1 Lena moved with grace, relishing the sun beating on her face. She leapt and spun and hit the ground lightly, continuing to dance. This was the life that she loved, dancing out on the open plains. Exhausted, Lena fell gracefully to the ground and sighed, looked up at the cloudless sky. The tucked her arms underneath her golden hair and looked around herself. The long grass swished in the soft breeze and the sun beat down warmly against her tan skin. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted into a sleep.
Lena was running through burning woods, panicking, the fire licking her feet and forcing her to race faster. Terror was building up around her, enclosing her thoughts and banishing anything that would keep her mind straight. All she could think of... was run.
“I have to get out of this,” she muttered to herself and ran even faster. She stumbled and hit the ground hard. The terror exploded in her heart and she knew, it had to be the end. She glanced behind her and watched as the fire overtook her.
Lena awoke in a panic. She sat up and took some deep breaths. When she breathed in through her nose, a choking scent caught her. Smoke. Lena jumped up and whipped around. A plume of smoke rose and Lena could just see red flames flickering. She took off, racing faster than she’d ever dreamed of. She needed to get there quick, quicker, she should be there right now! But... but she wasn’t. She’d barged out of the house after arguing with her father. They were poor and all but seriously. Her father wanted her to be sent away, to some stupid orphanage. That just wasn’t right! Lena had argued that it would be better for them to stick together but her father was stubborn. She would be going to an orphanage and there was nothing she could do about it.
Lena approached the house and skidded to a halt in horror. Everything was burning down. The walls were crumbling, the roof caving in. Lena let out a strangled cry and stumbled forward.
“Dad!” She yelled. “Daddy!” The heat of the flame scorched her and she blinked her eyes as tears appeared. Something seemed to exploded to her right and she fell over. Scrambling backwards and away from the heat she found a ditch to hide in. She knew her father had to be gone. So she just wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth in silent crying. She soon lay in a mangled heap as night fell. And a drop of rain fell from the sky. More followed before it started to pour as if the sky was weeping along with her. The fire was put-out but Lena didn’t move. She stay in her spot and drifted into a dreamless sleep as she and the sky cried together.
*****
“Dad?” She called out tentatively. No response. Lena pushed the boulder off her shoulders and strode confidently into the rubble, hiding all the feelings about to burst inside her. She kept calling her dads name and still no response. She felt like she herself was dead. She was alone. She hung her head in sadness. When she opened her eyes, they swept the area one more time and rested on a big pile. Her heart skipped a beat and she flew over, leaving the sadness lingering behind her. Eagerly, she ripped off all the bits and pieces and saw her father’s body. She shook him happily, trying to wake him up. He didn’t move. She did it again. He didn’t move. Lena stood and rolled her father over so she could see the front of his body and scrambled back in horror. She whole left side of her father’s body was covered in burn marks. Flesh was exposed to open air and it was a gruesome sight. Lena shook her head wildly in distress and pushed herself to her feet. Blindly she ran away from the ruins, eyes blurred with tears.
“No....” she whispered and stopped abruptly, crumpling to her knees. She wanted to scream, cry, and punch something all at the same time. She hit her fists against the earth and pressed her forehead against the soft dirt. She heaved in air and began to sob. “No, no, NO!” She cried. She screeched and rolled over, palms to the sky.
“Why am I so mad about this?” She sniffled. “W-we just f-fought.” She shook her head and found the answer. “E-even though we fought... w-we were family and I-I loved him, he l-loved me.” At that she sobbed and cried, unable to move. She’d lost all sense, she was just floating in a black void of sadness with no way out.
You know what this means, right? A voice in her head asked.
Yup, Lena nodded miserably. Orphanage, here I come.
So, she stood up and walked away from her old home, in ruins. She didn’t look behind her, she didn’t turn around. She just kept walking and walking, away from those shadows. She made it to the road and saw a not-so-busy gas station. Not sure of what else to do, she just crossed over to it, not worrying about any cars. There were none. She stepped inside the stood and a bell rang, marking her arrival. She wandered to the front desk where an old man sat, looking as boring as his grey shirt.
“Erm, excuse me,” Lena said softly.
“Whaddya want?” He grunted.
“C-could you tell me where the orphanage is?” He frowned in confusion.
“Why do ya wanna go there, kid?” He asked in his gruff voice.
“My dad was killed in a fire, about a ten minute walking into those plains across the road,” she said. “My mother left my dad when I was a baby so I don’t know where she is. So... I’m an orphan.” The man nodded.
“Alright, darlin, lemme tell ya somethin’,” he said. “I’ll call the fire department to take care o’ yer dad. Then, I’ll give ya a ride down to em orphanage. By the way, call me Jacob,” he said.
