During the day, around 02:00 PM,
A light brown horse-drawn carriage was seen stopping in front of a building. A man in the driver’s seat immediately got down from there and deftly walked towards the passenger door. When he arrived there, the bearded man opened the door, and out came a beautiful woman wearing a dark red dress. After the woman came down, another man came down too.
“Is this really the place, Dethrut?” The red-haired woman asked while looking at the main building of the Ztatzav Orphanage. She looked doubtful, but the coachman nodded, even though the person he talked to could not see the action. In her right hand, there was a bag that she deliberately carried.
“Yes, Ma’am. This orphanage is indeed the place.” The skinny man dressed as a coachman answered politely. Meanwhile, a neatly dressed man stands next to the opposite sex.
“Thank you.” A woman, who had a height of one hundred and seventy-five centimetres tall, only said that. She was still staring at the main building and said nothing else. The sun was shining scorching, so the woman with pale white skin became hot, especially as her long dress added to the heat within her.
“You are welcome, ma’am.”
“Come on, let’s go inside, darling.” The black-haired man standing to the woman’s right said to the other person. That green-eyed woman turned to the opposite sex, and the man also did the same action so that the two of them stared at each other.
“Will they hate us? Because it is been twelve years since we…” A slender woman deliberately did not finish her words, and her voice trembled a little because she was holding back the regret she had been harbouring for so long.
“Do not say like that. Twelve years ago, our situation was very different, so, like it or not, bringing them here was the only way. Do you not want us to be together with the children again, darling?” A man with light brown eyes tried to calm his wife, who was holding back tears.
“I really miss out on twin girls, Honey. I just do not have the courage to face their disappointment.” This beautiful thirty-two-year-old woman could not deny the longing that had long been stored in her heart, but she was also afraid of running the risk of rejection from the two targets who lived in the orphanage.
“Honey, before we came here, didn’t you? I agree that it was time for us to meet or not at all. If they are angry, we can explain later, but most importantly, our girls must know that they still have intact parents.” A man with a baritone voice, continued to persuade his wife so that his lovely lady she would not back out of the plan set just because of unreasonable fear.
“Yes, Honey. I will try to stay calm.” A woman with a sharp nose tried to smile, even though it looked like she was forcing herself. The man in the hat smiled, then started holding his wife, even though he felt the same thing as the person he was talking to.
“Great. Remember, don’t cry there. Keep smiling because you are wonderful when you do.” A man, who had a height of one hundred and eighty-five centimetres tall, praised his wife’s physical appearance, hoping to divert the sadness that still dominated the opposite sex.
The husband and wife walked near the entrance, then after arriving there, the man knocked on the door. A black-haired woman was writing on a half-filled parchment in the room’s interior. She stopped writing because he seemed to hear something. As soon as possible, the principal thought of an incident that made her panicky and stressed.
“Am I dreaming? Is there someone knocking on the door during the day? It can’t be the emperor’s envoy because I have received news from Adetzha that the emperor has stopped the process of sending envoys to the orphanage since five of his envoys were seriously injured, and some even died.” Madame Aufrodine muttered. She was silent for a few seconds, but the knocking sound remained, which made the thirty-eight-year-old woman very restless.
“Should I go out to see who’s coming? But what if it turns out to be someone sent by the emperor? I will die.” Madame Aufrodine has imagined all the bad things in her head, even though they may not necessarily happen in the real world.
In the midst of the anxiety that hit her, the knocking sound that made her anxious gradually disappeared so that the woman, had a height of was one hundred and seventy-two centimetres tall, felt relieved. However, fear returned to her mind because she did not hear the sound of people walking or horse-drawn carriages leaving the orphanage area.
“Have they left? But why is it so quiet? Do not say that-”
Before Aufrodine had time to finish speaking to herself the same knocking sound was heard this time, which stopped the black-haired woman from mumbling and fear increasingly taking over her brain. “By the Goddess Asiles. Why has the voice moved here now? Has the orphanage had a good guest, or is it the other way around? Hopefully, the person who came brought good and not bad news.”
