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On the way home; I managed to get the last of the day's loaves at a closing bakery, along with a cold meat pie. I wanted to know more about the twins; and children could always eat. Like their eyes, the names they gave me marked them as not from around here. And part of me- a lot of me, truth be told- wanted to know what two young children were running from. They were a mystery, who came to help me when I needed it most, as religiously lax as I was, I was not going to ignore what seemed to be a gift from providence.

It was dark when I entered my apartment; hardly unusual, but disappointing. I took that to mean that the twins had left while I was gone. I felt my way to the table, and found a match and lit my lamp. Turning around I saw them, curled up around each other again, tucked against the wall. This time they had taken a blanket from the bed; and after another moment I saw why. During the last few hours, they had managed to carry and heat enough water on my little stove to wash their clothes, which were drying hung on a line stretched across the room, which I had missed when I came in. The shirt I'd worn the night before was also hanging there. Their faces and hair were also clean, and now they were asleep again. I walked across the floor as quietly as possible and rooted in my clothing chest, coming up with two old nightshirts, that I'd probably been carrying around with me since my aunt had died. When I turned from that, I saw they were awake, and staring at me.
“Here.” I lay the nightshirts on top of the blanket they'd folded around themselves. “Your clothes aren't dry yet. You can wear these.” I turned my back on them again. There was hot water on the stove, and the fire was well banked and I set about warming the pie and fixing a pot of tea. All of the dishes were clean as well, whoever they were, the twins did sit about idle.
“Thank you for cleaning up.”
I said, and turned to put the food on the table. They were standing there again, watching me.
“You're welcome.” Suki- I think it was Suki- said. Now clad identically, it was very hard to tell them apart.
“Suki thought that if we made ourselves useful and clean; you might let us stay.” Saki offered, confirming my guess.
“I wouldn't have turned you out.” I said somewhat surprised.
“Then what do you want from us?” They chorused with their old eyes.
I stopped in surprise, I hadn't really thought about that.
“I don't want anything.”
“That's stupid.”
“Everyone wants something.”
“Well last night, you two gave me something.” I shot back. “So maybe it's time that I helped you.”
I thought to myself- 'it's time someone did.'