Querencia

On the corner off the steps that led to King's Cross Station, a little girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes stood with a basket, hollering out for anyone who could hear.

"Flowers for Sale~!" Mikaela called out to the throes of people that moved in and out of the train station. "Buy some pretty flowers for your pretty lady, and make her day a happier one! Or put them in a vase to brighten up your house! Get some pretty flowers for just 2 pence~!"

The young child hummed and rocked on the heels of her feet as people passed by, some glanced her way occasionally, but otherwise ignored her. That's okay, there were always days like this when people were too busy to buy flowers. There was always tomorrow if she didn't sell any today, and she still had some money left over from yesterday that she could use to buy bread and some porridge for Momma.

She felt a little bad, taking them without telling her mother and lying about where she was going every day. But Momma was really sick even while taking her medicine, and the emergency funds they had hidden away were running dry. So Mikaela had puffed up her chest and decided to step up and be the grown up of the house! It was scary at first, but Mr. Jamison, her neighbour, worked inside the station. He would always come walk her home after his shift, and check up on her on his break from work to have lunch together before going back to his post.

"I would like some flowers." Said a deep voice from behind her, and she turned around to stare the source in awe.

The man in the grey suit was really tall, and his eyes were the colour of the light purple hyacinths she currently had in her basket. He was waaay prettier than all the flowers in her Momma's garden, and from the way others would stare at him as he passed by, she wasn't the only one who thought that.

"I have plenty for you to choose!" She said, holding up her basket proudly. "Are you gonna give them to your wife, Mister? She must be very lovely, like you, or maybe even more!"

"Ah-hah, no. I don't have a wife. Thank you for the compliment, however." He smiled as he carefully squat down to look through the flowers she had with interest. "I just like the scent of flowers, so I try to keep a few around the house. I also like to turn them into bookmarks. Ah, I see you have some anemones in here!"

"Yup. My momma grew them herself." She nodded. "I just picked them today!"

The Mister startled at that, his eyes widening a little. It kind of reminded her of a startled kitten, and the thought made her giggle. "Wait, today? But… It's August."

"Yah?" She tilted her head in confusion. "I know that…"

"…Anemones only grow in spring or winter." He explained slowly, and Mikaela gave a little "oh" of realization. "There's no need to worry, Mister! Momma said it's because the soil in our backyard is really good." She reassured. "So it makes everything grow really good too, like magic!"

He gave her a thoughtful look at that, followed by a small hum. "I see… well, I guess I'll just have to buy them all. Can't have all that magic and your mother's hard work go to waste, can we?"

The child beamed with joy, helping him arrange the flowers into a nice little bouquet and wrapping them all up with a bit of string to keep them together. Her smile only grew when she counted the money (she was getting better at that everyday now!) and realized she had enough to get something more than just bread and porridge.

"Speaking of your mother, where is she exactly?" The white-haired man asked, looking around. "We'd been talking a while now, but I haven't seen her show up once to come check on you."

"O-oh. Um, she's… at home right now." Mikaela shifted uncomfortably, "She's kind of sick, so…"

The stranger suddenly gave her a knowing look, and she looked away guiltily.

"Little one, may I ask your name?"

"It's Mikaela!"

"Nice to meet you, Mikaela, I'm Phoenix." He greeted himself politely, before turning serious. "Now, Mikaela, I need you to tell me honestly, does your Mom-"

"Everything all over there, Squirt?" A familiar voice interrupted, and both turned their heads towards Mr. Jamison as he walked over. "Oh! Mr. Frosland, I didn't recognize you there. Terribly sorry about that."

Mr. Jamison was an older man from Ireland with salt-and-pepper hair, just entering his mid-50's. He'd lived next door ever since Mikaela was little. She had always thought he was kind of tall, but after Mr. Phoenix stood up again, she realized that he really wasn't. He was only tall because she was small. Then again, Mr. Phoenix seemed to be taller than a lot of people on the station, so she could be wrong.

"No problem at all, Mr. Fields. It's been a while since we last talked, and no one can be blamed for being a bit cautious these days." The snowy haired man smiled. "How's the wife?"

"She's doing wonderful, thank you! Ah, and I handed my son that list of books you gave me last time when he visited…" He made a gesture with his hands, grinning. "—over the Moon he was! Said they were just what he needed for his thesis!"

"Always happy to help a fellow History buff." Mr. Phoenix chuckled.

"Of course, of course. Say, have I told you about my daughter Mabel? She's only a few years younger than you, I think. Pretty lass, takes after her mother-"

Mikaela rocked back and forth on her feet as the two adults conversed for a while, with Mr. Jamison trying really hard to push Mr. Phoenix into coming over for dinner to meet his daughter. The little girl thought it rather obvious that the younger man wasn't interested in the idea, but he nodded along anyway in an attempt to appease the animated officer. Finally, the conversation turned back to the topic of the flower girl.

