Paper Stars (Self-Published)

Kabanata 42

KABANATA 42

St. Mary's Orphanage was established in the late 60's and heavily depended on the funding they solicited from rich families. The building was rustic in design and a bit old but it was well-maintained by the nuns and their staffs. The place was nestled on a piece of land donated by the powerful Kurozawa clan.

The little girl's attendant was discussing with the Mother Superior and finalizing her papers.

"Hi!" A little girl about her age went to her and waved her hand. She was wearing an over-sized red dress which hems reached the floor. Her other hand was holding a rugged doll.

She smiled at the little girl and waved back, "Hello!"

"I'm Kirsten and I'm five," the girl in the red dress said, smiling so widely, revealing her missing front tooth.

"My name is Arianne. And I just turned six last week," she replied.

"Are you going to live here too?"

The little girl looked over to where her attendant was and saw him glancing back at her, making sure she wasn't gone from his sight, just the way he was instructed to do.

"I think so," was her reply as she looked back at little Kirsten who immediately clapped her hands, hitting the rugged doll in the process.

"Then can you be my friend? I'll let you play with Lottie too!" Kirsten happily said.

Before the little girl could reply, her attendant had already returned to her side. Little Kirsten quickly ran off when she saw the Mother Superior was with him. After a while, the three of them proceeded upstairs.

The little one had observed that the stairs were made of old, strong wood but weren't as fancy as the ones they had in both of their mansions. But she also noted that they did what all the stairs were supposed to do so it didn't really bother her. She was just a bit curious about the difference.

When the attendant led her to a room, she was a bit surprised to see the many bunk beds that were lined up in fours.

"She'll have the one by the window," the little girl heard the Mother Superior carefully said as she smiled down at her. She smiled back at the nun before proceeding to the bed that was assigned to her.

The little girl had observed that the beds were all covered in white linens like the ones they used in hospitals. But the room didn't smell of disinfectant. It smelled like freshly picked flowers instead.

When they reached the bed by the window, the nun, then, excused herself, leaving the little girl to her attendant.

"As instructed, you will be staying here until you become legal. Do you understand what that means, Miss Cross?"

The little girl carefully nodded. She understood that she had to stay in that place until she becomes eighteen.

"Excellent," her attendant noted, "The master will be sending you your monthly allowance and necessities through this institution's Mother Superior. Any concerns should you have, you must first direct them to the Mother Superior. Do you understand?"

Again, the little girl nodded.

"Perfect," the attendant noted before putting his papers away. The little girl, then, gently tugged the ends of his shirt to get his attention. "Is there any thing you want?"

"Will the grand master visit me here?"

The attendant didn't know how to answer the little girl's inquiry. He wasn't given instructions other than process her documents in that institution. Feeling sorry for her, the attendant knelt down and looked at her crystal blue eyes. He had always been astonished by their magnificence.