Lily woke up to the loud, sharp, unmistakable barks of her beloved dog, Prince. Sure enough, her loyal collie was sitting by the side of the tall, canopy bed waiting. "Good morning your highness," she said with a smile. Outside, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. The first day of Spring in Manhattan Beach, California had just begun. Lily pushed away her turquoise comforter and stepped onto the wood floor. She swept her hair up into a messy bun, pulled her soft, white, robe on over her pajamas, and walked down the grand staircase. Lisa, the maid, had just set down a warm stack of waffles when she arrived at the rectangular dining table. The rest of the family had already been waiting for breakfast. Father looked up from his paper and smiled at his daughter. He had his reading glasses on, but still looked incredibly handsome. Lily's 20 year old brother, Will, who was visiting for his college break, resembled him very closely, Mother, of course, was studying the pages of a new fashion catalogue and seemed completely oblivious to what was going on around her. Stella, the baby of the family was singing clumsily. Suddenly, her best friend looked up from her plate and motioned for Lily to sit. Lily walked over to the plush kitchen chair.
"Hello." She greeted.
"Hi" Samantha replied as she reached for her second waffle. "Mmmm, Lisa makes the most amazing meals that I've ever tasted."
"Just wait until dinner, she's making chicken with potatoes and apple pie for dessert." Lily added with excitement in her voice.
"I think my dad and I will move in here when he gets back."
"That's fine with me...Do you miss him?"
"Yes." Sam's expression turned grim as she slowly answered, "Yes, I miss him a lot, but he's doing something amazing. He may be risking his life, but it's so that he can save the lives of others'. I'm proud of him."
"I know, but the war... He's fighting, Sam. Aren't you upset at all."
"Look, Lil, I don't really like to talk about it that much."
"That's fine"

They stopped that conversation there, but chatted all through breakfast. Lily said a tearful goodbye to her father before Will drove him to the train station for yet another month-long business trip. The two girls then set off for Beachwood elementary. On the way, the best friends talked and talked as they walked on the shady pavement.
School was a bore for the two A+ students, but the day quickly passed and by 3:30 pm, they were already home.
-"Mother, we're back!" Lily shouted as she walked though the front door.
There was no answer.
-"Mrs. Mae, Will... Anybody there?" Sam's voice echoed in the parlor.
The called out a few more times, but there were no other noises in the house.
-"Okay... everything's okay." Lily told her friend "They probably just went shopping."
Just then the girls heard Stella crying from in her bedroom. They rushed upstairs and found her, wailing in her tiny bed.
-"I want Mommy!" She cried.
Sam walked over and picked her up.
-"Shhhh, don't cry." She said gently, "Do you know where your mommy is?"
Stella relaxed and shook her head in reply.
-"Something's wrong!" Lily blurted out. "Stella would never be left here all alone!"
She sat down in the pink rocking chair and put her head in her hands.
-"What if something bad happened to them." She mumbled to herself.
Unfortunately, that was the case when the girls found a note from their mother in the kitchen. It said:

My Dearest Lily and Sam,

I'm afraid that difficult times have fallen upon us. Just earlier today the police were here. Apparently your father had been mixed up with some criminal group. This was an entire surprise to me and Will, but just as well, we have been falsely accused and asked to stay at the station for a little while. Don't worry, we'll be fine, but you need to take Stella and go find Aunt Sylvie in Santa Barbara. She has blonde hair and lives in a beautiful mansion. The address is written at the bottom of this sheet. Be brave! I have faith in all of you!
Love,
Mother/ Mrs. Mae

The girls were shocked, scared, and very upset after they finished reading. Sam was pacing the floor, and Lily just stared into space. She refused to believe any of it.
- "No... No, no, no, no, no." She thought to herself. " This wasn't right. How could father, amazing, loving father be a criminal? He would never do anything bad!"
Lily just wanted to throw away the note and pretend that none of this had happened, but knew that right thing to do. Her voice was the one that broke the silence.
"Well, we should get going"
Sam looked like she was about to faint.
"What? We can't just pack up and leave! We can't just travel all the way up to Santa Barbara in search of some aunt that you've never even met before! We aren't adults, Lily... We are 13 years old!" Her voice went down to a whisper. "I can't do it."
"You aren't going to get very far in life with an attitude like that ." Lily replied, trying to be courageous and with that, the trip was on.
After packing, arguing, unpacking, more arguing, re-packing, and many compromises, the three were out on the road... accompanied by Prince of course. He would stop to sniff a few bushes here and there, but the dog was actually a very good traveler. Stella was unfortunately just the opposite. She would whine and complain about pretty much anything. In general though, the girls moved fast.
By 7:00, the girls decided that the needed to get some rest, so they made a plan and started towards a small inn. Sam did all the talking. She marched up to the reception desk and said,
- "Good evening, I'd like a room for three please."
The lady sitting there looked at the young girl and raised her eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, but you're too young to be here without an adult"
Sam wasn't about to take no for an answer.
"How about we make a deal?"
After ten minutes and lots of persuading, Sam lead her friend up to their small hotel room.
"Thank goodness we had all that money saved up." Lily huffed as she carried her little sister up the stairs.
"I know, I had to pay that lady four times the normal fee... and sneaking Prince past the bureau wasn't easy either!"
They climbed the stairs, unlocked door 20, walked into the cozy space, and nearly collapsed onto their beds.
In the morning, the journey started to become a challenge. It was raining, so the girls had to bargain for some umbrellas. All the same, they were soaking by the time they reached Malibu. It was getting dark and after being rejected by the nearest hotel, Sam and Lily were getting desperate. They shuffled into a cafe and each ordered a warm cup of tea. A young lady came over to deliver their drinks.
"Aren't you girls a little young to be all alone at night?" She inquired as she put some packets of sugar on the table.
"Yes, we are just kids... but we really don't have any other choice right now." Sam answered calmly.
Lily's face turned white and she motioned for her friend to stop talking, but the girl remained in her conversation with Lucy the waitress. With some luck, by 8:18 pm, the girls were with Lucy in a small apartment getting ready for bed.
The girls' journey continued for another adventurous week. The 13 year olds had to face dangerous rivers, suspicious adults, scary robbers, and even a small injury, but, with the help of some kind people, finally they made it to their aunt's house. After a few knocks on the heavy wood door, Sylvia was surprised to see children on her doorstep. Lily explained what happened and plans were made to get Mrs. Mae and Will out of prison. A month later, everything returned to normal... Well almost normal: Mr. Mae did turn out to be a criminal, but the family did just fine without him. Sam's father also returned from the war, so she didn't have to worry any more. Life was perfect for them once again.


The End