“She isn’t taking care of me! I am taking care of her. I’m a man after all” Kahlil said while gripping the old woman and hugging her tightly.
Mrs Dias laughed and kissed the side of his face “Sure, little butterfly”
Kahlil cringed at the nickname she had given him the childhood “Don’t call me that! I’m 19 now”
“You’ll always be a kid to just like Aria” Mrs Dias replied while pulling away and turning to the side, hoping to find Aria still standing there.
But she was nowhere to be found. Their bodyguards had started unloading the gifts they had brought for the kids as one of them stopped to look at them while carrying a huge teddy bear.
“Ms Leighton said, she’s going on ahead to meet the kids” he said and climbed the stairs which lead inside the orphanage.
Mrs Dias furrowed her brows. Sure, Aria was always a little cold to everyone and most of the time kept to herself, but she had never been cold to her. Aria would always smile when they met.
“Is something wrong?”
She asked Kahlil as they ascended the stairs. Kahlil shook his head defeatedly and looked down in sadness “She was crying in her room this morning and demanded we go to the orphanage today”
“Oh, that poor child” Mrs Dias said, on the verge of tears. She was an emotional lady and loved all the kids like her own children.
They pushed the wooden door with a bright blue coloured bird painted on it, representing the orphanage name. The yellow lighting of the hall welcomed them as they saw Aria crouched down on the floor with kid of all age talking to her happily while unwrapping their gifts.
Aria had a small smile on her face as she listened to each of them carefully while cradling a child who was no more than 5 months old.
A huge glass chandelier hung low from the ceiling and a grand piano was settled in the corner, a place where Aria had spent the most of her time when she was a child.
“Play something”
“Anything”
“Please!”
The kids whined as Aria laughed lowly and nodded “Sur-”
“No kids, she’s injured” Mrs Dias interjected as she and Kahlil joined them.
Aria looked up at them from the floor and shook her head “It’s ok, I can play from one hand”
“But sis, are you sure?” Kahlil asked as he picked up the kid clinging to his leg and started rocking him back and forth.
Aria nodded. Music always calmed her down and with the warmth of her previous home, she always felt at ease. Whenever her past haunted her, she’d always find herself back here.
She sat on the piano bench as all the kids surrounded her, looking at her with awe. Some of the kids were new, while some of them she knew.
Her eyes fluttered close as her left hand flew through the keys. The flame of anger and guilt in her heart slowly started extinguishing with each rhythm.
The soft melody played in her mind as her heart calmed down, the small laughter and chatter of the kids felt like home.
Aria stared out of the window of the hall as her gaze wandered around. This place was as quiet as ever, situated on the outskirts of the city, it was far away from the busy city life.
She noticed the sunflowers blooming in the small garden as a smile surfaced on her face. No matter how hard the weather was on them, the sunflowers in the orphanage always bloomed.
Her head snapped back when she saw Selene, a nine-year-old well-behaved kid coming out of the kitchen with a bowl full of food in her hand. Her form was slightly shaking as she helped Mrs Dias set the table for lunch.
Aria noticed the weird way she’d keep pulling on her sleeves and how she avoided eye contact with everyone around her.
She walked towards the little kid and placed her hand on top of her head “Are you ok?” she asked the little girl.
Selene flinched violently as she looked up at Aria with fearful eyes “Y-Yes, t-thank you mam” her small scared voice answered as she ran back inside the kitchen.
“Don’t worry, she’s a little shy” Mrs Dias reassured while sitting on the head table as all the other kids followed and sat on their assigned seats.
Aria looked back at Kahlil with raised eyebrows as he just shrugged and sat on an empty seat. Aria followed him and decided to let it go and sit down too.
As they were chatting and preparing to start eating, Aria noticed Selene coming back from the kitchen. But this time a man with dark brown hair followed her.
“Oh” Mrs Dias clapped her head excitedly as she saw him “Aria, meet Adam. He is our new chef, his food is just wonderful!”
“Please Mrs Dias you embarrass me” his gruff voice said as Aria ignored them and followed the small girl’s timid movements.
Selene sat in front of her while tugging on her full sleeves and continuously looking down.
“What happened to Uncle John?” Aria asked. John was the previous cook in the orphanage and he was a really kind old man.
“He’s retired he says” Mrs Dias laughed and then sighed “he said, he’d worked enough”
“Oh” was Aria’s simple reply as she watched Adam serving all the kids foods while smiling kindly.
“He kinda ticks me off”
Kahlil whispered beside her as Aria hummed in approval “You don’t say”
Adam laughed with the kids while telling Mrs Dias the recipe for his special pie. His eyes never dared to meet Aria’s as he slyly avoided her.
Aria watched him with furrowed brows as everyone immersed in deep conversation. Selene started fidgeting in her seat when Adam approached her, realization dawned upon Aria as she saw Adam slowly putting his hand on the child’s bare shoulder.
Anger burned in her heart as she gritted her teeth and watched as he kept touching Selene in the presence of serving her food. Aria stood up while clutching the steak knife and walked up to them.
No one noticed her, because they were busy laughing and talking.
Adam’s blue eyes finally met her as he stared at her with wide, scared eyes and backed away.
“Sis?” Kahlil was the first one to notice a livid Aria standing on the other side of the table, glaring at the cook.
“What were you doing?” she asked calmly as the whole hall quieted down.
Mrs Dias looked at them with a confused look as she stood up and walked towards them.
“N-Nothing, just serving food” was Adam’s simple reply as Aria scoffed and looked down at a scared Selene looking at them with a wide teary gaze.
“Why is she scared of you then?”
“She’s scared of everybody! Right Selene?” Adam announced as his hands found her shoulder again and he softly squeezed it, making the small girl whimper and nod timidly.
“See, that what I told y-”
Aria cut him off as she swung the steak knife forward towards his hands and cut all his fingers off. A loud scream of pain ripped through his chest as he fell back clutching his hand.
Aria stood there, breathing heavily with a bloodied knife as his detached fingers fell on the floor. All the kids screamed in horror as Mrs Dias gasped in shock and ran towards Aria.
“Why did you do that!” she screamed while Aria ignored her and crouched down in front of a sobbing Selene.
“Selene” her voice came out soft as Selene’s sobs quietened as she looked at Aria with big bright eyes.
“If anyone ever touches you inappropriately. . .” she started as Mrs Dias gasped in realization and glared at the cook crying in agony “. . . cut their fingers off”
Selene nodded furiously while sniffling on her tears “T-Thank You”
Aria smiled and gave the bloodied knife to a shocked Kahlil and went ahead and hugged the small girl. Aria eyes burned in growing rage as she closed them and heaved out a long sigh trying to keep herself calm.
“I’m feeling much better now”