The Sebana Heir

Chapter 3

The girls never saw their matrons again. Some said they went away while others said they had been suspended. The news of a former mentally disturbed orphanage matron who was physically abusing her orphans while her and her other fellow matron were misusing orphanage funds, was on national news. In the newspapers and all over the internet. It left the organisations sponsoring the orphanage, seeking questions and coming to the final decision of closing it down. They had decided to close down the orphanage that had been running for over twenty years. All orphans had to be forced into foster homes. The orphanage was cleared out, the building was demolished and the land was sold. There was nothing more left of Masylon orphanage, except the memories that was still in the minds of the little girls who had lived there.

The last thing Ria remembered about the old place, was how eerie it looked from beyond the iron gates. On their last days at the orphanage, the girls were told to pack all their belongings. Everyday, the woman from the OSC would come with a list of names, of those who will be moved to their new foster homes. Marisa and Karli were among the first five who left the orphanage for good. They all exchanged well wishes at the driveway before the girls were being taken away. Day by day, the orphanage grew more quiet. The number went down from 22 to 5.

Ria was sitting out on the swing with Lacy, on a long, cloudy, Friday morning. They were in their warm clothes, waiting for those from the Child Welfare Agency to pick them up that day.

"Do you think we'll be in the same foster home?" Lacy asked.

"I hope so," Ria answered.

"What if we're not?" Lacy asked, "Will we still be best friends?"

"Of course we'll still be best friends, Lacy," Ria assured, "No matter what foster home we get in to, we'll always be best friends."

Finally, the cars arrived. The girls were called in to hear their names and be directed to the respective vehicle they were to get in to. When Ria was called up she was directed to the white mini van, while Lacy was told to go to the black Volkswagen. The girls gave one another one last hug before heading to different directions, in great sadness.

"Bye Lacy," Ria waved from her van. The van pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. Ria looked back at the orphanage as the van drove away. It had turned into a strange house filled with both good and horrifying memories. Memories still swirling in her head.
When the orphanage was finally out of view she turned back to the front, and held on to the bracelet around her wrist. She prayed that wherever that van was taking her, whatever was lying ahead of her, would be better than what she left behind.

••••••

Ria was taken to live with Mrs. Diego. A plump, Latino woman who took care of 10 other foster children.
Ria found Mrs. Diego to be quite loud, strict, spiritual but also down-to-earth. Her home was filled with law breaking kids, who were usually troublemakers in school. Everyday in that house was chaos. Loud music would be heard from one corner, a basketball thrown from one end to the other and someone could be heard breaking all the glassware in the kitchen while Mrs. Diego's voice on top of it all, yelling in frustration. Ria was not used to being surrounded by these type of people, but she never seemed to be influenced by them as well. Ria didn't get much attention around the house. She did as she was told and tried not to give Mrs. Diego a hard time. New foster kids came and some went away in Mrs. Diego's foster home and it was usually, the one's she couldn't handle anymore.

After two years with Mrs. Diego, people from Child Welfare Agency came to move Ria to another foster home.
They took her all the way to the state of Horvell where she became a Mrs. Wendel's foster child. Mrs. Wendel was in her late forties, she owned quite a lot of antiques in her small, well-kept apartment and was taking care of two foster kids a part from her own six year old son.
Mrs. Wendel had a certain love of art and a strong passion for performing arts. She had a particular room set for her own gallery. She would always brag to the children about how she had one day been a student at the Da Vinci School of Creative Arts in France, and that she had a close encounter with the famous opera singer, Sianello, whoever they thought she was. In contrast to his mother, Mrs. Wendel's six year old son was a gamer with a video game addiction. The six year old would stay up till 3am in the morning to finish a game. Ria wondered why his mom wasn't concerned about his unhealthy lifestyle? Then she realized, Mrs. Wendel was more interested in her work than for her son. She was trying to make her way back into the performing arts and she just needed the extra foster care money from the state to get her a free rent and pay for other stuff. Although Mrs. Wendal was self-absorbed, she still had to make sure the children were well looked after, to avoid getting into trouble with the state. Most days she would be in her gallery, working. And most nights they would just live off, of Chinese takeaway or pizzas for dinner.