"Yes great idea. Pa said Ciqala loves sausages." piped Osei. Abena opened a boy and took out the sausage then turned back to cooking. Teddy was fed the sausage and he ate willingly. When dinner was ready, they all sat at the table. Abena had the chair with Safiya on her lap, Khali on the plastic foldable chair and the 2 boys on the stools. They ate from plastic bowls which were not the best quality. They ate some rice and leftover bread that some customers hadn't eaten when they had bought their hot dogs. Osei fed Teddy under the table, to Khali and Abena's disapproval.

"Enough Osei. Clear the plates and wash them. I am putting Safiya to sleep." snapped Abena when Osei fed his last piece of bread to Teddy.
"Jojo, go do your homework. I'm going to bring the trash out." charged Khali. Teddy watched as the family dispersed and returned to the fire. He lay down near the flames, feeling the warmth tickle his fur. He was content. He was with people who loved him. He almost forgot about Ben. Almost.

Teddy stayed with the Sausage family for a few days. He was content and didn't worry much. He would sometimes think about Ben but he liked his new friends. As Teddy walked home with Khali one evening, a few people were at their small house.
"Khali! There you are! I sent Jojo out to get you. Oh.." Abena ran over, sobbing.
"What happened Abena?" asked Khali, holding her in his arms.
"We haven't paid the rent. Why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have bought that nice necklace. Oh Khali. They're taking our house." cried Abena.

"Oh Abena. I'm so sorry. I thought I'd get the money back, it was your birthday." exclaimed Khali.
"Khali...." weeped Abena.
"I'll take care of this." declared Khali, marching forwards with Teddy at his heels.
"Sirs. You have made a mistake-" started Khali.
"We haven't' made a mistake. Even if we have, we do not want you here. Please pack your things and go. Another family is moving in soon. We need all your belonging out." ordered a man. Teddy watched confused as the family packed their things in boxes and walked out of the house. They walked to a train station, Teddy trailing behind them. He listened as the boys cried and begged for something. He heard their parents disagree. When they reached the station, the 2 young boys knelt down beside Ben.
"Good bye Ciqala. We love you. I'm so sorry we need to leave you." Said Jojo, pushing back tears, he backed away and joined his mother.
"Bye bye Ciqala." sobbed Osei, burying his head in the animal's fur. Teddy whimpered softly and cuddled Osei. Then Osei joined his parents. Khali walked forward.
"I'm sorry we need to leave you little one. The train does not allow dogs. Have a good life. Don't drown under bridges will you?" chuckled Khali sadly, "Goodbye little one." Teddy watched the family walk solemnly away. Abena threw him a piece of sausage but he left it lying on the floor until a bird swooped down and stole it. Teddy cried. He lay on the floor and cried. He suddenly thought of Ben. His thoughts filled with the little boy. He thought about the little boy's nice hugs and affection for him and decided he was going to find Ben. He was not giving up. No matter what, he would keep trying.