I remember walking into the poor orphanage that day for the charity meet. These kids have been through so much, the least we could do was spend some time with them. Upon arrival lots of the kids ran up to meet us and smiled, begging for a picture or an autograph or a hug. Some stayed their distance and watched with awe at how nice and gentle we were with the little kids. But there was one girl. One girl who was curled up into a ball, laying on her side facing the stairwell. She lifted her head slightly when we came in to see who we were, but then rested it back down again and drew her body in tighter, uninterested.
"Who are you?" I looked down at a small baby girl no older than two. She was to young to have heard about One Direction. I bent down and picked her up with a warm smile.
"My name is Louis. Whats your name?"
"Sophie!" She said happily.
"Hi Sophie!"
"Mr. Louis will you push me on the swing?" She bounced her little brown curls as she jumped in my arms and widened her big brown eyes. I laughed at how adorable she was.
"Sure Hun."
I watched out of the corner of my eye when Liam agreed to toss an American football around with a young teenage boy. I caught Harry being forced to sit cross legged on the ground by a group of girls ranging in all ages. They gathered around him and started to braid his hair and put pretty clips in it. Zayn was tracked down my a couple kids who were artists and they were comparing works, while Niall was being amazed by the talent of a girl he did a duet with on guitar.
I pushed Sophie on the swing and played with her outside for a good fifteen minutes before she got hungry and we went back inside. I mingled with the other kids for a while but I was always glancing over to the girl who remained curled up by the stairwell.
"Babe," I asked on of the older girls, "why is she laying down over there?"
The eleven year old with shoulder length red hair wrinkled her as she followed my gaze. "That's Max. She's weird."
"How is she weird?"
"She never talks. Ever. She literally hasn't said a word since she got here last summer. All she does is either lay there or go to bed."
I bit my lip and glanced over at her again. She hadn't moved.
"Why doesn't she talk?"
"How would I know?" The girl replied. "Like I said, she doesn't talk."
I moved away from the red head and slowly approached Max, afraid that if I moved to suddenly she would run off.
"Hi," I said, sitting cross legged next to her. She didn't lift her head, but made eye contact, acknowledging that I was there.
"What's your name?" No response. I sighed and tried again. "It's Max huh? One of the other girls told me that." She stayed silent, moving her gaze away from mine, uninterested.
"She also told me you don't talk... Why not?" It was as if I was talking to myself. She didn't even pay attention to me. "Did something happen to you in the past?" I tried a more sensitive approach. "Did someone hurt you and that why you don't talk?"
She didn't move and let a tear roll down her face. Yes. "Is that a yes?" No reply. "What happened to you darling?" I waited a good few minutes, hoping that somehow I could get her to answer me. But to no surprise, she stayed silent.
"You're beautiful...you know that?" So in another attempt, I tried making her feel loved. "You're a gorgeous girl who many people love very much. Whoever hurt you is stupid and had no reason to because you are perfect and did nothing wrong."
More tears came. I was getting through to her...maybe.
"I know you don't like talking, but I am here for you right now. Whatever you need I will help you with. I care about you Max. You seem like a lovely girl who just needs someone to care about her. I'm that someone. This is mission impossible, I know, but maybe...just maybe can I get you to talk to me?"
Despite all my pleas, by the time we had to leave, Max had still not said a word.
"Louis say goodbye!" Paul called. I sighed, standing over the girl curled up on the ground.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye Max.." I got a couple steps away before a voice spoke up.
"No don't go..." A pleading, desperate voice begging for me to stay. The orphanage went quiet. Dead silent. The staff covered their mouths, the residents whispered with open mouths. Slowly, I turned around and saw Max. She was sitting up.
"Please don't go."
She had spoken.
