I Saw Her

Chapter 7

"Can I open my eyes yet?" I grumbled impatiently.

"Not yet! Keep them shut!" Amelia said as she pulled me round the corners of the busy streets. To the strangers around me, I must have looked like a complete idiot.

Amelia had ordered me to close my eyes till we had reached. She refused to budge until she made sure that I had kept my eyes closed.

After about five minutes, we stopped at last. "Alright, you can open your eyes now!" Amelia said. I had shut my eyelids for so long that they almost refused to open, but I opened them anyway.

We were in front of a large red building. The sign at the top read: Caninrad Children's Home.

In other words, it was... an orphanage.

I was puzzled. "What are we here for?" I asked. "Well, I come here everyday to play with the kids. I thought it would be nice for a change if you could do something else, instead of just sitting at the park. Let's go in!" she said excitedly and ran inside.

I had no choice but to follow her. As we walked in, it was a sight to behold. There were so many people of all ages. Old men and women, young adults, teenagers and of course, the majority of them were children.

All of the children looked like they were younger than ten years old. The entire orphanage was bustling with laughter and children running about. It was chaotic, but in a good way.

Amelia just blended in with them instantly, leaving me standing awkwardly in the doorway. She greeted everyone so naturally, from the elders, young adults and teen volunteers (well, I guessed they were volunteers) to the young children who were bouncing around trying to talk to her.

She squatted down and talked to the children and laughed with them as well. She ruffled the boys' hair and pinched the girls' cheeks. It looked like everyone there loved her and appreciated her presence.

"Hey, there's a newcomer here!" a voice shouted. A bunch of volunteers suddenly crowded around me, all of them asking me questions simultaneously. I was stunned and confused and could only stutter.

"Hey guys, give Roman some space, would you?" Amelia said, saving me. She pushed through the crowd and stood in front of me and introduced me to everyone. I could only manage a nervous 'hi'.

After she introduced me to the rest of the volunteers as well as the children, all of them warmed up to me straight away. They were all so warm and friendly. They didn't care what background I came from, they didn't judge me. They wanted to befriend me for who I was.

After getting to know all of them, there were so many names that I could hardly remember all of them. Most of them were volunteers, such as Auntie May, Uncle Tom, Christian, Lucy, Steve and many many more.

The children were so cute and extremely lively. One of the boys, named Ryan, even enthusiastically even showed me his toy car collection. He smiled so broadly when I complimented his huge collection of toy trucks and muscle cars.

I couldn't help but just smile at how cheerful they all were. 

We played many games with the children such as hide and seek for a few hours, with me being the seeker most of the time though. Nevertheless, I felt extremely happy getting to know the orphans.

When we were taking a break, a girl who looked like she was about five years old skipped over to me and started chatting with me. Her name was Sophia. One question of hers caught me off guard.

"How does it feel like to have a Dad?" she asked.

I was stunned. My memories rushed back. The memories of our family together before Dad's death resurfaced, of which I had been trying so hard to forget.

It made me sick to my stomach, it made me choke on my own tears.

I couldn't answer her.

The pain I felt was fresh and raw again, just like that day. That day when it happened.

I couldn't stand it anymore.

I ran out of the orphanage, leaving a puzzled, innocent Sophia. I felt everyone's gaze on me and some even asked me where was I going.

I didn't care. I had to get out of this place.

As I ran out crying, Amelia followed me out too, pleading with me to stop.

Why did she bring me to this place? Why was the place she wanted to go to an orphanage?

It suddenly dawned on me.

She had known of my father's death from the start, even if I had barely told her anything. She was playing me for a fool all along.

"You knew, didn't you? But you still brought me to this place?!" I shouted at her.

She had a guilty look on her face, and she couldn't look me in the eye.

I was spot on. She had wanted to hurt me after all.

I couldn't believe this. As I was walking away, her hand grabbed mine.

"Wait, that isn't it", she sobbed. "I wanted you to get over his death. I thought that if you saw the children who were similar to you, you would be encouraged by their optimism. I wanted to help you" she cried.

My heart softened when I heard that. Those words echoed throughout my mind.

She was right. I realised that all along, I had been stuck in the past. Dad's death prevented me from moving forward.

Amelia had been trying to help me. I turned around to face the sobbing Amelia, who had tears streaming down her face. Her kindness for me was boundless. She was caring beyond words. I did what I didn't expect myself ever to do.

I embraced her.