the wolf ; rigel wilde

v. invisible string

❝ An unbreakable string that transcends distance and time ❞

present day
Rigel

My heart felt tight in my chest when I heard that a coupe had decided to adopt Amaya. I could feel her lifting further away from me, not that I had made any effort to keep her close to me either. The only thing that would keep us close to one another was Grave, but now she was leaving. To distract myself rom my thoughts, I went into the great hall to play piano. Since the moment I learnt how to play the piano, I submerged myself in its melodies; the notes echoing off the stone walls of the orphanage.

On adoption day, I stood in line with everyone else like Mrs. Margaret had asked, all the visitors coming in to see us. We were like animals in a zoo, being stared at by everyone who walked past. I constantly plastered on a fake smile every time someone showed interest in me and asked me my name, but in reality boredom was catching up to me. Once we weren't required to stand in line, I made may way to the great hall, where the piano stood grand and proud.

The notes came to me naturally, my fingers gliding across the keys almost automatically. I needed to distract myself; while I couldn't stand the fact that she might be leaving, I couldn't cause a scene. She wanted a family, and I wasn't going to be the one to get in the way, but at the same time I yearned to be close to her, so what would be of me if she left?

As I continued to play, a small group of people walked past the door to the hall, I turned to see who it was, and to no surprise it was Mrs. Margaret, Amaya, and a couple, who assumed were the ones who were going to adopt her. A soft smile graced her face as a blonde woman spoke to her, and I felt a sense of warmth in my stomach. Whenever the brunette girl wasn't being punished, she wore a kind smile on her face, even though she was in pain. That was the first thing that pulled me towards her; how could someone be in so much pain, and still present a smile so bright that even the stars envied it.

My music made Amaya and the woman stop once they were out in the courtyard, and by her face, I could tell that she knew it was me. She spoke to the woman before getting into the car, and driving away. I could feel the invisible string tugging on me as the distance between us became bigger.

I shouldn't feel like this, what is wrong with me?!

A few moments later, I heard Mrs footsteps enter the hall. Once she had approached me, she kissed me lightly on the cheek, making me end my piano piece. The moment the woman wasn't looking at me, I wiped my hand against my cheek, removing any trance of her that lingered on my skin. I loathed the woman, even though I was the only one that never suffered any physical abuse under her hand, I had to watch my friends scream and cry in pain, I had to watch Amaya scream and cry in pain.

"There is a couple here that would like to adopt you, Rigel. The Cuttermills" My attention went back to the headmistress as she spoke. I already knew how this was going to go; I would go home with a couple, spend the entire adoption trial period living a normal teenage life, and then I would come back to the orphanage and turn down the adoption, like I had done numerous time before.

I stood up, following Mrs. Margaret out to the corridor, where there was a young couple waiting for me. "Hello Rigel, my name's Natalie, and this is my husband Raymond. We love for you to come home with us." Natalie held a calming warmth in her gaze, as did her husband, and for once I felt like maybe this trial wasn't going to be so bad after all. On the other hand, Mrs. Margaret wasn't so reluctant to let me go, but she sent me to get my belongings anyway. Her stance wavered as I made my way to the Cuttermills car, and I was ever so thankful to be out of the hell hole of an orphanage. But I was still far away from Amaya.

She plagued my mind like there was no tomorrow, up to the point where Natalie was speaking to me and I had completely zoned out. "I'm sorry, Natalie, I zoned out for a second." I apologised meekly, to which she smiled understandingly and repeated what she had asked, "How long have you been playing the piano for? You play beautifully." I nodded gratefully at the woman's remark, content with the fact that she appreciated my talent. At Grave the only person who noticed my music was Mrs. Margaret, only because I was her so called 'star child', a term which I despised deeply.

The drive to the Cuttermills house was peaceful, only the sound of the quiet radio music filling the silence of the car. A town sign flashed passed, the words 'Glenbrooke' barely visible. I had never been in this town before, so my eyes looked around at the numerous amount of houses and shops everywhere. As we entered the more populated side of town, an empty patch of grass caught my eye. At the front of the lot, were three marble slabs, with names inscribed on them. I was too far away to read the names, but I figured they were a deceased family or relatives.

"There was a house fire there, ten years ago. The parents and their son died, only their daughter survived. Nice family they were, I do wonder where the daughter is now, she was such a lovely young girl." Natalie spoke up when she noticed how my eyes lingered on the empty patch of grass. I nodded in understanding as I removed my attention from the family resting place.

As the car pulled up to the house, I assessed the house that I would be spending the next three weeks in. It wasn't as bright and colourful as the neighbours, who had flower pots lining the windowsills with various varieties of flowers, but it was nice. All the houses on the road were built the same, but each had their own personality. Raymond unlocked the door, letting me inside first so I could have a look around. "Our neighbours are lovely, I'm sure you'll like them. They adopted a young girl today too, so maybe tomorrow you'll get to meet them."