"Addie, wait!" Mark called after her. Addie turned to face her older brother as he ran over to her side. He slowed to a walk when he reached her. As always, a grin stretched across her face.

"Don't go anywhere by yourself," Mark warned. He took his sister by the hand, gently. "Always stay with me when the Healers are around."

Addie nodded slowly. "But what 'bout your work?" They were already low on money and she felt terrible for being the reason Mark couldn't work. She wanted to be as small of a burden as possible to her family. "I'll just stay home if I have to." she suggested, twisting her brown hair between two of her fingers.

Mark hesitated. "Are you sure you'll be safe if you're by yourself at home?" He knelt down to look her in the eye. He wanted to stay with her, but he also had to work for them to earn money. There was no telling how long the healers would stay and the family desperately needed help. Was it worth the risk? Maybe he could work twice as much after the Healers leave to make up for the lost money. But less food would made the Healers' offer seem more enticing to Addie. All the odds seemed against them.

Mark sighed. "I'll stay with you just for today. If they don't leave today, then we'll decide from there."

Addie nodded silently. She held her older brother's hand tightly with her little hand. They walked through town, collecting the simple necessities as normal. They greeted the other villagers politely as they walked. Mark kept a close eye for the Healers, and for most of the day, there was no sign of them. Addie skipped around, happily showing Mark little things like flowers and shiny stones. Mark smiled, but he couldn't help but feel sad inside. She deserved so much better than what they could give her.

"Mark," someone called. He turned around to face the sound of the voice. He smiled when he saw Mrs. Hawthorne a kind old lady who was a family friend.

"Hello, how are you doing today?" he asked politely. He kept a careful eye on Addie while talking. She was chatting to Alex, a boy her age. The Healers seemed no where in sight.

"I'm doing well," she replied with a smile. She was sewing a patch on an old shirt. Her wrinkled old hands shook as she moved the needle in and out of the cloth. "And you? How are your parents?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you. My parents are doing okay and so is Addie," Mark replied, gesturing to the girl running around with the black haired boy. Addie laughed, a gleeful noise, as she ran and Alex chased her. Her bare feet kicked up dirt from the ground.

"Don't go too far, Addie," Mark warned. Addie nodded, but continued to run circles to get away from the boy. Alex managed to catch up, to she turned and chased after him. This went back and forth for a while. Mark smiled.

"She really is something special," Mrs. Hawthorne said. "I've never seen anyone was joyful as her. It's almost unreal. How is that possible?"

Mark shrugged. "It's beyond me. No one knows; only she does. What I'm worried about is when she grows older, that joy may fade away. I don't know if she really lives in the real world right now. It's hard to believe anyone could find happiness with a life like us. But once she knows about all the bad things in the world, I fear that she won't be happy anymore. For what it's worth, she is the source of my happiness. I swear, I'd do anything as long as that joy isn't taken from her."

"It's hard to even imagine Addie not being happy," Mrs. Hawthorne said softly. "It's as much a part of her as her physical traits."

Mark nodded. "Yeah, I know. Addie without happiness would be like the earth without sun. I don't think I'd still have hope if it wasn't for her."

***

"Addie, come on! We're going home!" Mark called. Addie gave Alex a big hug before running over to her big brother. She held onto his hand and looked up at him with a grin. Her face was grimy and her hair was messy, but she didn't seem to care. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a shiny smooth stone. She held it up proudly to show her brother.

"Look what Alex gave me!" she announced happily. Mark took the rock into his hand. It was nothing more than a smooth pebble, but it somehow meant a lot to Addie. He handed it back to her gently.

"That's very nice, Addie. It was very sweet of him to give that to you." Mark said.

"But now I feel sad. I ain't got nothing to give to him. I wanna do something for him too. I don't want to just sit 'round and get stuff. I ain't no princess," Addie said sadly. Her tiny fingers gripped the stone tightly. Mark laughed.

"How about you give him a staff of some sort. I'll just get a branch and carve it a bit and you can give that to him. How does that sound?" he suggested.

Addie grinned and hugged Mark. "That's perfect. Thank you kindly."

