LONG LOST

Chapter 1: The Orphanage

RPOV

"Renesmee… Caley. Get ready! A young couple is coming to visit today. You have to look really good and be on your best behavior if you want to get adopted," Clara yelled from the bottom of the stairs leading to our bed room - mine and my roommate, Caley.

Caley has been there for me since day one. I guess me being the second oldest orphan after her makes it easier for us to connect. Being old is not something that an orphan would enjoy in an orphanage-not that fifteen is considered very old, let alone "old"- because nobody wants to adopt a teenager. People usually choose to adopt the younger ones. I can't help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy towards the younger kids but it's unfair how they discriminate you just because of your age!

But I am not the kind of person who driven by so much jealousy that I start murdering all the kids in the orphanage. In fact, I get along very well with them-I spend as much time as I can with them and treat them as if they are my little sisters. Caley on the other hand, stays away from everyone as if by being too close or attached to anyone-with the exception of me, of course- you could contract a deadly disease.

Now I know why. After three months of being here-in Alaska and not in England anymore-I learnt my lesson that being attached to someone was a bad thing because when they leave, they take a piece of you along with them. I was really happy but at the same time devastated when Paige -one of the younger girls who I am very close to-left. I guess that's why Caley doesn't mind being attached to me-because nobody wants to adopt an "old" orphan.

But I don't really let the fact bother me that much-being passed on from one orphanage to another makes you develop thick skin and stop lusting after things you'll never have. Besides, I get to accompany Caley and Clara was ecstatic when Caley connected with me because many people have tried but no one-I mean, no one-ever succeed getting through her.

I was so deep in thought that I hadn't even realize that I was already in the shower until Caley brought me back into reality.

"Could you please hurry up?" Caley whined. I chuckled.

"Okay, okay, geez woman!" I said feigning anger.

I rinsed quickly off any excess conditioner and reached for my towel. When I'm all dried up, I put on my best dress-which is actually a pair of dark skin tight jeans and a grey cotton hoodie. If I had a choice I would meet the soon-to-be adoptive parents in my pyjamas but to save myself from Clara's temper tantrum-or what I like to call it; The Wrath of Clara-I would just obey her every word.

Clara is in her early fifties. She is plum and has wavy dark brown hair that has been cut short. Although she puts up a tough façade we know that she's all soft and gooey inside. She wants what's best for us and she gives us tough love. It makes me sad sometimes to think that Clara started this orphanage in her mid-twenties after she lost her three year old son in a car accident. She survived but she walks with a limp and a horrible scar- escalating from her right upper thigh to her shin-as a tragic reminder. I've never seen it before but Caley told me. I guess being in the orphanage for five years makes you know things that the other kids don't.

I snapped out of my reverie when Caley called out to me again.

"Hello, earth to Nessie? Are you there or did you accidentally drown yourself while showering?"

I giggled as Caley tried to mimic the sound of someone drowning. I quickly wrapped a towel on my sopping wet hair and got out.

"Dreamer," Caley said while rolling her eyes and stepped into the bathroom.

Dreamer was what she called me because all I ever do was have nightmares-to the point where I scream in my sleep-or day dream. I like to wonder about things-things that I don't know the answer to-like who are my parents, what are they like and why did they leave me? But I decided not to think about it that much and try to move on.

I got into our room and started blow drying my hair with Caley's blow dryer. We didn't need to ask for permission when we wanted to borrow something from one another-that's how close we are. After blow drying my hair, I brushed my thick bronze coloured hair-one ringlet at a time-which fell to my waist. It's not like I'm doing this to capture the couples attention so that they will adopt me I do it every single day as part of my daily routine. I mean, who will adopt someone just because they spend almost half an hour every single day trying to manage their mane of a hair? That's insane!

I often time wonder if I inherited my hair colour from my parents. What do they look like? Do I look like anyone of them?

Just then I heard Marie our other caregiver announcing that the Cullens have arrived. Cullens. So that's their last name. That name sounded so familiar. It's like I've heard it somewhere before. Probably from a TV show or something. I wonder what they're like. Even though, Marie was directing that statement to Carla in the living room downstairs, I could still hear her. I swear it's like I have enhanced senses or something. I could see things-notice things-that others can't.

Sometimes at night, I could hear Clara and Marie worrying about Caley and what will happen to her when she is supposed to leave next month-when she turns eighteen.

I could smell the food that is being prepared downstairs and tell you what it is just by the scent of the ingredients-of course most people won't be able to tell you what food is being prepared even if they were given the list of ingredients, but I love to cook and I usually help in the kitchen and sometimes even cook the food and bake cake when there is somebody's birthday party in the orphanage. They just love my cooking and I love to cook for them.

I usually don't let my super-senses bother me. Maybe my biological parents-who probably aren't human-have super senses too! I laughed to myself thinking how stupid I sound.

Caley caught me laughing by myself, just stared at me for a moment then just rolled her eyes and let it go just like that. That's what I like about Caley. She didn't ask too many questions. She respect your privacy if you respect hers, so I did her the same favour in return by not asking her questions about her past life. If she wanted to tell me she would-I have to admit that I got a little curious at times and I don't think we know about each other that well because of this-but I guess some secrets are just too dark to talk about.

When people look into Caley's eyes they see a pair of dark brown almost black eyes staring back at them blankly. But when I look into her eyes I see the hollowness, I see the abyss of those dark bottomless eyes of hers and-with one look- I know that she's been through hell and back.

"Girls there are some nice couples who want to meet you all. Could you come down, please?" Marie said from the bottom of the stairs.

We knew this meant that the twelve of us were supposed to go into our "formation" at the bottom of the staircase which is a straight line starting from the youngest, Ella to the eldest, Caley.

That's when I saw them-the couple. They are so beautiful. They are the definition of perfection. Their ivory coloured skin and topaz eyes-which I thought were a little bit off but decided to let it go because I can't just go up to a bunch of strangers and be like; "Hey, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Walking down the stairs, I laughed quietly at the idea of my thoughts. The man who looks like an actor-just smiled at me stifling a laugh. His beautiful wife with caramel coloured hair elbowed him playfully and gave me a kind and loving smile. Did they hear me laugh? I was so embarrassed, I blushed deep red looking like a tomato and almost ran to my spot next to Caley. Their eyes following me with every move I make and they kept on staring at me like I was something to eat but stopped when they saw that I was getting uncomfortable

Carla then introduced them to us. "Girls, I would like you to meet some people," she said while gesticulating her hands towards the young couple.

"This is Dr and Mrs Cullen," she continued.

"Oh please, just call me Carlisle and my wife Esme," he said humbly.