I will take care of you now

Ma. I had to leave you, Ma. You screamed so loud when they came to get me it pierced my ears. It still hurts.

Da. You didn't say anything. When I screamed and asked you to save me. You looked away. It hurts.

My eyes are already too swollen. It's as if there are no tears left in me. I'm dry and empty. There's nothing left. 

But when I think of you, Ma, how I want to feel your arms around me, to hear you whisper that everything is alright, that the monsters won't ever get me, that you will always protect me. 

To smell your scent. It's the scent of the garden. Of soil and flowers.

To hear you hum that song you always did when I needed it. To see you last when I fall asleep.

Tears flow freely across my cheeks. There was some left, after all.

I want my Ma. I want my Ma.

My chest is so tight it's hard to breathe. My stomach is burning. I can't walk anymore.

I don't even know where I'm going, I can't even see. I've heard that the Romans feed their prisoners to lions. 

Will they do that to children? Will they do that to me? It's all so blurry. I'm making this too easy on them.

I rub my eyes. I need to see where I'm going. I can't fight lions with my eyes so blurry.

When I finally see, there's a man smiling at me. He looks like the rest of the men I saw. He's wearing that white fabric, it's wrapped around his body.

There's a woman next to him. She gives me a smile that almost melts away some of the terror. At least a little bit. 

A group of girls run toward me. I take a step back. They greet me with giggles that feel out of place. My mind is too numb to understand how anyone could laugh at a time like this. 

Where are the lions? Would I recognize them if I saw one? Will these people lead me to them? Will they giggle when I'm eaten? 

A lone boy follows the others. He's older than the rest. 

He looks at me with a dull gaze before his apparent mother mutters something in his ear. Then, he nods and walks to me. He looks me up and down. 

"You will be my brother."

What? I blink.

"I have always wanted a brother. I have so many sisters."

"I will be?"

"Yes." He nods with such determination that it makes me believe him. "What is your name?"

"…Niall."

Then, he takes my hand. The grasp is firm and something in me believes that I could trust him to pull me from water if I'm drowning.

I don't flinch when he wipes a tear off my cheek. I just look at him.

He looks me in the eyes with such intensity it's as if there's no one else in this world but him.

"My name is Marcus. I will take care of you now."