“Lena,” she said. “Thank you, Jacob.” He nodded and disappeared into the back room to call. Lena eyed the candy bars on the shelves and her stomach rumbled. Her hand felt like creeping up to them but that wouldn’t be good. Still, she quickly snatched a bar of chocolate and two energy bars. She stuffed them into the her pockets just before Jacob walked into the room.
“Alright, c’mon darlin’,” he said and led her outside to a beaten up red truck. She hopped inside and wrinkled her nose. Jacob chuckled at her face.
“I’m guessing you don’t like that smell o’ my coffee stains,” he laughed. He turned the truck on and drove out onto the empty road. They remained in silence the whole way and Lena stared out the window of the truck, admiring all the busy people with nice clothes and bags from shopping. She shook her head in amazement, knowing that could never be her. She turned her head and saw the sign for the orphanage getting bigger and bigger until they were parked right under it. Jacob and Lena both hopped down from the truck and he led the way inside. No one was in the entrance hall but Jacob walked into a room just to the right. Behind a desk sat a woman, probably in her mid-40’s. She didn’t look super fancy and her face was surprisingly beautiful, it had an asian touch that gave her a glorious look.
“Hello,” she greeted with a perfect smiled. “I’m Miss Raymon, is this a new orphan we have here?” She flashed me a wonderful smile and Lena blushed.
“I-I’m Lena Cobias,” she said softly.
“I’ll take care of this, darlin’,” Jacob said. “You go run along.” Lena frowned but walked out of the room and looked around. She started up the stairs in the entry hall and ran her fingers along the railing. As she reached the top floor, a door slightly shifted and whispers came out from behind the door. Creeping up, she knocked softly and instantly, the door swung open. There stood a girl about her age with honey-blond hair, fair skin, and brown eyes.
“Hi!” She said boisterously. “I’m Courtney. Who are you? You’re new here I can tell.” Lena blinked in surprise.
“I’m Lena,” she said.
“Ooh, that’s a pretty name. Greek?” Courtney inquired. Lena nodded. “Cool! Maybe we can be roommates, no one is in this room with me!” Lena nodded again, a grin creeping across her face.
“That’d be awesome,” she laughed. Courtney grinned a huge grin.
“Okay. Well, there’s only one more thing I can say,” she said.
“Welcome to the Bridgewater Orphanage!”
2Lena lay on her bed, interested in one of the books. It was 9 o’clock and lights out was at 11 so she had some time to read or explore. She’d had an amazing lunch and she’s met others older and younger than her. She especially loved a sweet girl, about 7, who was so kind to her, named Rosie. She said she was Courtney’s little sister and Courtney confirmed it, though she seemed a little reluctant to. Lena had joked to Courtney that it sounded as if Rosie was the cause of her problems, if she had any. She took on a serious face before it dissipated into sadness, then neutral.
“Whatever,” she shrugged and turned back to her food. Now they were both in their room, since Lena had begged to Miss Raymon to be with Courtney and she’d obliged. Courtney shut her own book with a sigh and swung her legs over the side of her bed.
“Lena?” She asked to get my Lena’s attention. She closed the book and looked over at Courtney. “C-can I tell you something?” Lena frowned in confusion and nodded slowly. Courtney took a deep breath and dove into her story.
“Earlier you ask me about Rosie being the cause of my problems. Well the truth is... she was. We used to live a normal life on the outskirts of this town. We lived with my mom, step-dad, step-brother, and two dogs, Miley and Cooper. One day... it was my mom’s anniversary with Joe, our step-dad. We decided to do something nice for them. I went out of the kitchen for about minute to go wake my mom up.” She paused and her eyes seemed to tear up. she took a shuddering breath and continued. “Wh-when I came back, the kitchen was on fire. Then... then the oven exploded. I know, it sounds funny but it’s true! It was horrible. I grabbed Rosie and we ran out away from the damage. We heard fire trucks but kept running. We hid for a few days and then saw in the newspaper that our mom and Joe had died. We had no idea about Benny or the dogs. With nowhere else to go, we came here.” Courtney sighed, and looked hard at Lena. “Don’t you get it! Rosie was the only one in there. It was her fault!” She buried her head in her hands and her shoulders shook with large sobs. Lena switched over next to Courtney and rubbed her back to calm her down.
“I’m so sorry,” Lena said. Courtney sniffled and sat up.
“Nah, it’s fine,” she said and inhaled a large breath. “Come on, you need to meet some more people our age.” She stood up abruptly and stiffly walked out of the room. Lena got up more slowly and wondered to herself if Courtney had just left to change the subject. Shrugging, she followed in suit to the hallway and saw Courtney coming back being followed by three others, one boy and two other girls. Lena waited for them and then followed as they entered her room.
The boy, she admitted to herself, was handsome. He had light brown hair, perfectly straight across his forehead. His eyes, a deep green that seemed to hold secrets and knowledge all at the same time. He had the air of a prince surrounding him, a majestical feeling she felt when she looked at him. Their eyes met and Lena hurriedly dropped her eyes as she sat down on her bed next to an unfamiliar girl.
