The old house sat at the back of the lot. The grass was long and unmanaged. The neighbors complained to the city that the house was dangerous. Children played near the house and their parents ordered them to stay away from it. The children dared each other to go into it, but none took the challenge on because of fear.

The children thought a witch lived in the house or a madman that killed children as a hobby. Their imaginations got the best of them until a young girl named Rita took the challenge. The neighborhood children gave her advice, “If the witch comes at you throw water on her and she will melt.”

“What if it is the madman?” Rita asked.

Charlie laughed, “Run like you’ve never run before. We will be out here waiting for you just in case…”

“Just in case what, Charlie?”

He pushed her towards the house, “Just go. It will be dark soon.”

“Okay, okay; I will. Don’t push me. I’m going,” she said as she took a giant step toward the sidewalk going up to the porch. Rita walked towards the house and looked back two times, and on the second time her friends did not wait for her. She turned around but something told her to continue with the adventure. She stepped on the old wooden porch. It made a noise. She stepped back and then stepped forward again. She gathered up her courage and opened the screen door. The front door was not there. It was to the side of the porch. Rita heard noises in the house and wanted to leave but she heard it again. She called out, “Hello, is anyone here?”

A head appeared from the shadows. A young girl around ten spoke, “Are you here to take me away?”

Rita shook her head no, “I didn’t know anyone lived here.”

“My mother told us to wait here until she got back.”

“Us?”

The girl went into the kitchen and got her dog, “This is Maxi.”

Rita could not see her completely, so she said, “Come out into the light. What’s your name?”

“My name is Norma, but my family calls me Susie.”

“I can’t leave you here alone Susie. Come home with me and my mother can fix you something to eat… are you hungry?

“But my mom told me to stay here. I can’t…”

“We can leave her a note. Come on Susie, my mom can make you something to eat.”

“Okay, but we have to leave a note,” Susie insisted.

“I got a pen in my pocket you can u. Here is a piece of paper on the floor.”

Susie wrote the note and put it in the kitchen. She picked up an open box; it was a small box with her belongings in it. There was a picture of her parents and grandparents. A dog bone and dish for Maxi, “Come on Maxi, we are going with…”

“My name is Rita.”

“We’re going with Rita; we come back and wait for Mom after dinner.”

Rita took Susie and Maxi to her house. Her mother was upset because her little brother, James, told their mother Rita went into the old house. Before her mother said anything Rita said, “I found a friend in the old house waiting for her mother.”

Rita’s mother looked at the malnourished girl. Susie’s clothes had holes in them and were too small. The dog looked at Rita’s mother and wagged its tail. Rita asked her mother, “Can I get her a pair of shorts and tee-shirt for her out of my closet?”

“Sure…what’s your name sweetheart?”

“My name is Susie, but my real name is Norma. I don’t like that name; I like the name Susie.”

“Okay Susie, do you like meatloaf?”

“My grandmother makes the best meatloaf ever. But she died last year. She raised me. My mother…”

“Your mother, where is she at Susie?” asked Rita’s mother.

“She told me she would be back for me and Maxi. She…”

Rita’s mother knew it was better to feed Susie instead of questioning her, so she said, “I’ll tell you what. Rita will take you upstairs so you can take a shower and get fresh clothes on and in the meantime, I will warm up some meatloaf and vegetables. Rita will show you where the shower is at.”

“Is this going to take long? I don’t want to be gone when my mother comes back to get me.”

“Honey, I think your mother will understand.”

“Alright, I could use a shower.”

When Susie took a shower Rita’s mother called the police department. The desk sergeant said, “We will send a car and the DSS out. Do you know her name?”

“It’s Norma, but she goes by Susie.”

“Thank you for calling; we will be there shortly.”

Susie and Rita came into the kitchen at the end of the phone call. Susie looked panicked. Rita’s mother, seeing the reaction to the phone call, sat down and patted the seat next to her and said, “Come over here so we can talk, Susie.”

Susie sat down and said, “I’m hungry.”

“I’ll get it.”

“Is my mother coming back?” Susie asked.

“I don’t know, but you can’t stay in that rundown house; it’s not safe.”

“You’re right, I seen mice in there. What are you going to do with me and Maxi?”

“The police and some people are going to take you to a home and look for your mother.”

“I wish I could stay here with you and Rita. James is not as mean as I thought he was.”

“I will do my best, but I can’t promise anything.”

Rita responded to the statement, “She can have the other bed in my room Mom.”

“Eat your food Susie before the police get here.”

The police arrived with a DSS worker. The police officer asked Susie, “How long have you been at the abandoned house?”

“I don’t know, Mom dropped me off in the middle of the night. She told me to stay there until she got back. She promised she would buy a house, and we could be happy.”

“Is there any relative that you know of?”

“Aunt Connie. I don’t know where she lives.”

The DSS worker responded, “We will find your aunt Susie. But for now, you must come with me.”

“What about Maxi?”

“Who is Maxi?”

“My dog. I can’t leave her behind. She…”

Rita’s mother took the plate and glass, “We will keep her until you can get her back.”

“Will you?”

The DSS worker said to Rita’s mother, “Thanks. Come on Susie, we must go now.”

Susie hugged Maxi, “I’ll be back for you, I promise you.”

The police officer went to the old house and took pictures and came back as they were leaving, “You are safe now Susie.”

Susie went back into the house and hugged Rita and her mother, picked up her open box and left with the DSS workers.