Mark was about to reply when he felt a sudden cold presence behind him. He gripped Addie's hand tighter and glanced behind him. There stood the three Healers again, with their crimson robes and amber eyes. Mark sped up his walking, and Addie stumbled to keep up with him.

"Wait!" the short Healer called out. Mark ignored them and did not stop walking. Suddenly, he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder. He jerked away immediately and turned around to face them. Mark tucked Addie behind him and stared at the Healers angrily.

"Do not touch me," he said sharply. "Leave us alone!"

"Please do not be alarmed. I promise you, we only want to help," the bearded Healer assured in his soft, even voice. "Can we speak with your sister for a moment?"

"No," Mark answered harshly. "Do not speak to or approach her again. She doesn't not want to make a trade."

"Do not speak for her," the tall Healer said. "We know that you don't want to make a trade with us. Let her speak for herself. What does she want?" The Healer turned to look at the little girl. Addie's hands clutched the hem of her brother's tunic.

"I don't wanna trade," Addie said softly, but her voice betrayed her. The Healers weren't convinced.

"Think about the money...the food," the bearded Healer urged. He pulled out the bag of money again. "All this can be yours."

Addie looked between the money and Mark. She wanted to help her family. She wanted to do something to relieve their situation. She never had to do anything before, but she wanted to finally do something to show that understood all the troubles they were going through. What good was her joy if everyone else around her was miserable? Getting money would make her parents and brother happy, right?

The Healers took advantage of her hesitation. The short Healer pulled out a loaf of bread from one of his bags and held it out to her. "Go on," he urged. "Don't worry, it's perfectly normal bread. Consider it a gift."

Addie cautiously crept past Mark and took the bread into her hands. She sniffed it and a warm wonderful aroma filled her nose. She looked up at the Healers, and cradled the loaf in her arms as if it was some precious treasure. "Thank you," she said softly.

The tall Healer knelt down to get on Addie's level. He studied her with his amber eyes and a smile grew on his face. "You can have as much of that as you want. Give us your joy and you will never be hungry again. All you have to do is hold out your hand and say that you agree to let us have it. It's that simple."

The Healer held out his hand. Addie was about to touch it, but Mark rushed forth and swept Addie up in his arms. He turned to leave, but Addie struggled in his arms. Her little feet kicked in the air, but her arms were still holding on to the bread.

"Mark!" she protested. "Stop! Let me do it. It's best for us. Let me go!"

Mark held firm. "No, Addie, listen to me. Do not give anything to them. They don't want to help you. They are greedy monsters and they just want to use you for their own gain."

"You don't know that!" Addie yelled, still struggling. "You see this bread? I don't want to be hungry anymore. Mark, I can make things better."

But Mark just shook his head. "No, you don't understand. We're going home now."

At that, he hoisted his sister over his shoulder and carried the struggling girl home. The Healers watched as they left, but did not make a move to go after her. The tall Healer smiled and turned to his companions. "Now, all we have to do it wait. She'll come to us now."

Finally, Addie stopped struggling and hung limply in her brother's arms. When they reached home, Mark set her on the ground and she walked into the house without saying another word. She handed their mother the bread before disappearing from his view. Mark sighed and followed silently behind her. Their mother looked at him quizzically. In a soft voice, Mark explained what had happened. The lady ran her hands through her dark hair when she heard the story. What she feared the most was coming true.

At dinner, the family discussed it with Addie. They told her to be mindful of the consequences of her actions. They reminded her that the Healers were dangerous and what they took could not be replaced. Addie nodded at their words, but did not say anything in response. At the end of the meal, she helped clean off the table and then got ready for bed. Mark watched her actions quietly. Something was not right. Before he went to sleep, he checked up on Addie. She barely said a word to him and instead pulled the cloth that worked as her blanket over her head. Mark sighed and retired to his own mat to rest.

In the middle of the night, Mark woke up with a sick feeling in his stomach. There was a thunderstorm outside and rain was leaving through the roof again. He stood up from his mat and walked around the small hut. He moved some of the furniture that was near the leaking area to keep them from getting wet. He was about to go back to sleep when he saw something that made his heart stop. Addie's mat was empty.