"The little sprout's my neighbour's daughter." Mr. Jamison explained, "She fell sick a few months back, but she's been letting little Mikaela come here to sell some flowers from their garden for a few weeks now, since they don't have any alternatives. I didn't feel comfortable leaving all on her own, though, so I check up on her often, and she's smart enough to know to run to me if anyone tries anything terrible."

"I see." Mr. Phoenix gave her that look again, and Mikaela tried hard not to squirm. "Well, I'm glad to see she's in safe hands at least. Admittedly, I was a little alarmed to see such a young child seemingly all alone. Not to mention that it's going to get late soon, so I wanted to make sure she had a way to get home safely."

"There's no need to worry, Mr. Phoenix!" She chirped, swinging her basket up and down. "Mr. Jamison walks me home every day!"

"Ah… About that lass." Mr. Jamison said hesitantly, making her stop. "They sprung a double shift on me till next morning, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stay here at the station tonight."

"But… But I have to give Momma her medicine today!" She cried out, distressed. "I can't go home late!"

"I'm really sorry…" The Irishman winced, and her mood must have shown, because he was hurried to comfort her. "I'm sure going a day without taking her medicine won't hurt too badly…"

"But she didn't take her medicine yesterday either! She has to take it tonight!" Mikaela felt tears building up in her eyes out of fear. Momma had been really sleepy yesterday, she didn't even wake up when Mikaela shook her, so the girl decided that missing it that day would be fine. Had she known something like this was going to happen, she would have definitely made sure Momma had woken up!

"I can take her home." Mr. Phoenix spoke up suddenly, and the other two startled. "I'm already out of work, and I doubt she would feel very comfortable at the station, since it gets a little spooky there at night." He paused, "Besides, She seems the determined type. She would likely try to run and go home while you're not looking. As a father, I feel rather uneasy with the thought of leaving a child to wander the streets of London all by herself."

Both men gave her a suspicious look, and she ducked her head in response.

"Hm, well, if you're sure…" Mr. Jamison replied, "Alright, I think I'm a good enough judge of character to see that you're a fine man. So long as Mikaela is okay with it, then I'll allow it."

"Yay!" She cheered, running up to hug Mr. Jamison's legs, much to the adult's amusement. "Thank you, Mr Jamison! And You too, Mr. Phoenix! Thank you so much!"

Now she didn't have to worry about her Momma not taking her medicine, she sighed in relief.

Everything would be okay.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable coming into your house without your mother's permission. It's one thing to walk you home, it's another entirely to just… walk in." Mr. Phoenix told her uncertainly, awkwardly standing outside the front door. Mikaela huffed, grabbing his hand and tugging it insistently until he took a step inside.

"It's okay! Once I wake her up, I can introduce you. Besides, Momma always says you should never leave your guest at the door, so she'll understand!" She patted his hand, before letting go. "I'll be right back, don't you leave!"

After giving Mr. Phoenix a warning glare, she skittered off to her mother's room and turned on the lamp in the corner. She was still in the same position as yesterday, curled up on her side away from Mikaela, peacefully snoozing away. She gave a playful huff, and started poking at the older woman's back. Not only that, but she was really cold, the girl noted. She would have to pull out some spare blankets in a bit.

"Momma." She called, poking again. "Come on, sleepy head, get up! You have to take your medicine this time, and we have a guest over. He's really nice, walked me home and everything. He told me that he likes to garden too, so I know you'd love him!" When her mother remained unmoving, she crossed her arms playfully. "Momma. You said that you should always greet a guest when they come over, so you're being very rude right now-"

"Mikaela."

The little girl jumped and whirled around in surprise. At some point, Mr. Phoenix had come up to the door, and currently was staring above her head towards her mother, with a look she couldn't quite place. His eyes almost looked like they were glowing due to the light, and he looked like he was struggling with something.

"Mikaela." He said again softer this time, "I need to talk with your mom alone right now, alright?"

"But her medicine…" She started hesitantly.

"I'll get her to take her medicine, don't worry." He reassured, voice trembling a little. "Once she and I are done talking, then you and I need to go to Mr. Fields' house for something very important. Okay?"

Mikaela shuffled, looking towards her mom for a moment. Mr. Jamison had vouched for Mr. Phoenix, and did walk her home without doing anything weird…

"Alright. I trust you, Mr. Phoenix."

"Alright, she's asleep now. Poor thing, must be exhausted after all that walking from Kings Cross." Mabel said as she shut the door to her room. It had taken a bit of coaxing, but Mrs. Laurent had always kept her daughter on a strict bedtime, so Mikaela was out after a couple of minutes. She stopped however when she saw that both her mother and Mr. Frosland looked unsettled by whatever conversation they were having before.

Both women were alarmed at first to see their neighbor's daughter knocking at their door with the man in tow, but they quickly let them both in with little fuss when it was revealed he was the Mr. Frosland that her father had talked so much about.

"But he's way more handsome a bloke than Pops described. Hard to believe he's only a 25 with all that white hair… He makes it work, though." She thought absently, before shaking the thought out of her head and frowning. "Now, what's this all about?"

