Paint Me Naked

I

Chapter 1

"I want a kid who draws."

The man felt an invisible itch on his nape, finding the request of the woman in front of her quite difficult to give. Because there's no child in this shelter knows how to draw or a kid who simply likes to hold a pencil, the only thing he noticed is that all they do is play till the sun sets.

He wants to please every possible adaptors, but it seems like he can't if the woman proceeds on asking for a young fella that draws.

"I'm sorry ma'am, unfortunately there's no kid has the characteristic that you're searching for."

For what he thought was the end of discussion was a mistake when he saw the woman points at a certain girl who's busy licking newspaper heart shaped cutouts and gently sticking it on her adorable puffed cheeks.

The girl looks up and made a few seconds eye contact on her. The woman smiles in delight. As if she saw a glimmer in those innocent eyes.

"Her. She's coming with me."

And so the lass did, she will finally had a house to stay in.

In this case, a real one.

Not just an orphanage.

"Uhm.. who are you?"

The soft hand wraps around her finger, holding onto her as they cross the busy road.

"I'm now your unnie little one." She introduced herself as they both didn't stop their tracks.

The woman's statement confused the girl, and so she asked again. "You're not my mama?"

The question lingered in the air for the longest time, but was cutted short when the kid stopped walking that eventually caused her to have a little pause too.

She looks down and lays some comforting pats on the lass's head.

She heard it well, she just haven't thought of a good answer for it yet.

Filling up the adoption papers an hour ago has been a bliss, and seeing the girl gently swaying her hand while in the middle of the street feels sweet. She now thinks that maybe this is worth the decision.

A couple of seconds flew passed by them and there she replies, "I'll be your older sister. So much cooler than a mama, don't you think?"

The kid pouts, "My old friends have both. And they say having more than one is better. Cooler."

The woman tuck strands of the girl's hair, "For them it is." She utters.

Suddenly, she was caught staring at the little girl's eyes and saw her head did a subtle movement, tilting it slightly on the left. "Is it not cool to have a sister and a mama at the same time?" The younger curiously said.

"I have no idea how that feels like." She blinked once and leans away.

The young girl went silent for a while like she's having a gut feeling that she should talk no more.

But the woman won't let her feel that way. She should express herself truthfully, and as an artist, she knows this too well.

And so, she went on bursting the bubble. "But hey, I think it'll be cooler if someone has a little sister like you."

Little stomps that almost made no sounds, the girl marched on her place and says, "Then that makes you the cool one! Not me!" She defends.

It's adorable, but the little girl looks like she can throw a fit in any minute, in any hour, in any day. The woman finds this amusing and quite interesting.

"Alright then. Let's grab some hotdogs on the way home then we'll discuss who's deserving to be cooler."

She grabbed the kid's hand but the softness of her fragile palms soon fades away.

"You'll.. you'll bring me back to the orphanage?" The young girl asked as she letten go of the woman's hand.

'Home..'

'For kids like them, they already see it as a home.'

"I'm your pretty cool-" she clears her throat after seeing the glimpse of the kid's frown, so she tries to lay it correctly like how she knows the kid would prefer. "Okay. I'm your sister now, remember? Don't you ever forget about that."

The worries in her thoughts got washed off after seeing the girl's enthusiastic reaction.

"So it's real? You're now like.. like my family?" Little jumps, the one that someone makes when they're very excited and extremely happy for something. The lass did just that.

"Yes."

"I've been wanting to have one for so long, unnie!" The small yet affectionate girl envelopes her arms around her body.

A hug.

She received a hug from a kid she just met, and now she's her legal guardian.

There's a ton of emotions that she couldn't express for a long time. Sometimes she doubts if she lost it all, but it seems she can feel some of it now.

When she thought only her paintings can ignite a smile on her face, proves her wrong. Who knew a few tiny giggles could too?

'You'll be coming home with me.. Chaeyoung.'