“Jason, Katherine, Julia,” she said, pointing at each person in turn, “meet Lena. She’s new, came in today.” Lena nodded to each one and met each of their eyes, Jason’s very quickly.
Katherine had freckles dappled across her nose and striking blue eyes that stood out against her pale skin. She had almost curly light brown hair and her grin was nearly perfect except for the braces that ruined her image.
Julia had short, wavy, light blonde hair that almost reached her shoulders. She had slightly tanned skin and freckles all over her face with brown eyes. She had a few crooked teeth but she smiled like there was no tomorrow.
“So...” Lena said awkwardly. “H-how did you all come here?” Jason jerked his head up at her as if she had slapped him.
“Parents died in car crash,” he said gruffly. His voice seemed soft and friendly but she felt as if it could have an edge if he was angry.
“My dad is out exploring the world,” Katherine said in a low voice. “My mom is in jail.” She looked away as if waiting for scorn.
“M-my parents are too busy to have a child. Y-you know Jon Brian?” Julia said softly.
“Oh, wow! He’s your dad!” Courtney cried. Julia nodded.
“Yea, he and mom are too busy to house a child,” she finished. Seeing Lena’s confused face, Jason explained.
“Jon Brian is a famous man. He’s written books, talked on TV, and now he’s running for President,” he said. Lena nodded, understanding. “So,” he continued and everyone’s eyes were set on her. “What about you?” Lena swallowed uncomfortably and quickly made something up.
“My dad left my mom before I was born. I don’t even know him. My mom, she... she and I were walking through stores. We were very rich, you see, so we were going shopping.” Now that she was on a roll, she kept going. “I got seperated from my mom and she got hit by a car. I was surprised and I just... I was so sad I guess. I ran away from the scene and found an old family friend. He brought me here and... here I am!” There was a stunned silence.
“Wow... you had a busy life...” Courtney said. Lena nodded awkwardly.
“W-well,” Julia stuttered, glancing at the clock on the wall. “It’s, um, pretty late... I’m g-gonna go to bed. ’Night!” She called and exited the room. Katherine nodded and exited the room after Julia. Lena watched as as Jason too, left the room without a word.
“Come on,” she sighed. “Let’s get some sleep.” She got up and hurried over to her bed. She switched her lamp off and turned so her head was facing the window. She fell asleep watching the beautiful light of the full moon, filter into their room.
*****
Lena yawned loudly as she sat up. She rubbed her eyes and glanced over at Courtney’s bed. She lay, fast asleep, in a big lump. Lena grinned and rolled out of her bed. She hurried over to the mirror and nearly winced. Her hair was flying everywhere. Ignoring it, she opened her drawer when realization hit her. She had no other clothes. She sighed and glanced at the calendar. It was a saturday, Oct 19. She shook her head sadly. She attempted to make her hair presentable before heading out the door and downstairs to the dining hall.
No one was there but she followed sounds and smells that led her to the kitchen where Miss Raymon was making eggs. She glance behind her shoulder and smiled at Lena.
“Well, good morning Lena! You sure you want to be up this early,” She greeted and glanced at the clock. Lena followed her gaze and stared in surprise at the clock. It read 7:12am.
Lena shrugged. “That smells really good, Ms.Raymon,” she complimented. Miss Raymon grinned and nodded in appreciation.They sat in silence as Miss Raymon finished cooking and plated two dishes.
“Here you go,” she said and she placed one in front of Lena. Scrambled eggs swamped the plate with bacon to the side, crispy and greasy. A side dish, a tiny bit smaller held three pieces of slightly crusty toast that was wait to be buttered and jammed. Lena let her willpower crumble and she ate until her stomach was full and satisfied. She leaned back against the chair and sighed happily.
“Thank you,” she murmured and smiled happily at Miss Raymon. She smiled back and cleaned their dishes.
“Now,” she said, turning to Lena and sizing her up. “How about we go get you cleaned off and get you some new clothes to wear!” Lena grinned in relief.
“Oh, that would be amazing,” she sighed. “Amazing....” Miss Raymon chuckled and led her out of the dining hall and to a large bathroom.
“I’ll started some hot water for you and then let you get undressed. See this wall speaker?” She indicated to a tan square with buttons and a speaker. “When you are done, press my name-” she pointed to a small blue button “- and I’ll come here with new clothes. Towels in that cabinet and soaps or conditioner are in those cabinets. I’ll leave you be.” She turned on the water and hurried out of the bathroom. Lena locked the door and turned around to marvel. She undressed and set out some towels for herself. Looking into the cabinet that held soap, she pulled out lots of it, knowing it would take a while to get the grime off her. She then stepped into the steamy water and relaxed.
