Arrivals

Sunny had been sent on her own. No one could get time off work to take her - Gregory had given her a kiss, instructed the ticket taker that he was being personally held responsible for her safety, and given her a picture of her aunt. It was the first glance the girl had seen of her new guardian - her grandmother did not seem to like the redheaded woman and if she kept any pictures of Jack, then she kept them out of sight. Sunny didn't know how she felt about Jack yet - she had a boy name, but Sunny had heard the same of her own. She looked young - younger than Mommy and Daddy, but she apparently was much smarter than Mommy and Daddy. But still, she barely looked like a grown up - but it was probably an old picture too.

The girl had no qualms about travelling alone. She had walked around her hometown on her own a few times before, without permission from her parents naturally, so she had decided in her own mind that she was already a seasoned explorer. She had been on a train before, though never an English one. The little American girl was delighted, as well as thoroughly confused, with the new culture she found herself apart of. Her daddy and granddad had the British accent, her grandmother had an Irish twang, and she, herself, liked to try it on for herself too. However, it was much easier to stick with her natural American accent. Still, despite the tiring effect of these efforts and the confusion, she was excited to be somewhere she didn't necessarily understand.

She had been put in a little compartment all on her own, besides one other child travelling on her own. The girl was twelve and had immediately laid down and fallen fast asleep. Their luggage was out of the way, but Sunny had packed a little travelling bag. Inside was her current favorite book - The Great Big Book All About Ostriches; some candy; some pictures of her family; her favorite stuffed animal, a purple dragon; some crayons and paper; and other exciting little toys to occupy her time.

By the time she had arrived, she had drawn and thrown away several unsatisfactory pictures of what she imagined her new home to look like, had napped with her dragon, eaten all of her candy, and read a substantial amount about the dietary habits of ostriches.

The train was slowing now, and the other girl had sat up and begun rattling on and on about how she was going to see her newly married sister. Sunny blatantly ignored the girl as she packed up her things, irritated with the girl's loud volume. The man charged with their safe travels entered to help them with their luggage and followed behind them as he escorted them off the train. The elder girl prattled on and on until they stepped off the train. She immediately spotted her sister and let out a pleased shriek. The girls ran to each other while a gruff man, supposedly the girl's future brother-in-law, collected the luggage.

That left Sunny holding the hand of the train-man, scanning the crowd for someone who looked anything like the picture she had been given. Her expectations weren't high - she suspected her aunt had forgotten, just as everyone else was so prone to.

She looked up at the train man. "We may be here awhile. People usually forget me." He looked down, surprised, with no response at hand. He looked up, glancing around and pointed. "So that's not for you?"

Sunny followed his gaze and saw a large ostrich stuffed animal. More importantly it was in the hands of a woman who was unmistakably her Aunt Jack. Sunny's hand initially loosened in the man's hand, before it tightened as she realized she had to change her whole tactic with dealing with her aunt.

The two parties approached and the redheaded pair stared at each other. The man from the train seemed to find this uncomfortable, so he said, "Well, here she is, safe and sound. Write to her granddad so he doesn't carry out his threats, yeah?" He set down the luggage and looked to the girl. "There you are now." He pulled his hand from hers and left their lives forever, his small, if vital role complete.

Jack stared down at her niece and then held out the ostrich. "I heard you like them. My dad - your granddad - said you might like something to do with ostriches, just to be able to pick me out. I wanted to bring in a real one, but I couldn't get the permit."

Sunny's mouth twitched, incredibly amused, but much too out of her element to find a laugh within her. She took to ostrich and stared at it, before finally saying, "His name is Garfunkel."

"I reckon you're right," Jack said. "He looks like one. I was thinking Garfunkel or Clarice."

"But he's a boy."

"I know."

Sunny stared at her aunt, trying to figure out whether or not she was serious. And then she laughed, for her aunt had really thought Clarice to be a perfect name for the boy ostrich. Jack, relieved, finally cracked a smile. Feeling a little more confident, she said, "Let's get going. My roommate is nervously awaiting your arrival."

"You have a roommate?" Sunny asked, interested by the idea of another person to meet. "What are they like?"

"I have no idea. I've only spoken to him a few times. But don't worry - we'll mostly hang out with my other roommates."

"Who are they?"

Jack gathered up her niece's belongings. "My pets."

Sunny's eyes lit up. "Pets?!"

Jack nodded. "And trust me - they're all much more talkative than our new roommate."

The two turned and began to head away, off to their new home, talking like friends, about animals, and roommates, and the dietary habits of ostriches.