Sing []Ryden Daughter[]

Prelude

The couple walked through the children's home garden, a lush, green space with tree swings, hedges trimmed into the shapes of animals, colourful flowers dotted around, and happy laughing children. Everything ranged from both extremes. Race, age, gender, height. And the dominant friendship groups. Some single gender, some mixed; they each seemed to have their own section. Teenage girls sitting in the shade painting each others nails. Possibly their younger sisters next to them, friendly squabbling over who gets a turn on the swings. The boys of all ages, wearing baseball caps varying teams from different states, playing soccer in the open sun, using jumpers and shoes as goal posts.

The couple walked on. They were both male; one average height, with a large forehead and a neat, brown quiff of hair. The other a similar size, with hair still brown, but so dark it could be mistaken for black, and a style that had almost defaulted to bedhead. Their clothes were different to their usual style. They wore no eyeliner, and did their best with a colourful outfit. This was a rare occasion, as their wardrobe was, basically, black. After all, the large foreheaded man was in a band that was classed as "Emo", and the other was thinking of rejoining. One called Brendon, the other Ryan.

" So, do you have any specific requests? Gender, age?" The woman asked the men. " We were thinking a girl definitely. Maybe 3?" Ryan said. They continued, towards the clique of young girls.

" That's Maria. She's four, and has been here for a few months. She's one of the newest here, but has seemed to have settled very well." Said the woman, pointing to the redheaded girl in a pale pink dress. The men nodded, and when the same girl waved when she heard her name, the three of them waved back with a friendly smile. Out of curiosity, Brendon couldn't help but look around slowly, looking for the inevitable lone girl. There's always one, he thought. And then he found her.

Her hair was streaks of different shades of brown, very short cut, and she wore a simple blue T-shirt and knee-length denim shorts. Reading an old, tatty picture book in the shade with her legs crossed, every now and then she would look up to check on her surroundings. She noticed Brendon, and seemed to get exited for a moment, but then her expression became gloomy as she shaked her head and went back into her book. Her eyes were a baby blue, in some light they looked just white with the pupil, but in others, they were piercing but gentle. Almost sad. And there was one dominant feature Brendon could not help but notice. But it wasn't about the girl herself.

The tall and slim rucksack/suitcase next to her, and the clear tube leading out of it. It eventually split into four, two going up each of her nostrils, and the others curling and tucking behind her small ears. Like Hazel out of The Fault In Our Stars.

" What about her?" Brendon says. The woman and Ryan turn around and look, before following Brendon's eyeline and noticing the same girl. "That's Skye. She's three, four in two weeks. She has a cancer in her throat, the name not even the doctors can say. We nicknamed it her Throaty Thing. The backpack contains an oxygen tank and the tube goes down into her lungs. Just in case her throat ever swells, she'll be able to breath just long enough for her to get to the hospital. She's has an estimate of 6 years left." The woman says in a whisper. " And why is she here, and not anywhere else?" Ryan sais, doing his best not to sound rude. But the woman shows no signs of offence, and says. "After she, her Mom and Dad came back from the hospital where she was diagnosed and issued her tank, they stopped half way home and her mum told her to wait by a corner shop, assuring her that they'd come back. They never did. When we found her, we asked her how long she'd been there. She said two months. She also said that she remembered her Dad saying that he would not have a daughter with cancer, but she didn't know that her disease wad called cancer, and so she left it alone."

The two men thought for a moment, and then asked the woman if they could talk in private for a moment. Of course, she says yes, and the couple walk into a shaded corner of the garden. "Should we?" Ryan asks in a whisper. " I don't know, we may not have long with her." Brendon replies. " But we'd want to make her life worthwhile, wouldn't we?" Brendon thought deeply about Ryans reply for a couple of seconds. Wouldn't it be better to take her in, give her a chance to make friends in LA, live life to the full with her time rather than stay in the home, rarely getting out and staying an exile from the children? "Yes. I mean, I would. Wouldn't you?" Brendon says after the silence. " Yeah, I would." Ryan says. " But we have to be prepared for what's at the end of the tunnel." Brendon says seriously. " Agreed."

So the men walked back to the woman. "May we introduce ourselves to Skye?" Brendon asked. The woman nodded with a smile. " Skye, come here." She beckons with a kind voice. Over in the shade, Skye stands up eagerly, tucking her picture book under her arm and runs over on her toddler legs. But she only makes it a metre before turning on her heels to grab her tank that she left behind. She then runs over and when she's by the three adults, she jumps, stands up tall and smiles nervously. There's an awkward silence between the four of them, until Ryan finally introduces himself. He kneels down so that he's her hight and extends his hand. The little girl gladly shakes politely while Ryan says, " Heya. I'm Ryan. Over there with the big forehead is my partner Brendon." Skye giggles, showing her teeth. One of her front ones is missing. Brendon hears the comment, and shoots Ryan a half smile that says I could say a lot worse about you. "I'm Skye!" The bouncy toddler says happily, before looking around like she's forgotten something and then adding, " And yesterday I lost my fwirst tooth." Her voice is muffled, as her finger is pointing to the gap in her mouth.

There was another thing that the couple were surprised about. Her accent.

She was British.

" Well then, I'll leave you three to your conversation. I'll be back in a couple of minutes, don't worry," the woman says, before turning around with a smile on her face.

And that's how it all begins.