"Oh, Mabel, honey, sit down." Her mother sighed, and Mr. Frosland joined her, running a hand through his hair. It was then she noticed how utterly tired the old woman had looked. "Audrey… Audrey has left us to join the Lord."

"Mrs. Laurent is dead?"

"I'm afraid so." Mr. Frosland confirmed, tugging at the end of his hair. "For a few days now, from what I could tell. I'm no doctor, nor forensic expert, but the body already lost all heat, and the Rigor Mortis had completely settled in far before Mikaela invited me in. It's only through sheer luck, cold weather, and pure naïveté that she hasn't realized her mother has already left her."

"Good Heavens!" Mabel gasped, and the albino grimaced.

"I'm so sorry that you had to hear it from a complete stranger, Ms. and Mrs. Fields. But I couldn't just leave her in that house alone-"

"Don't apologize, Mr. Frosland. You did the right thing, bringing little Mikaela here." Mrs. Fields reassured, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Though other than getting Audrey a proper funeral, I'm afraid there's no much we can do for her daughter now…"

"Please, just call me Phoenix. I feel old enough with the hair, I don't need another reason." He told them, before gaining a look of confusion. "Wait, what do you mean by that? Doesn't she have any other family?"

Mabel's mother shook her head, "Mrs. Laurent was disowned by her family when she came to live here in London, and everyone we know from her father's side has passed on already."

"And the father himself?" He asked.

Mabel snorted, "Left just after Mikaela was born, and Good riddance too, I hope he choked and fell in a ditch while he was at it."

"Mabel!" Her mother admonished, and the young woman became defensive. "You hadn't been there, Mum, when he said all those nasty things about his own child no less, all because of some weird coincidences."

"Coincidences?" The male questioned, tilting his head curiously. The motion reminded the young woman of a cat, and she had to stop herself from smiling at the thought.

"Yah that's right, I mean sure some weird things happen around Mikaela sometimes, but it's all just happenstance." Mabel waved a hand, rolling her eyes. "Like the fact there just happened to be flower seeds in the tomato seed packets her mom planted, or how some bird managed to fly its way into their house without anyone noticing."

"Or how the soil in their backyard is good enough to grow flowers outside their recommended season?" He added, and both she and her mother nodded.

"All perfectly easy to explain away once you put some logical thinking into it. But Mr. Laurent kept claiming things to be moving around the house when he hadn't touched them, or would even claim that he caught her floating around her nursery once. Poppycock, all of it. He always had terrible short term memory, so he probably just moved some stuff around and forgot. The rest were probably just dreams he had during his afternoon nap that he mistook for real life. But instead of trying to make sense of it all, he tried blaming his year-old daughter. Typical Man, unable to own up to his mistakes." She stopped, and hurriedly backtracked. "Not that I mean that I think you do any of that Phoenix, sir, I just meant-"

"No, it's okay, you're right. You should say it." Phoenix nodded, shrugging it off casually. "If it makes you feel better, though, as a man, I too am confused as to where they store the utter audacity for half of the things they pull."

"A mystery for the ages!" Mabel laughed, relieved to see that he wasn't upset, before sobering up again. "But back on topic, after Mikaela's first birthday, I had just stepped into the yard to deliver some muffins Mum made when I heard him and Mrs. Laurent getting into a row about their daughter. He said they needed to get rid of her, drop her off at some orphanage and let them deal with it. Said she was the Devil's child, all because of his superstitious nonsense."

"I take it that Mrs. Laurent didn't take kindly to that."

"My good friend Audrey was a kind woman, just like her daughter, but she was no pushover." Mrs. Fields agreed, smiling. "Told him that if he wanted to take a Devil out of their House, then he could grab his pants by the belt and walk himself out before she forced him out. So he did just that, and we haven't heard from him since."

"Hmm, and I'm guessing you can't take Mikaela in either?" He suggested, only to frown when they shook their heads.

"It's not that we don't want to, but Pops' job is the only thing keeping us afloat right now." Mabel explained regretfully. "And with my brother going to college, adding another person to the finances would put us in a bit of a bind."

"The most we can do is send word to the local orphanage and see if they have the room for her." Mrs. Fields sighed. "I heard Wool's recently relocated last year to a much better part of town, maybe they'll have room for her."

They all fell into silence at that, stirring and sipping at their tea. The only noise filling the room being the ticking of the Grandfather Clock that Mabel's brother had got for their father with his first pay cheque 10 years ago. Phoenix had looked thoughtful the entire time, tapping his finger against the rim of his tea cup.

"Do you think," He spoke up finally, bringing the two ladies attention upon him. "That Mikaela likes snakes?"

"Snakes?" Mabel asked, baffled. "I mean, She never cried or ran away whenever her mother would find one in the gardens, at least. Why?"

"Because I have an idea, but I'm not sure that I would be able to convince my son to it if she didn't like snakes. It's kind of a dealbreaker for him."