Without You

Welcome to the Paradise

--- *** ---
--- The Next Day ---
--- 21st of November, 1969 ---

The day after came as swiftly as a bullet. The former members of the clergy have determined to go in Pennsylvania's orphanage, besides Timothy is going to live in Jude's cabin for the rest of their days as they have planned their wedding to take its place within a few days. First and foremost, they've plotted their wedding to be held private and the sole guest, who's invited is actually their foster child. Nevertheless, the both future foster parents had ginormous and galore plans for their future. Holding a private wedding and being photographed by a professional photographer. Having a lovely honeymoon in Louisiana. Planning to travel a couple of times in the year, when their schedule isn't hectic and fueling with abundance of engagements daily. Spending more time with their adopted ray of sunshine when they have spare time after finishing their chores. Timothy planning to find a job as an university Latin teacher for foreign languages. Having romantic dinners outdoors such as on the beach, in the woods, moonlight picnic in the yard and on the hammock.

When Jude and Timothy came to their senses by having a breakfast and taking a shower, besides getting dressed up neatly to pay a visit to the nearest orphanages in the state. It took them no longer than an hour and a half to find the nearest facility as the former man of the cloth parked the vehicle in the free parking lot nigh the grandiose, marmoreal statue, casting its glinting twinkles at their orbs that glanced it for a split second. The old, monumental building that was housing children, fated whether due to their once biological parents to longing alienation from them, their real parents have passed away, factly, malicious or discreet illnesses or other alternatives of their abrupt death, was also a sinister, inescapable nightmare. Inescapable nightmare for the young children even adolescents to face the crude reality and commence their revolution with their foes and tribulations at such fragile age. The life and tribulations were their sole excellent teachers, guiding them to learn from their mistakes and facing the unspeakable reality behind the orphanage's walls as protagonists. Daily physical, mental and even sexual abuse and harassment were common inside the old institution. Some of the teachers and the nuns were amiable and open-minded without being remorselessly abusive towards the orphans.

The grand, expansive yard was overcrowded with swarm of children from kindergarteners to high schoolers, who were playing, running, crying out loud from the top of their brittle lungs, chatting with the other orphans. The light late autumn zephyr gently stroke the former devotional members of the church's exposed fleshes and hairs as if that was the nature's sole distraction. The sky was pasty with hive of clouds, clouding almost each inch of it, keeping the general population's wits about the impending rain and perhaps storm.

The middle-aged couple was holding hands romantically by passing horde of children until the Bostonian noticed a young girl, whose physical appearance resembled as if she was an eight-year-old girl with olive-tanned skin tone, a long mop of greasy aureate tresses, cascading below her shoulders. Furthermore, the orphan had emerald green pools as its emerald hue pigmented the brightest, compared to the silver. Her emerald-silver pools were mottled with sheer innocence, warmness and love. The juvenile blonde's petite body was donned in an autumn leather auburn jacket, shielding her frail skeleton along with dark denim jeans and black and white stripped top with round neckline. At last but not least, round-framed glasses supported on her the bridge of her button nose, framing her round, chubby due to its baby fat parchment, childish complexion. The little girl was being bullied by a horde of 3 children as they're one girl and two boys that is with a handful of years her senior.

Linda was actually an orphan since her birth, in fact, her parents were adolescents and welcomed her to this world slightly earlier as she was deprived from them lawfully, because they were minors to have their own biological children.