Free The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe

breakfast.
    ‘Oh, well done, Lisa, I see the kettle’s on. Lay the table, can you?’ And Lisa laid out plates and cutlery while Naomi busied herself at the stove.
    ‘Aunt Naomi, I go to Hilda today, please?’
    Naomi looked round and smiled. ‘If they’ve asked you,’ she replied.
    ‘Oh, yes,’ Lisa lied. ‘To go for whole day.’
    ‘Then certainly you can,’ Naomi said. It’s a good idea, she thought as she scrambled eggs and made toast, it’ll give Lisa something to do, help take her mind off her letter.
    Feeling a little guilty at having lied to Aunt Naomi but determined to go, Lisa set off to meet Harry in the park. He was waiting on a bench tossing pebbles into the pond.
    ‘Knew you’d come,’ he said with a grin, but his grin faded when he saw her pale face.
    ‘Hey, kid,’ he said, ‘what’s up?’
    Lisa flopped down beside him on the bench. ‘Had a letter,’ she said.
    ‘From your family?’
    ‘No, they’re not there any more,’ she answered, her voice breaking on a sob.
    Harry listened as she told him what Cousin Nikolaus had written. When she finally came to a stop he stood up and, taking her hand, hauled her to her feet.
    ‘We still got each other,’ he said, ‘us orphans. You and me. So, let’s go up west and see what it’s all about.’
    Lisa wasn’t sure what reaction she’d expected from Harry, but it wasn’t quite that.
    ‘Up west? Today?’
    ‘You got to make your own life now,’ he said. ‘I learned that the hard way, too. Got to look after number one. We ain’t kids no more. So, we get on with it. And today we’re going up west to see the sights. Come on, Lisa, today’s going to be special.’
    Still uncertain, Lisa allowed him to drag her along to the bus stop outside the park gates.
    ‘We can get the bus from here,’ he said and within minutes he had his hand out, hailing a number 22. ‘Follow me.’ He led the way up the stairs to the very front of the bus. They sat side by side looking down on the London streets as Lisa had on her way from Liverpool Street. They were still busy, but Lisa had got used to them and she looked out with interest.
    ‘You get a good view from up here,’ she said as she peered through the window. ‘I’m glad we came upstairs.’
    ‘Best to be upstairs,’ Harry agreed. ‘You’ll see.’
    ‘You got the money for the fare?’ she asked him softly.
    ‘Nope, but it don’t matter, you’ll see.’
    About two stops later the conductor appeared at the top of the stairs and gradually made his way along the gangway, taking money and issuing tickets until her reached them.
    ‘Fares please,’ he said.
    Harry looked up at him and then felt in his pocket. He got to his feet and felt in the other pocket, then shook his head. ‘My money,’ he said in his heavily accented English. ‘Where is my money? It is lost!’ He made a great show of feeling through his empty pockets, but the conductor wasn’t deceived.
    ‘Off!’ he roared. ‘Down them stairs and off!’
    ‘Yes, yes, we go. So sorry!’ Harry’s accent was still heavy and he grabbed Lisa by the hand, hurrying her along the gangway and down the stairs. The conductor rang the bell and when the bus pulled into the next stop Harry and Lisa jumped off. As it drew away again, leaving them on the pavement, Harry said, ‘There you go! Easy!’
    ‘Harry, haven’t you any money?’ asked Lisa.
    ‘Not to spend on bus fares,’ replied Harry, cheerfully. ‘Come on, here’s the next bus.’ And he stuck out his hand again.
    It took them six buses before they were disgorged into Piccadilly Circus, but Harry’s system worked and once Lisa knew what was happening, she simply followed his lead, giggling as they were turfed off the buses by the angry conductors.
    It was a beautiful December morning, with a clear blue sky and pale winter sun, but the air was bitterly cold. Lisa shivered despite the winter coat her mother had managed to buy for her before she left. Harry, with only a