Angel of Silence

1)Adopted

LILIANA'S POINT OF VIEW: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=223607314

Hi. My name is Liliana Lewis, and I just turned 13 on June 3rd. I am an orphan. My mother was beat to death after I was born, and I was forced to watch my dad be shot when I was 4. When I was 6, I was kidnapped by an agency called HYDRA. They beat me, starved me, experimented on me--you name it, they did it. I had a friend who would defend me if he could. I can't remember his name, but I do remember that he was the nicest person ever. When I was 11, HYDRA left me in an alleyway in Brooklyn where someone found me and took me to the nearest orphanage, which just so happened to be with the worst 'parent' ever. I really like to draw and listen to music. I also like to dance. These are the ways that I escape the sadness of the world. Did I mention that I can't speak? When I was in HYDRA, they damaged my vocal cords, leaving me mute. One day, I was just listening to music (Angel with a shotgun), when I heard Mistress (the woman who runs the orphanage) calling my name. I ran down the stairs to the living room, where there were three people sitting on the couch.

'I'm sorry, Mistress, I didn't hear you. My music must have been too loud.' I signed.

"Liliana, may you please make some coffee?" Mistress asked. I nodded quickly, then rushed out of the room. I turned on the machine, then overheard the people talking.

"Why didn't she speak to you? Why did she use sign language?" I hear a man's voice ask.

"Her vocal cords are damaged, leaving her unable to speak." Mistress answered.

"Steve, are you going to adopt this one, or are you going to adopt a different one?" A woman's voice asked. It definitely wasn't Mistress.

"Liliana! Come out here! Now!" Mistress' voice boomed. I scrambled into the living room, scared for the beating that was surely going to come soon after these people leave.

"Are you alright? You're shaking." One of the men told me. I smiled at him and nodded, but I was still shaking.

"I'm going to adopt her! I am going to adopt her." The other man said to Mistress. I tried to stop happy tears from falling from my eyes, but I couldn't, so as soon as they fell, I wiped them away. Mistress stood and left the room to get the paperwork and the man motioned for me to come closer. I walked to the small coffee table in the center of the room and sat on the floor in front of it.

"My name is Steve. This is Natasha and this is Clint, my friends." Steve, the one adopting me, said. I smiled and waved.

'Can you understand sign language?' I signed to them. The boys both looked to Natasha with confused looks on their faces.

"I can understand you, but they can't yet, so I am going to stick around until Steve gets it. Okay?" She asked. I nodded. Natasha seemed like a really nice person. I could tell that we would be friends.

"Do you have any personal belongings?" Clint asked.

'A few. I only have a couple pair of clothes, some CD's and books, these shoes, and these headphones.' I signed. It was a lie. I had a few more things, but I wasn't willing to tell anyone about what they were. Not yet

"Why don't you go pack up your stuff, and when you get back, we may be ready to leave." Natasha suggested as Mistress walked into the room with a stack of papers. I ran upstairs and put everything I own in a bag in less than a minute. I assumed that they weren't done with the papers, so I went to say goodbye to the younger kids. I was pretty much the person who cared for them since Mistress would beat all of us. If the younger ones got beat, I would take care of them after, then get beat for that, too. After I said goodbye to the younger ones, I went to the older ones. They were my best friends, not because Mistress wouldn't let us talk to people outside of the orphanage, but because we were so similar. They help me when I get my panic attacks without a second thought. They wake me up when they notice that I am having a nightmare. They are the older siblings I was never privileged to have.

"LILIANA! GET DOWN HERE! DON'T MAKE ME CALL YOUR NAME AGAIN" Mistress yelled from the living room. I grabbed my Harry Potter bag and rushed down the stairs and into the living room.

"The adoption is finished, you can take her, now." Mistress said and left the room. I walked over to Steve and stood next to him.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked me, and I nodded. He took my hand in his and pulled me out to the car. It was a really pretty car that looked old. I loved it! I sat into the backseat next to Natasha, but I was watching the orphanage fade away.

"Steve, I know that this is strange, but she looks like you a little bit." Clint tried to whisper.

'Clint does know that I can hear him, right?" I asked Natasha, who started to laugh hysterically when I asked her.

"What's so funny, Nat?" Steve asked.

"Your daughter is just hilarious!" Natasha informed him, trying to stop laughing.

"What did she say?" Steve asked.

"After Clint told you about her looking like you, she looked to me and signed, 'Clint does know that I can hear him, right?'" Natasha finished. Steve laughed while Clint blushed. I smiled at my new family.

'How long until we get there?' I signed to Natasha.

"About an hour or more. You can sleep if you want, it is getting late." Natasha told me and I gave her a thankful expression.

"Hey, Liliana, before you go to sleep, what kind of music do you like?" Clint asked me.

'Panic! at the Disco, NKOTB, Boys II Men, stuff like that.' I signed.

"Panic! at the Disco, NKOTB, Boys II Men, music that is like that." Natasha told the boys.

Clint plugged the ox cord that was plugged into the car into his phone and played the Bohemian Rhapsody by Panic! at the Disco. I fell asleep about 4 minutes into the song.