Little Orphan Vanny

Chapter 1: Twenty-Three Wishes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~14 Years Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up thinking it would just be another average day around Twenty-Three Wishes. That was the name of the orphanage Aerith Gainsborough, (who you and the other kids called Miss Gainsborough) ran. That was the name of the place you called home. You had been there since you were 4, making it two years now since you were brought here. You couldn't remember what happened, or why you were brought here, but no one ever gave you a straight answer or responded whenever you asked where your parents were, so you figured it must have been something sad. Eventually, you just stopped asking. You thought this was just your life now, at least until someone finally decided to adopt you. 

So, you tried to have fun while you were here. You spent your mornings eating the slightly stale cereal, then helping clean up and doing what you could to help Miss Gainsborough out to prepare lunch for all the other kids. If you couldn't help her in there, then you would go out and play with some of the younger kids. You were one of the older kids here, since most were either adopted or moved into foster homes by the time they hit 8. You wondered if you wouldn't be moved out soon too, if you no one adopted you, but you tried to keep your thought of the future to a minimum so you could enjoy daily life as it was.    

"Come on, you can do it. Just repeat after me, 'Z-Y-X, W, V-U-T-S-R-Q.'" You sang, sitting cross-legged on the floor across from a young girl, around a year younger than you, named Xion. You taught her the ABCs when she first got here, shortly after you did, then later how to count without using her fingers. You recently taught yourself how to sing the ABCs backwards, and she told you she wanted to learn too.

"Z-Y-X...W....." She paused, then just hummed the rest.

"No, you have to say the letters." You sighed in frustration. You had been at this for way too long already, and every time she pulled this same crap. "Come on Xion." You urged her, and she tried again. She got farther, but still ended up just humming the tune of the song.

"You're hopeless." You grumbled, and she groaned and fell forward into your lap.

"Nooo, don't give up on me ≈≈≈≈≈≈! V-U-T...R-S-T...P?"

"Don't quit your day job." You smirked at her, and she glared at you.

"What does that even mean?"

"...I don't actually know..." You admitted with a goof grin and she laughed at you. The two of you continued carrying on, when suddenly the doors burst open.

"Aerith...We have a bit of a situation." A cop who frequented the orphanage to make sure everything was always alright said as he entered the building. His name was Angeal, and you and Xion always theorized that he had a crush on Miss Gainsborough, and that's why he was always here, but today he seemed distressed.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, walking out of the kitchen with a big bowl of something or another resting on her hip as she continued to stir it.

He looked at the two of you, as if he didn't want to discuss it front of small children.

"Girls, go play." Miss Gainsborough said, noticing the two of you sitting on the rug. You both got up and left the room as Angeal walked over to her to continue their conversation in hushed tones.

While Xion began to make for the stairs to go back up to the bedroom to go get a new toy or something, you decided to hide behind the wall and try to listen in on the adults' conversation.

"We got a call from the neighbor early this morning, and when we went to arrest the man we found a kid hiding under the bed. He's beat up pretty bad, and looks a little scrawny. It's a classic case of abusive negligence. We're going to have to take both parents in, try and charge them...the man is already going to see jail time from the domestic dispute we broke up...but the kid...."