Lights Will Guide You Home

Raelynn

“Finally!” I exclaimed, as I got into my Porsche and turned up the radio. I had had another terrible day at work. God, I hated Harry Vincent! I needed to get my mind off work and be around people who made me happy. And there was only one such place that came to mind – Braveheart. I could while away hours at Braveheart, just being content, with not a single bothersome thought in my head. It was a get away from all the negativity that filled my mind. Everyone there was helpful and encouraging, somewhat like a family – a really big family, held together by one person, one person they all absolutely adored. Claire.

“Rae, my child! Been quite a while since you dropped by! Work keeping you busy? Oh, the way they make people slog at offices these days! You poor dear!” Maria gave me a big hug just as I stepped into the orphanage. I couldn’t help but smile. I felt comforted already.

We went inside to a large hall, which was generally referred to as the common room. It was where everyone gathered in the evenings to sing songs, share stories, and just talk in general. It also served as a party hall – god, you should see it during Christmas! They were having a fancy dress party of some sort today – the girls in their prettiest frocks, wearing crowns and jewellery they’d made themselves out of paper. The little boys were running around in capes made from scrap cloth, pretending to be superheroes. I could see Claire at the other end of the room, helping the girls pin their crowns onto their hair.

“Hello, Rae!” said a little girl named Suzy, looking up at me with a big smile on her face.

“Hey there,” I replied, bending down. “Where’s your princess outfit?”

“But I don’t want to be a princess when I grow up. I want to be a superhero. Like Wonder Woman!”

I couldn’t but help laugh at her innocence.

“Rae, Rae!” I heard voices call out, as little feet came running towards me.

“Hey there!” I greeted them all.

“Rae! Come join us sing!” One of the little kids sad excitedly.

“Oh yeah, but wait where’s Sean?” I asked scanning the sea of adorable faces.

“They didn’t want to begin without you,” spoke a tall boy with a Spanish accent. It was Sean. Sixteen, and the oldest at Braveheart, he had moved in from Chile four years ago with his family. A couple of weeks after they got to Philadelphia, he lost his family in a terrible car accident. The only survivor, Sean was taken in by Braveheart where he became just another member of the enormous family. Being from a small town by the Chilean coast, English wasn’t his strongest point. It was quite hard for him to communicate at first, but with the special attention he was given in his lessons, he eventually picked up. They also discovered that he was unbelievably good at playing the guitar. On some evenings, he would just sit in the common room strumming on his guitar and everyone would fall silent, listening to him play. This led to the birth of a custom that soon became extremely popular at Braveheart – at least thrice a week at Braveheart, everyone gathered in the common room in the evening to sing along to the songs Sean played. Apart from hymns, he started playing local tunes that they would hear on the radio. I loved music, and joining with the kids on these evenings was a great stress buster. I enjoyed singing along with them, and teaching them new songs whenever I could.