Their presence inside our house made Lacey uncomfortable. She rolled on the bed, untangling herself from the comfort of her blanket. Silence fell over the room as everyone was captivated by the bright colors of her clothes. The old man stepped forward, curious about what he witnessed, knowing, that anything that we could find in this dying world, is not as vivid as what she wore.

"I must ask, did you find her wearing those clothes?" The elder asked.

I knew the answer to his question, but I was uncertain about the repercussions of my response. "Yes. I found those on a doll inside an old luggage in one of the cars. She only wore a rag when I found her."

The crowd behind the elder whispered, as the old man squinted, scrutinizing the answer I just gave him. "I hope, you're not lying to me."

He turned and walked toward the door, pausing as he reached it. "We will be waiting for you at the center fountain. Don't be late." The old man said, closing the door behind him.

The odds of accepting Lacey in the village grew slimmer, as time passed by. I had to face the possibility that keeping her with us might lead to our exile, as the elders were unlikely to take the time to understand her unique situation.

"Brother, I will protect Lacey with my life. I owe her a debt that needs to be repaid. She healed me and cured you by taking the pain upon herself. There's no chance in hell I'm taking her back to where I found her. I hope you understand."

Julious nodded in agreement. "What about if you show them what she can do? What about if she can cure everyone in the village?"

"Have you thought about what could happen to her? They don't want to give her a chance to live. It's highly unlikely that they will want to keep her around, even after she has healed everyone. That is, assuming she survives."

"I understand." Julious said.

"You saw what happened to her the moment she touched your skin. She doesn't cure anyone; she takes the sickness of others into herself. Trying to cure everyone in the village with her power will kill her. We cannot ask her to do it willingly, because she is just a baby. We would be forcing her to give her life away for people that don't want her here."

I grabbed a pair of old gloves, to avoid skin touch with Lacey. I wrapped her around the blanket once again, pausing to admire the innocence in her eyes.

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"I will take her to the elders. You can come with us or stay behind preparing our bags. I already know, this will be an unfair vote against her."

"I want to come with you."

"Alright, let's go."

We left our home and headed straight to the center of the building; a structure once known as a mall where people shopped decades ago. Now, it serves as a residence for many, primarily elderly individuals who can't take care of themselves, survivors of an event they refer to as The Fall of the Nations.

One of the guards approached us, guiding me to enter the old fountain, while everyone else watched in silence. The leader of the elders, a man named Jhon, stood from his chair addressing the crowd.

"Thank you everyone for answering the call, we have a decision to make. This young man has found a youngling, unable to care for herself, in a time where everyone is required to do their part to keep the village alive. I will grant this young man the chance to express himself in front of you and voice his reasons for wanting to keep the small child."

"Thank you elder. My name is Farris, I live here with my younger brother, Julious. My parents were leaders of this village, before they passed away. I've always admired my father; he was a man of principle and I know in my heart he would agree with the decision I made. I understood that bringing her here was going to be a challenge, but I refused to let her die outside with no water or food. Leaving her in the backseat of that old car will be against everything my parents taught me, which was to help each other like a big family."

One of the elderly stood from her chair, a woman wearing an old round hat. "We barely can grow food in this barren soil. The water is filtered many times before we can drink it, and collecting acid rain is out of the question. How do you propose we avoid her becoming another burden when our resources are already stretched thin?"

"I'm willing to work harder. I can do two runs into the city instead of one. We can work something up."

Whispers spread through the crowd as another man stood to voice his concern. "There are no mothers in this camp. She will only complicate our daily responsibilities."

"She doesn't need a mother; she has me, her big brother. I promise, she will be my sole responsibility."

Despite the options I proposed, the crowd remained unsupportive. I glanced at my brother, who looked horrified as he watched each person express their disdain for our little sister.

"She can heal people!" Julious shouted suddenly. The crowd turned their eyes toward him, only to burst into laughter at his claim.

"Prove it!" A voice emerged from the crowd, a lady sitting in an old wheelchair. "Prove she can heal me, and I'll cast my vote in her favor."

I had feared this scenario, not wanting to expose Lacey to such a test. Yet the crowd's enthusiastic response to the elderly woman's challenge left us with little choice. As the spectators watched us closely, my brother joined me inside the dry fountain.

"Just her, nobody else." Julious said. "I'm sorry, that was impulsive of me."

I began to walk towards the old lady, noticing the building plunged in sepulchral silence. Once in front of her, I took Lacey's delicate hand and touched the old lady on the forehead. To my surprise, nothing happened. The old lady was still sick, unable to move from her prison in wheels.