A Grimm Life

Goodbyes

A couple days have passed since Cinder and I agreed to leave the orphanage. Tomorrow, we should've been receiving a meal. Granted, it was gonna taste horrible and probably not fill our stomachs, but it was better than nothing. However... Before that, today was the day every orphan here would have to present themselves to any potential carers. Every two weeks, a line of people came along to adopt at the orphanage. That's how we'd get the food. Considering how long Cinder and I have been here, we had no doubts neither of us would be adopted. Unfortunately, we still had to go through the procedure of standing in the cold breeze. 

I had just changed into some new clothes, consisting of a white t-shirt and pants. My wolf tail hung out from my lower back and my ears twitched as I heard voices from outside the building. I take a deep breath as I leave my bedroom and line up with the other orphans. We were all split up into two separate lines. One for boys, and one for girls. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cinder lining up close to the front. I consider trying to get her attention, but I decide against it, afraid that the old hag will see me. 

Once all the orphans are lined up, we walk in single file out of the building. Despite our poor living conditions, today is the only day we get to feel "clean". Upon leaving the building, I see a bunch of adults who all appear to come from different backgrounds. Most of them look like they have steady income, judging from the clean clothes, happy expressions and lack of any hunger problems. Must be nice... 

With all of the orphans out of the building, the adults all begin to take a look at us, wondering who to adopt. More than a few adults lay their eyes on me and murmur twisted insults. Having Faunas hearing was more of a curse than a blessing sometimes. I lower my head as my ears fall, my tail wraps around my waist to hug myself. 

Slowly, other orphans are taken by the other adults. My ears twitch as I hear someone tell the old hag something. 

???: I'll take her. 

I look up a little and my eyes widen as I see a mean-looking woman with blonde hair standing in front of Cinder. She too is surprised and she peeks from the corner of her eye to look at me. Judging from her expression, she wasn't sure what to think. But we both knew she couldn't reject it. Us orphans never had a say in who we let adopt us. 

The blonde woman signs some papers before placing a hand on Cinder's back and takes her away. My ears fall once more as I watch my one and only friend walk away. All I could hope was that Cinder would be better off and that I'd see her again. Though... Deep down, I believed this might be the last time I ever got to see her. The revelation tore my heart apart. 

Before I know it, she's out of eye shot. I feel a tear trickle down my face which I quickly wipe away, not wanting the hag to call me out on it. I wait a little while longer as the remaining adults pick out more kids to adopt. 

And to my surprise... 

???: Excuse me.

I look up from the ground and lay eyes on a girl my age with snow white hair and sky blue eyes. She wears a radiant white dress. In all my life I had never seen such beauty. 

Girl: Why do you have weird ears and that tail? 

Her voice is soft and almost purely innocent. It was like she was untouched by the cruelty of the world. I didn't think such a person existed. I open my mouth to speak, but another voice calls out. 

???: Winter! What have I told you about slinking away like that? 

She turns to look at a approaching man wearing an expensive white suit and red tie. He has white hair and a moustache that almost covers his lips completely. 

Winter: Sorry father. I was just curious about this boy. 

The man looks at me and I immediately lower my gaze as I feel his icy glare burn into me. 

Man: A Faunas. Despicable beast... 

Winter: A... "Faunas"? 

Old hag: Oh. I see you're taking an interest in this... "creature". He's a quiet beast, but he's a fast learner when it comes to work. Kick him around perhaps once or twice and he'll do whatever job you want. 

Man: Is that so...?

He strokes his moustache in thought. After a moment, he chuckles. 

Man: We'll take him. 

The old hag swiftly hands over the papers, allowing the man to sign them. Meanwhile, the girl called Winter waves at me slowly, unsure of whether she should be friendly or not. I don't respond out of fear of being hurt by either her father or the old hag. Once the papers were signed, the old hag shoved me forward, handing me over to my new carer. The man huffs at me before turning away. 

Man: Let's go. 

He begins to march away from the orphanage. I take a deep breath as I follow both him and his daughter away. In a sense, I was happy to be saying goodbye to this orphanage. Nothing but bad memories lingered here. I could only hope that I could meet with Cinder once more and have a better life wherever I ended up. 

Apparently, even that was too much to ask for...