She spent as long as she could under the beating water as she washed the dirt off her body. But after her body was clean and her hair unknotted and shiny, she admitted that she should get out and dry off. She shut down the water and stepped out into the warm bathroom. She toweled her hair and let it hang loose while she dried herself off and pulled on a light blue fuzzy robe that had been hanging on a peg. She examined the buttons on the wall and pressed Miss Raymon’s name. Seconds later, she was knocking at the door.
“May I come in?” She asked. Lena hurried over to unlock the door.
“Yes, come in,” she said. Miss Raymon swept inside and sized Lena up again, pausing at the hair.
“Em... may I?” She asked, glancing at the hair again. Lena lit up.
“O-Of course, go ahead!” She stood as still as a statue as Miss Raymon fixed her hair into an around-the-world braid. Then, she exited to let Lena dress. It was a plain blue tee with black jeans that Lena pulled on. She marveled herself in the mirror and then reached to leave when she heard people bounding downstairs. They were up. She took a deep breath and placed a smiled on her face as she prepared to face her friends.
3 Lena was sitting with her friends while they ate their breakfast and got over the shock of her new look and they were also explaining the orphanage to her. When she had emerged from the bathroom, she had been met with stunned silence.
“Oh... wow...” Courtney gasped, stunned. “Wow. You look absolutely...” Here is comes, Lena thought, the criticism of overdoing it. “Absolutely amazing!” Courtney ended. “You are gorgeous! Look at your hair... your clothes.” She grinned happily. “You are totally awesome, come on let’s show you to the others.” So Lena was dragged into the dining room where the others were sitting down to toast and cereal and she felt a twinge of guilt after that amazing breakfast she’d had. But quickly that feeling was pushed to the side when she was showered with all the compliments. Katherine’s look was enough for Lena. She was downright amazed. She couldn’t believe her eyes and was lost for words. Julia stuttered out her compliments like “I-I... y-you... I c-can’t...” and finally, unable to make out a whole sentence, she said, “Wow.” And Jason... he just stared at her with a blank expression for so long that Lena dropped her gaze and walked over to Julia.
“You guys are making it sound worse then it is,” she groaned. Courtney let out a huge gasp.
“Worse?!!! Lena, have you seen yourself. You’re living proof of the word beautiful!” Courtney emphasized. Lena blushed and looked at her feet. Courtney sighed. She strutted over to Lena and threw her arm around Lena’s shoulder.
“Lena, Lena, Lena,” she said and grinned wildly. “You really need to stop being so modest.” She laughed and pulled them both down into seats. Lena smiled and stole a glance at Jason. He was staring into his bowl of cereal as if hoping to bore a hole in it and Lena looked away, surprisingly disappointed. To hide her disappointment, she asked an easy question.
“Tell me about this place, the Bridgewater Orphanage.” She inquired. Courtney glanced at Katherine to say, ‘You explain.’
“I’ve been here the longest,” Katherine started out. “Then came Jason, then Julia, and Courtney who’s been here for about... 3 months. Basically, Miss Raymon only likes to keep maximum 7 kids at a time, we’ve all learned that. It’s more like it’s her that’s adopting us instead of asking others to adopt us. She adores everyone here, especially some newbies. There used to be this adorable little boy and girl twins here and Miss Raymon went cuckoo in love with them. She was all very kind to all of us,” she motioned to her, Jason, Julia, and Courtney, “but I think that what we are all wondering is how she’ll react to you.” Katherine raised her eyebrows as that sunk in for Lena.
“Do you think she’ll adore me?” Lena ask, confused. Katherine shrugged and Julia responded.
“It’s possible,” she said, for once not stuttering, “I mean, you’re a very nice girl, Lena. If I were Miss Raymon, I would love you. And if I were a person looking to adopt, I would totally go after you!” She laughed at the end and smiled genuinely at Lena. She half smiled back, still a bit confused and almost worried. And then, she turned to the other question on her mind.
“Have any of you... gotten offers of adoption?” She asked, trying to appear as if it had no meaning to her while really she was dying to know the history of the orphanage. All of them exchanged mischievous glances. “What?” Lena half laughed, suddenly very interested. This time, Jason explained.
“Yeah, we all have about... maybe 3 times each,” he said, smiling. “But as soon as they get attached to us, we cause a huge ruckus and they end up trying to walk out peacefully... instead they run out, pulling their hair out.” Lena burst out laughing at this and the others quickly joined in.
“Ah...” She cried, “well, that’s quite something. But, why don’t you want to get adopted?”
Jason shrugged. “We’re a pack, our own family. You’re welcome to be one of us too, if you’d like to.” A huge grin built on Lena’s face.
“I’d love to,” she said happily and Courtney gave her a big hug. Lena sighed happily. She finally had her own happy family.
I apologize for 3 being short so I will try to make 4 longer. Thanks!
