By Ariel
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: mild child abuse - for now... Ariel POV
Disclaimers: From now until the end, all ideas and characters are mine. *grins* Don't take. It won't make me happy and then you won't like what will happen.
Nearly two months have passed since I first stepped into the orphanage. Ms. Haine hasn’t singled me out since the first day when she had introduced me to the other kids during lunch. I was quite glad about that. I really didn’t like being the center of attention. It made me feel quite uncomfortable. I didn’t know if I was like that before the accident but I was like that now. Each time I felt someone looking at me, I just wanted to disappear. The future parents that entered this building only regarded me with pity in their eyes. Not love. Not the want of a child. They showed me the exact feeling that I didn’t want.
Almost two months and I still felt so alone. Don’t get me wrong; I had made a few friends at the orphanage. The other five girls I shared the room with were very nice and I was rather close to one in particular. Her name was Tru and she was my age. She had beautiful light brown hair with natural golden highlights and her eyes were a very expressive hazel color. She had been at the orphanage only a few months longer than I had been – her parents had enough of her and just dropped her off. No explanation. No goodbye.
Tru made sure that I did all of my chores properly so they would pass Ms. Haine’s inspection. “I don’t want you to get in trouble,” she had told me. “Her punishments hurt a lot.” I didn’t want to ask how she knew so I only nodded and willingly put to memory every little hint and piece of advice she gave me. I can clearly remember the smile she granted me when I didn’t ask questions. I had done the right thing.
It was just another normal day at the orphanage. We got up, got dressed, brushed our teeth and then went down to breakfast. Soon after, we would split up, do our chores before Ms. Haine would come by, and inspect our work. If we passed, we were allowed to go out in the cool autumn weather and play. If we didn’t, then we would have to redo all of our work and after she checked it again, she would send us to our rooms so we could think of what we didn’t do correctly the first time. It wasn’t a great life but I had known that little fact the moment Mrs. Siler stepped out the front door and left me here alone.
Luckily, I finished my chores and passed Ms. Haine’s inspection. But instead of running outside to play with the other kids, I decided to go upstairs and stay in my room. I think I must have shocked the headmistress when she saw me turn the opposite direction from the other kids but I didn’t wait to find out. I just wanted to be by myself for a while.
I sat on my bed, leaning back against the wall and wrapping my thin arms around my tucked-in knees. I hadn’t gained any significant weight and Tru claimed to be able to see more of my bones now than before when we had met. I stared out of the large window that was between my bed and Tru’s, watching a little bit of the outside life by the Park. I was still scared of it. I guess the first impression I had – dark and eerie – still came to my mind when I looked inside. Perhaps someday I would not be frightened by it anymore but until that day came, I just watched life bustle by from the window.
My thoughts started drifting back to the little time I had spent at the hospital before joining Mrs. Siler on our journey over to the United States. The doctors… the nurses… they had all been wonderfully nice to me. I wondered how they were doing. And that boy that was in the same room as me. I never knew his name and I wondered what had happened to him. The medics refused to answer the questions held deep in my eyes. I guessed I was never meant to know him. I just hoped that he recovered well.
I continued to stare out the window for a very long while. Random thoughts entered and left my mind and I just sat there, alone and shivering slightly from the cold. I made no attempt to cover myself with my blanket. I was too comfortable. Comfortable enough that I didn’t hear the squeak of the door as it opened full. So comfortable that I didn’t notice Tru had walked in and grabbed the blanket from the foot of my bed. I had only realized she was there when she draped the blue material over my arms and my legs and gave me a slight look.
“You’re going to catch a cold, Ar,” she said as she crawled up and settled by my side, covering herself with my blanket as well. “Ms. Haine doesn’t like it when any of us are sick. She gets really mean.” She was whispering now. I figured she didn’t want any of the kids that were in the other rooms to hear. Us kids were always getting in trouble for talking about the headmistress in any way other than saying she was a wonderful woman. It was something that made us laugh but we wouldn’t admit it. We didn’t want to get in trouble.
“So, what are you doing up here alone anyway?” Tru asked as she turned her big eyes towards me.
I shrugged and continued to stare out the window. “I dunno. I didn’t feel like playin’ today.” It was a fact. I liked being inside. It made me feel like I belonged somewhere and the bed, although it was just on loan to me until I was either adopted out or moved out of there, was mine.
Tru smiled a little and nodded. My answer was sufficient enough for her. “Okay. I’ll just stay here with you then.” She leaned her head against my shoulder and stared out the window. It was silent for a while before she spoke. “Do you think we’ll ever get out of here Ar?” Her voice had a hint of fear in it. We both knew that Ms. Haine would only be nice for a short while before she had enough.
I whispered my answer to her. “Someday, Tru. Someday we’ll get out of here. I’m not sure when but we will.” I shifted a little and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, allowing her to lean closer.
“I believe you, Ar,” she whispered to me. She yawned widely and gave a sheepish giggle when I yawned as well. “Sorry.”
I shook my head and smiled at her. “Don’t be. Yawns are contagious.” She looked at me like I had grown a few new heads.
“Where’d ya learn that from?” Her wide eyes clearly showing her surprise that I knew something like that.
I smiled a little, seeing how she really believed me. Most of the other kids would have told me that I was making stuff up. “I…” My eyes saddened a little. “I’m not sure where I picked that up, Tru.” I whispered quietly. “Maybe I learned that before I came here… before I lost my mem’ry of my fam’ly.” I stopped talking, feeling loss and confusion fill me.
Tru hugged me from her position next to me. “It’s alright Ar. I would believe you anyway.” We snuggled closer together with the blanket, staring out the window. “Just like someday we’re going to get out of here.”
Despite the emotions I felt that were bringing me down, I gave a little smile at the word.
Someday.
TBC...
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