The Orphans in the Woods

Rohan was 9 and his sister Gertrude was 7 when they lost their parents. The year was 1970 when the tragedy happened and the siblings became orphans on the run. They had been living in Branchville, New Jersey in a lovely 3-bedroom house with their parents - Stefan and Gretchen Hamberg. They were a happy family. Everything seemed just right. Stefan had a good job as a trucker. Gretchen took care of the home and children. Rohan and Gertrude rode the bus to school Monday through Friday. On Sundays, Stefan was always home for morning church and evening dinner. Life was good. Until the dreadful August day. It was the last date that Rohan would remember for any significant reason. August 18th, 1970. That was the day when Stefan and Gretchen were murdered.

It seemed to be a typical Tuesday. The children had just enjoyed a lovely summer swimming and fishing in the nearby lake and it was time to return to school. The bus had picked them up in the morning, and after school time was over, the bus had returned them around 4 p.m. as usual. They knew their father was not to be counted on to sit with them for dinner on most weekdays, but he never missed a Sunday. When Rohan and Gertrude got off the bus and began walking back to their happy home, they teased each other and then played the guessing game about what their mother had prepared for them to eat. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as they stepped unto the front porch. The front door was open, but the screened door was closed. Rohan opened the screened door and his sister Gertrude walked in, then he followed.

"Mom!" Gertrude called loudly, "We're home!"

But there was no response and that was not typical. Gretchen always greeted her children when they returned from school. The front door led into the kitchen, and both Gertrude and Rohan noticed nothing was cooking. There was no scent of something that had been cooked earlier either, and there was no sign of any dinner. That wasn't normal.

"Mom!" Rohan called even louder than his sister. "Where are you?"

The siblings proceded through the kitchen into the dining room and living room. Everything looked clean and quiet, but no sound or sight of their mother.

Rohan plopped himself on the couch and flung his bookbag on the floor. It wasn't like his mother to not be here greeting them and having dinner ready, but he trusted that his mother was somewhere important and had good reason. She'd show up soon and tell them what was going on.

But Gertrude kept looking. After she put her bookbag in her bedroom, she walked to the back of the house to her parent's bedroom. The door was half-open so she pushed it open more to allow herself in.

That's when Rohan heard his sister scream a shrilling terrified scream that he hadn't heard since he threw a frog on her two summers ago. Rohan started laughing remembering how squirmish she was before she started going to school. But Gertrude came running from the back of the house to the living room. She collapsed in front of her brother crying hysterically. Now Rohan knew something was definitely wrong. This wasn't about a silly frog.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, but she kept her head in her hands and just kept crying, her body began to shake. Rohan stood up, worried and suspicious. He walked calmly toward the back of the house, past the dining room and the bathroom.

"Mom?" he said hopefully, feeling scared of what he may find. As he neared his parent's bedroom, the door was open and he could see something on the floor. It couldn't be what he thought he saw. He walked closer and into their room.

There were his parents on the floor, blood all over the carpet.

He knelt down next to them, tears falling from his eyes.

"Mom, Dad?" he said softly, "Are you alright? What happened?"

But they did not reply. They were like stone, white stone, frozen and covered in blood.

Rohan put his hand on his father's shoulder to shake him awake.

"C'mon Dad, get up," Rohan said and saw holes in his father's body like gunshots. Then he put his hand on his mother's face, nudging her.

"Mom, please, you can't be dead," he started crying, "We need you. Please wake up."

But it was no use. They had been shot, multiple times, murdered. They had died sometime while Rohan and Gertrude were at school.

Rohan cried for a few minutes. Then he took a deep breath and stood up. He could hear his sister still crying in the living room. He had to be strong. He had to take care of her. All she had was him, and she was all he had now. They had to stick together. He walked out of the bedroom, closing the door completely. He walked back to sit with his crying sister in the living room.

He put his arm around Gertrude lovingly. He never felt so close to her in his 9 years of life.

"We'll be alright," Rohan said to Gertrude. "You've got to trust me now Gretch. I'm your big brother and I'm going to take care of you. Don't worry, ok."

Gertrude just kept crying and shaking.

Rohan stood up again and went around the house closing all the windows, locking them and pulling the shades or curtains closed. He went outside to go the basement to gather supplies. He filled a wheelbarrow with supplies, and brought them back into the house, then closed and locked the front door.

Gertrude noticed that her brother was planning something. She stopped crying and decided to help him.

"Are you hungry?" Gertrude asked him.

Rohan nodded in agreement, and Gertrude went to the kitchen to see what she could find for them to eat for dinner.