Are You Willing to Love?

Chapter 6

Point of View: Kyle 

Unable to help myself I blink at the scene before me. The boys are in the far back playing with the younger children, a soccer ball at their feet, Father Luca sitting on the bench right besides the large old oak tree, and Aaron at Father's left side watching the children play. I had seen this picture at least a hundred times prior but only today it all made sense. 

The feeling that something had been missing from this familiar scene had not only been my thought but also Rafa and Zach's. It was as though the group had been waiting for something and only today it made sense. It wasn't something that they were waiting for, it was someone. 

Today under the large oak tree, a small figure was tucked into the crevice of the bark. Her legs extended out in front of her, her head resting against the trunk of the tree, and her arms resting in her lap as her eyes follow the children. Aaron had settled closer to her side as though the large dog no longer had to stand guard. This girl was the missing piece but just like the rest of this church, with more information came more unanswered questions.   

Swallowing, I take a seat at the bench besides Father Luca  and force myself to focus on the soccer game before me. Watching Mikael smile as Melody steals the ball from him, my mind wonders back to the game from this morning.

When Zach, Rafa, and I had first been pushed to volunteer at this church, we thought we knew what we were stepping into. We were dead wrong was an understatement. Father Luca, the priest that ran the church, should have been the first warning. He had invited us in but with warning. "You have my blessing to be here. But it isn't my blessing that you need." That was when we meet The Orphans. 

The Orphans was what the town called them. That was the second warning. Seven all together, each of the orphans are startlingly different than the next in both appearance and personality and yet they had been grouped together and titled as The Orphans. 

Melody, the young African princess, barely speaks but listens and observes the others around her. It took two months before we even found out she could talk but chose not to. But the question still hung in the air as to why. 

Next is Jose, although silly and overly hyperactive, the sun kissed male had no problem causing trouble for the three of us with the locals. It took us three months to clear up things but in the end, I think it was Jose that had some part in clearing our names. We had yet to get a clear reason though as to why his finger tips were burned. Any time one of us asked he came up with a story which was too impossible to be the truth.

Then there is Max, the polar opposite of Jose. Pale skin, soft spoken, he observes just as Melody does only it is clear that he is thinking twenty different things at once. He aces all of his classes even though he doesn't seem to attend any of them. And yet his back was covered in scars from what looks like a whip. 

Danny, I guess you could consider as the muscle even though he refuses to play most sports. It was only when he had collapsed at school that we found out about his severe asthma. But the gentle giant just shrugged it off when Zach practically yelled at him for not saying anything.

Ari, with his caramelized skin and startling green eyes, is probably the friendliest out of the bunch but seems to have a firm distrust of older males. It took us four months to even get a hand shake from the kid. But it is clear he doesn't fully trust us yet.

Lee, the oldest of the group and about to graduate high school avoided us for two months just focusing on cooking meals and school work. It was only when we saw her interact with Jose, we found out that she has a very short temper. Almost took his ear off with a knife she happened to be holding as he ran through the kitchen. Not to mention her clear Korean background was shocking in the small Italian town. 

 And finally there was Mikael. All three of us were still working on figuring out the white and black haired teenager that seemed to be the natural leader of the crew. All six seemed to look to Mikael for approval over just about everything, even though it was clear, he was the temper of the bunch. His temper paired with the large deep scar running through his eye was a clear warning to keep away.   

It took a total of five months to gain an ounce of their trust and it some days it seemed as though we digressed. But today, this morning was something different. Zach had pointed it out when we had stepped into the church to collect the group for the soccer game. Whenever a door or sound is made in the church, every orphan would spin toward it and each time they would turn around disappointed. Lee even joined the group which was odd since she had never attended any of the previous games.  

But as the morning turned into afternoon and the three quarter mark of the game hit, the anxiety of the group had morphed to disappointment. Lee returned home and the boys at the edge of the field no longer pay any attention to the game. Watching as the other team easily intercepted a distracted pass from Max to Jose, I looked to both of my brothers in complete confusion. Zach and Rafa both returned surprised and confused faces. What was wrong with them? 

Shouting out more orders, I had sat back on the bench watching the group when something caught my eye at the edge of the woods. Turning, I frowned expecting it to just be leaves only to find a person leaning on one of the trees in the shade. Blinking, I stared looking over the figure who had magically appeared out of no where. A female, probably about my age maybe younger, in black cargo pants and a baggy black sweatshirt. Her long hair hung down past her shoulders matching her gothic look but it is those bright sharp green eyes that caught my attention. 

She had noticed me staring at her from a good distance away. Unable to break my gaze, I feel locked in that position, staring until the loud sound of a whistle catches my attention. Turning back to the field, I lock onto Mikael rushing down the field after an opposing team member. Stunned, I shoot to my feet and move to the edge of the field when I once again catch those startling green eyes. 

Frowning, I watch as the girl brings her fingers up to her lips but I hear nothing. Confused, I watch as the girl brings her fingers away from her lips and glance around trying to determine if anyone else heard anything. Spotting, Max and Jose pulling an overly angry Mikael away from the other member, something else catches my attention across the field. Aaron, the giant black schnauzer that always seems to be around the group, is standing to attention right in front of Rafa. Mirroring his stunned look, I glance back to the gothic figure standing off to the side a smile clear on her face. 

She had called Aaron.