Ram's long legs were soon in sync with the caramel ones. Meghna extended her hand as the wind whistled in their ears. Ram's eyes were fixated on her palm for seconds before he willed himself to trust her. The two pairs of bony fingers clasped around one another as teeth were showcased on the tiny faces. Piyush's back led them on as their feet took them further away from the policemen.

The trio ran along the railway track. The policemen were now hunched as their hands held on to their knees. Their chests rapidly moved up and down as they felt daggers on the sides bellies. They were paid by the brothel on a regular basis so that they closed their eyes as business continued. This however did not mean that they let the kids be, every kid they encountered was a extra pocket money for them. Their mouths worked hard as they threatened kids whose heads barely reached their stomachs. The stomachs that resembled balls and swayed with their every moment. The legs however were presented with ample amount of rest.

Once Piyush heard the footsteps behind him succumb to the bellowing wind, he slowed down. Within minutes, his legs came to a stop and with his feet fixed on the ground. He turned his body to meet the miniature figures in their khaki uniforms. Meghna and Ram followed his actions as they too turned. The trio smiled as they saw the tiny heaving figures behind them. They settled on the tires on the sides of the track as they saw the men retreat.

Ram turned to look at Meghna who at that moment tucked a lone strand of her jet black hair behind her ears. The caramel skin resembled glass as it shined in the sun. He drowned in her pools of honey. He finally opened his mouth and asked, "How do you know one another?" "We are siblings," Piyush replied. Ram's eyes widened as his eyes shifted from Piyush to Meghna. Piyush's hair was more or less a tangled ball atop his defined face. The dirt had painted it brown but few strands of jet black hair could still be seen.

"So, how did you end up here?", Meghna said as her eyes were set upon her fingers as the made shadowed shapes. She smiled as she made a tiny dog appear in front of her. "He is from the Dhwaraka village" said Piyush.

"The factory huh," she said as her eyes never left her shadows. Before she could continue, Ram asked, "Where are you from? How did you end up here? I am sure I have never seen either of you in my village."

Meghna lifted her eyes and moving them slightly searched Ram's black orbs. The honey was brimming out of her eyes as she looked at Piyush. "Can I tell him?" she asked. Piyush lifted his head up and then brought it down.

"You know that old woman of your village, the one who is always bent in half and has rotting teeth? She was the one who.. who brought us into this life. That witch!" Meghna said as her jaw clenched and her teeth rubbed against one another. Her fingernails were piercing her palm as she bent her head down and continued in a monotone.

"Two years ago on the fourteenth of April, my twin brother Manav fell ill. It was just a mild fever at first but it soon gave way to nausea. I was at the school with Piyush. We had no idea that his condition had worsened. Our dad was at the factory where he checked the seals on soda bottles. My mother did not think much of the disease but decided to take him to the hospital. As they were returning with the prescription in hand, a speeding car stuck them. The impact send them flying as blood covered them."

Ram saw a single tear drift down Meghna's cheek. The nine year old had experienced quite a few things in his small lifetime yet what he had just heard was something he couldn't imagine. He felt tears cloud his vision as he hugged her. Meghna continued.

"The driver was panic stricken. He carried them back to the hospital they had just left. They were admitted in the ICU and we received a call regarding the news. I..I still remember the way Manav smiled with his broken tooth covered in the red metallic fluid. Mum's quivering hand took mine and Piyush's palms in them. Her green eyes still twinkled. A case was registered but then we heard nothing of it. Apparently, that witch shut the police up with cash. She..she was the one in that car."

Ram squeezed Piyush's hand as he felt warm fluid settle on his fingers. He looked at Piyush blurry eyes before rubbing his hands in circles around the back of his palm.

"We were told that they could be saved, they could be saved! Both of them would require surgeries but then they would be alright. We.. we did not have money to pay for the surgeries but we would have found a way out, our neighbours and friends would have helped but that witch did not want that. She posed as a traveler, never telling that she was present in that car. She offered to pay for the surgery if we would come to the city as her..apprentices. She would send us to school and feed us she promised. My father agreed. It was too good of a deal, we should have known. She took us and never paid for the surgery. They..they died. Our father lost his mind after the incident a friend told us when we somehow ran into him in the city."

The siblings were no longer keeping their tears at bay. The salty streams flowed from their eyes. Meghna lifted her elbow to her eyes and let her green shawl darken in colour. Piyush turned away and lifting his head turned to face the light blue sky that was embellished with white clouds as he let his tears dry.

Ram bent his head low as he said, "You didn't have to tell me that. I..I made you relive all of it didn't I?" Ram felt arms wrap around his waist from both sides and lifted his head up slightly.

Piyush ruffled the boy's hair as he said, "That was the first time she has said it out aloud, our story. We did not want to accept it, we have been in denial for about two years now. We wanted you to know, we wanted you to see the real us. We wanted you to see the ragged boy and girl who cried often in the dark, who had deep scars. As we want you to be a part of us, we wanted you to know what you are getting into."

"So, can we hear your story now?" asked Meghna as the a few drops of water still twinkled in her eyes. Ram shook his head vigorously as he told them his story.

The trio got up and wrapped their stick thin arms around one another and formed a tiny circle. A circle that could not be broken, a group of kids that lived, cared and eventually killed for one another.

**My dear reader, I love writing stories because they have the power to bring out emotions from people I miles and miles away from me. These words are my happiness and to know that it brought out the slightest emotion out of you would mean the world to me. Maybe it just lifted you lip a tiny bit or made lines appear on your forehead, please let me know for that is the sole purpose of these words. Leave a comment, your thoughts, anything. A vote would mean that you enjoyed reading it. It takes seconds and yet means the world to me, the teenager behind the keyboard