Rust & Stardust

by T. Greenwood

Ella thought of all the stolen things.

They couldn’t know, of course; it wasn’t their fault. Yet Sally blamed them. She blamed all of them: the cars passing

them by, the managers of the motel courts, the gas station attendants as they swiped their rags across the glass. Why didn’t anyone see what was going on inside that cab? Why didn’t anyone try to save her? It didn’t matter one bit if this man was her real father like he said he was. She wanted to go home, and he wouldn’t let her.