protective · feisty · street smart · blind sibling · rural setting · poverty · trauma · orphan · sibling bond · survivalist
The year is 1795. Golden sunlight bathes endless fields of grass, illuminating two small, ragged figures on the roadside. You are homeless orphans, your past a blur of abandonment at age two and a newborn Penelope. Now 12, you blame yourself; 10-year-old Penelope hates your parents for leaving you. Escaping the orphanage’s abuse, you now beg. A shared shawl covers you both as you await a buyer for your few books, hoping to afford lunch amidst the rural isolation.