Fate of Pandora - Book II

Quick Detour

After the ghost – aka the earthquake – problem, the orphanage was a complete mess. Midori masterfully organized the children to work together so they could have a proper room to sleep in that night. Some took brooms and swept the floors, others were in charge of throwing out what had been broken, and the older ones helped put the furniture back in its places.

Coalt and Ayame were no exception; they arranged a couch and laid the unconscious Toya there before each one could move to a different task. They helped to prepare a meal for the hungry battalion of growing children, and started work on fixing the rooms. Meanwhile, Kairi stood by the little boy's side. He was a small child who had just been possessed by a ghost; he was exhausted after the experience, and she didn't want him to be alone when he woke up.

In the center of the activities, the old woman thought her grey hair was about to become pure white out of worry. She wasn't sure the little money she had saved would be enough to cover all of the broken goods and repairs. She expected the worst of the damage to be concentrated on the first floor, where the ghost had spent the most time.

When he had finished helping some of the boys carry a load of debris outside, Coalt went to talk with her.

"My memory and sight aren't bad yet. When I went upstairs, there were a lot of broken things. Please, bring all of them down," she asked Coalt, but the boy shook his head.

"No need to throw them all away. Some things only have minor damage. I can fix them."

Midori rose one eyebrow, incredulous. "You can fix them?"

Coalt nodded and told a girl to not take that broken chair outside. "Yes, as long as it's not severely damaged, I can do something about it. Fixing broken chair legs or doors is quite easy. I just need the proper tools: nails, screws, and a few other things," the young man explained. "Practically all of the doors and windows are fine, except for the broken glass. Beds, chairs, tables, cupboards - most of them aren't that bad. There is no need to throw them all out."

The old woman's eyes sparkled with youthful excitement. "You can?! Oh, what a joy! It will help so much if I don't need to buy everything anew." Midori trapped Coalt in a bear-hug, surprising the boy yet again with her strength for someone of her age.

Ayame came out of the kitchen with a plastic bag filled with broken dishes and stopped in her tracks when she saw Midori hugging Coalt. "What's happened?"

"Oh, my dear, did you know this gentleman said he will fix the house?" Midori said excitedly. "He can do everything! Finally I'll be able to have my orphanage as good as new!"

The older boy scratched his head, unsure if the old woman misunderstood him. "Erm... I didn't say I'm going to fix everything. There are some things I can't do. Also-"

"Please, come here every night to work on the house! You'll help to take the burden off of the children. They need to focus on their studies. Think about them!"

Ayame and Coalt sighed at the woman's behavior. The girl knew Midori would use whatever opportunity she could get to improve the orphanage, and the boy felt bad for refusing her, even though he couldn't do all of what she was asking him for.

"I'm sorry. I don't have free time during the day or night."

"You work all day long?" Midori frowned. She couldn't ask him to give up his job.

That is when something crossed Ayame's mind. "Coalt, you'll need to free your night time eventually, especially now that we are alone. I'm not sure if we can keep waiting for the weekends to make a move." She had a good point. If they could use their night time to look for a way to recover their friends, maybe they could solve this problem faster.