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People who live in the country, or who have never been to London might wonder how I got lost in a town I had lived in for years. One can live in London for a life time and not know it. All cities are like that, I suppose, and old ones more than most. I wandered for what seemed to be hours before finally sitting down on a crate. To my surprise, it collapsed beneath me, leaving me sprawled in a pile of rags.

I sighed, watching my breath fog out into the lighting night. It really didn't seem like it mattered. My chest was tight with suppressed coughs, and as I lay there, they started to come out. Compared to some coughing fits I'd had they were weak things, but they just didn't let up. They left me exhausted, and feeling the pre-dawn chill bitterly.

“Just my luck.” I muttered. “I avoid being killed by my friends and die of my own stupidity.” I coughed again, and curled on my side, wrapping my arms around myself. I lost track of time again, then I heard a soft sound, and opened my eyes. A child stood there, staring at me. I smiled wearily and wiggled the tips of my fingers, but was too exhausted to move further. It was a boy, between the ages of ten and fourteen, for my best guess. He was grubby, like a street urchin, but his clothes were of good quality. He had dark, red-auburn hair, that looked as though it had gone without cutting or combing for a while. He had no jacket, or gloves, and just stood staring at me. I suppose I must have been a sight. I managed to roll onto my back and partially sit up. My legs felt numb.
“Do you live around here?” I asked him, coughing slightly. “I don't suppose you could help me? I'm lost and...” The child ran away, heading further down the alley. “Ah.” I coughed again, and lay back. “I didn't think so.” I closed my eyes again. Moments later, I heard approaching footsteps. When I opened my eyes, there was the boy. I was seeing double now, though. No- I closed my eyes tightly, and reopened them, blinking. There were still two of them; only one was a girl. They were both staring at me, solemnly. Except for the gender, they could have been the same person. Both were dressed in good quality clothes that looked as though they had been worn for weeks; and were grubby and coat less. They even had more or less the same hair cut, though the girl wore a bit of ribbon.
“Oh... twins.” I smiled. I wondered if I was about to be mugged. “You must be cold. At least” I coughed, hard enough to roll me over onto my side again, and leave me aching. “At least you aren't alone.”
Small, cold hands, so cold, I could feel them though my gloves, took mine, and pulled me upright. I blinked at the children.
“Are you going to help me?” Each of them tucked themselves under one of my armpits and helped me to stand. “Do you know where we are?” They walked me down several alleyways, pausing to wait for cough fits to finish. I have no idea how far we walked, but eventually, when we came out onto a main street, I realized where I was.
“We need to go that way” I pointed, but couldn't manage to take my weight off of them. It felt odd, to walk being supported by them but there weren't many people on the street yet in that area. After all of my wanderings the night before, it turned out to be less than a half an hours walk back into my neighborhood.
“Over there; my apartment” I pointed, and the twins obediently helped me up the stairs. “The key... it's in my pocket.”
“This one?” the boy said, speaking for the first time. He held up the tiny silver key that I'd woven my spells into.
“No.” I smiled. “That key doesn't open anything.” And I fainted again.