Two teens, both speechless in different ways.
Unable to express their true feelings through words, incapable of formulating a word about what goes on on their mind.
Speechless until they find each other.
Turns out, words aren't the only way of tel...
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━━━━━━ ∙ʚ♡ɞ∙ ━━━━━━━.
"Kids! It's time for breakfast" a boy said, as he placed a small chunk of bread in each child's dish.
"But Ray!" One of the kids, Thoma, whined "At this point we'll die of hunger!!"
"I know but I'm trying my best, okay?" Thoma nodded, still feeling down by the amount of food he received.
For the past 5 months, Ray was snowed under. His mom, founder and owner of the orphanage, was extremely ill with something called Coronary Artery Disease. He had read about in books, it happens when blood vessels become narrowed, it can cause chest pains, arrhythmias and heart failures.
It is also categorized as one of the deadliest diseases.
Ray had to get several jobs to win enough money to even buy medicines for his mom, and not only that but maintain the 34 kids his mother's orphanage had and pay the taxes.
It was a big responsibility that he, and only him, shouldered.
Although he did not ask for any of it.
--
At school, no one knew about his situation nor he was intending to let anyone know about it. After all, if the names, and weird glares he received were already upsetting, imagine, if you will, how it would be for people to bully or pity him. So, the teen, scared to talk, scared to burden, kept all the pain in and was left speechless.
Once he entered the classroom, he apologized to his homeroom teacher and started heading to his seat.
“Ray, may you come here for a second” the teacher, Mr. Lewis asked before he could reach his destination.
“What do you need, professor?”
“Your parents haven’t paid the school’s maintenance fee. Can you tell them? Otherwise the school’s director will have to suspend you until you pay.”
As good at hiding emotion Ray was, the look on his face was something he wasn’t able to control; He looked terrified, shocked, confused. He had forgotten!
He payed, taxes, food, his enrollment, medicines, etc.
But he forgot the maintenance fee!
The boy,still dumb-founded by the previous statements made by the teacher, just nodded and sat down at his desk.
Ray had several options but none of them were good.
He could stop going to school, that would minimize the money he had to pay but it would also minimize his chances of getting a good job in the future.
He could get more jobs.. No, that would stress him out way more, he could get sick and the taxes would increase.
He could..
Ask his father. “No way in hell, that man abandoned me and my mom, there’s no way I'm gonna ask him for help.
But if not, how? How would he pay for everything? How would he keep 34 kids and his mom alive?!
It was decided then. He was going to sell his things, his clothes and everything he had.
--
Once classes were over, Ray headed to the dance clubroom. However he hadn’t come to dance. There was something else in that room that caught his attention. Ray entered the little closet the place had and raised his arm to a shelf where a somewhat big box was stored. He brought it down and exited the closet. The noirette opened the container and admired what was inside;
A piano.
A portable piano actually.
It still had the store sticker on which read; Professional MIDI keyboard, 90.00 dollars.
It was expensive, that’s why he thought he was extremely lucky to have found this one. Even though it wasn’t his, he treated it as his own and played it whenever he felt under the weather or just in the mood to play it.
He was able to express his unspoken thoughts with this instrument.
Ray sat down on the floor, piano on his laps and turned it on.
The minor’s fingers started to press the keys cautiously, as though the piano was made of glass and doing something wrong could break it. Each note the piano played made him feel happier, he felt each problem he had was possible to solve. Playing the piano seemed to get him a second wind, making him see the world differently.
The song he was playing didn’t have a name, it was a lullaby his mom sang for him and since he longed for his mother, he learned how to play it on the keyboard and felt warm inside whenever he played it, as if his mother was humming it for him, telling Ray everything was going to be okay.
--
Once he arrived at the orphanage after working, he greeted every single child and gave them the scarce food they had. There was no food left for himself but that did not matter to him at the moment, the children were more important, they were like his siblings.
Ray headed upstairs, to his room and took out all of his personal belongings, placed them in a box and posted an advertisement online from his out-dated yet useful phone. Then, he pulled out the money he had gained that day and started counting it. There wasn’t a lot but there was enough for some food and medicines.
Maybe things would get better and eventually, he would be able to live a normal life.
He had a little hope left but just enough to keep working hard.
