It had been a few days since the siblings arrived. Long enough for the other kids to drift back into their routines and for the staff to stop checking on them.

Art always noticed these things.

Thanom seemed to have accepted him. He even fought a boy for calling Art 'the ghost kid' at school. The staff told him to walk away next time.

But Mali still hadn't said a word to him. She wouldn't speak to anyone but Thanom.

She communicated with him in glances, a tug on a sleeve or by pointing. She ate only when Thanom coaxed her. Slept only when his hand rested against her back.

She didn't act scared around Art anymore, but she didn't seem to trust him either.

Art understood her fear. He had experience holding onto something safe, only to end up losing it.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

The dormitory was a kiln. The ceiling fans spun overhead with a repetitive click, but they only succeeded in pushing the hot air from one side of the room to the other. Crickets chirped in loud waves from outside the open windows.

The hallway light hummed. Cots creaked as children twisted through sleep.

Art lay awake. His cot was stiff and his blanket was too short. His pillow had a lump in the middle. He was used to it. Sleep didn't visit him often.

Then, a faint whimper came from across the room.

Mali.

Thanom stirred in his sleep, reaching for her.

Barefoot, Art crossed the room—past the boy who twitched in his dreams, past the girl who kicked off her sheets even in the cold.

He knelt beside her cot.

Mali was cradling herself in a tight knot of limbs and cotton. Her face damp with tears. One hand opened and closed near her chest, grasping for something, the other pulling on her hair.

From his pocket, Art pulled a brown wooden elephant he'd found by the laundry sink.

Still warm from his palm, Art placed it on her pillow.

Mali's eyes fluttered open.

She saw the elephant, then she looked at Art and smiled.

She wrapped her fingers around the toy and held it to her cheek. She stopped pulling on her hair, and then, barely louder than a breath—

"Night, Art."

She'd never said his name before.

"Night, Mali." Art replied with a slight smile on his lips.

Behind them, Thanom stirred. "She talked?" he mumbled, still waking up.

Art nodded. "Yeah."

Thanom sat up slightly. His eyes flicked to her hand, still curled around the elephant. He closed his eyes and released a breath, a now content brother who just needed his sister to be okay.

"Cool, night." he said.

Mali was already asleep again, the elephant tucked under her chin in what looked like its rightful place.

***