𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 80

Cinder was never sure whether to feel excited or not when the orphanage matrons rounded them up and told them someone was coming today to inspect them. The kindly but tired women running the orphanage always made it out to sound like a wonderous occasion and urged each of them to clean up and put on their best clothes and smiles. This was a chance to have a mommy and daddy, or so they always said, and the kids ran around in a frenzy ahead of it.

At nineteen years of age, going on twenty, Cinder was quite a bit older than the other children – all of whom were younger than eighteen. Something about that felt wrong, but one of the matrons gave her a gentle nudge and told her to put on her sundress, and Cinder hastened to obey. The dress was an obnoxious pale yellow that made her look like a canary, but it wasn't as if she had a lot of options. Some girls were arguing over who was less or more likely to be adopted, while others were practicing their smiles in mirrors. Happy children got adopted, or so the matrons had told them, but Cinder couldn't find it in herself to be happy.

There had been too many times she'd tried her hardest to win over the visiting families and failed, times enough that it made her wonder if there wasn't something wrong with her. Maybe she was unadoptable, or just not what parents wanted. Her own had to have given her up at some point; perhaps they had known something she didn't. Perhaps she was meant to not have any parents.

It was a little after midday when the orphans were all rounded up and arranged in the main play area of the orphanage. Boys and girls strained to be at the front, but the matrons forced them into a pattern with the shortest and youngest to the front and the taller children at the back, so that no one would be left out.

Finally, one of the matrons came through with an excited smile and gestured for them all to get ready. Moments later, a rotund woman strolled into the room with a huge smile. Every child there greeted her with smiles just as big, but Cinder frowned. Something felt off about the woman, almost familiar. Had she met her before? Cinder's heart quickened and when the woman's eyes met hers, her body froze. Ice ran through her veins and she felt, for once in her life, so very, very afraid.

"Hello there..." the woman said, reaching out to touch Cinder's cheek. "What's your name?"

"C... C... Cin... Cinder..."

She didn't dare move. There was nothing threatening about the woman or the touch, and yet Cinder felt like she might be slapped at any moment. Tears pricked at her eyes and every bit of her body strained to push the woman away and run – run far away, as fast as she humanly could. Her feet remained rooted to the floor, however.

I don't like her, she thought. She's scary. Please don't adopt me. Please, please, please...

"You're a pretty one, aren't you?" the woman asked. The words that should have been a compliment felt closer to a threat. "I'm sure you'll grow up to be quite the beauty. Tell me, do you want a new mommy?"

"No."

"Of course you do." The woman didn't appear to hear her. "Of course you do. And I have two daughters myself who could be your big sisters. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Tears leaked from her eyes. "No. No, I... No... Please no..."

"Matron, I think I've chosen," the woman said. Cinder trembled. "I'll choose—"

"Now, now!" a man's voice interrupted. "Let's not be hasty! And I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was awful."

The man that bustled into the room also felt familiar to her for some reason. He had golden yellow hair, bright blue eyes and a smile that was both warm and tense at the same time. He wore a suit and had a light beard across his face – somehow, it was the beard that felt the least familiar to her, even if she was sure she'd seen the face behind it.