“Who is that?” asked Madame Aufrodine, who was trying to remain calm and professional.
“It is me, Madame. I brought two important guests, and they want to see you,” answered Madame Loiston, who could not convey the details. Aufrodine had expected that there would be people who wanted to meet her, but she did not expect two people to come at once.
“Okay. Come in.” The principal had no other choice. Madame Aufrodine could only give Madame Loiston permission to bring the two guests in and meet her, even though she was reluctant to do so.
In less than two minutes, the door was opened from the outside. For some reason, the blue-eyed woman stood up from her chair as if welcoming the arrival of two guests whose identities she didn’t yet know. Aufrodine’s heart beat faster because of the feeling of ignorance and fear that still haunted his mind. However, the woman with thin eyebrows tried hard to cover up what she was feeling.
Two female figures appeared with the same hair colour but different faces and heights. Apart from them was a man who entered the principal’s room. Aufrodine looked at the clothes of the two guests and was immediately happy because neither came from the palace, let alone the emperor’s envoys.
“Madame Aufrodine. These two guests are Mr. and Mrs. Gavtheniath.” Loiston introduced the two guests so that Lenny could look at the faces of a husband and wife who were standing not far from his place.
The man reached out his hand first to Aufrodine. “Good afternoon, Madame. My name is Vigor. Vigor Gavtheniath.”
Aufrodine welcomed the outstretched hand of the interlocutor for the sake of politeness and etiquette that applies in Zlatav. “Good afternoon, sir. My name is Laveny Aufrodine. I am the principal of this orphanage.”
They shook hands with each other, and then the man turned to his left. “This is my wife. Her name is Auslag Gavtheniath.”
The beautiful woman came forward and did the same thing as her husband, and Aufrodine did the same thing to her. This moment lasted only a few seconds because the two women had already finished shaking hands.
Wait, a minute. Why does that woman’s face look like one of the orphanage’s children? Am I wrong in my judgment? Her face seems familiar for me, Thought Aufrodine, curious.
“Have a seat, please.” As a good host, Aufrodine gave permission for the husband and wife to sit in the chairs in front of her. Mr and Mrs. Gavtheniath were pleased with the welcome given by their interlocutor.
“Thank you, Madame,” said Vigor, politely.
Without further ado, they sat down without needing to wait any longer, and Aufrodine looked at her assistant. She gave a code through her eyes so that the two guests would be offered drinks, and Madame Loiston, who understood, immediately nodded. Before her deputy got out of there, Lenny did the same thing again, but it was meant to say thank you. Apple smiled, then turned around and walked towards the door.
Madame Aufrodine sat in a chair as soon as possible, then smiled kindly at the two guests waiting for her. The woman heard the sound of the door closing from outside, which meant her assistant had left the place. “May I help you, Mr. and Mrs. Gavtheniath?” asked the principal, who was already curious about the purpose of the husband and wife’s arrival.
“Sorry if our arrival has disturbed you, Madame,” replied Vigor, who was not in a hurry to reveal their purpose. Meanwhile, his wife remained silent, but her longing and anxiety to meet her two daughters were already mixed together in her heart.
“It is okay, sir. Is there anything I can help you with, or maybe you want to adopt one of the children in our orphanage?” A woman with thin eyebrows did not give up on getting the information she needed.
“We… ahem. Are there twin girls and their age is twelve this year, Madame?” The opposite sex did not want to answer Madame Aufrodine’s question. However, he even dared to ask that, which made the principal suspicious.
“Yes, sir. In this orphanage, there are twin girls, like you said. What was wrong? Do you want to adopt just one of the children, or do you want both?” Madame Aufrodine answered Vigor’s question, but the suspicion in the woman’s heart had not disappeared; in fact, it was getting more robust because the elegant man knew about the existence of Aileen and Adaline.
“I know this sounds crazy, but we are their biological parents, Madame.”
Madame Aufrodine’s expression changed, and without further ado, her brow furrowed. “What? Sir, you have to be joking!”
***