"No! You can't take me away! I won't let you!" a young blond shouted as he struggled to free himself from the grasp of a man. He clutched onto the railing of the porch steps of his house, refusing to let go.
It was on this cloudy yet warm day outside of a house at the corner of a street in Spain that a young child was on the verge of tears as a rather irritated looking man tried to rip him away from the house he knew and loved. His mother and father had died when the boy was only two years of age and he had been living in his old house all by his lonesome ever since.
In hiding and with no pesetas, he lived off of mere scraps, forced to scavenge and steal what he could for his own survival. Many sleepless nights he'd cuddle in the sheets of his parents old bed, trying to find comfort of some sort. Sometimes he'd find sleep but not always. The man had a hold on the boys right arm and was pulling.
"Let go! This is for your own good!" the man insisted, trying not to injure the small child who didn't want to leave his home.
"Please... Just let me stay..." the boy begged, still holding on. After much tugging, the boy lost his grip and let go by an accident.
"No!" he called out as the man managed to get a better grip on the young blonde, wrapping both arms around the child's stomach area. The man turned around, the child still in hand, and proceeded to push the child away who was now in tears. The young blonde could no longer see his house since he was now facing the opposite direction. He wanted to go home. The child wanted to snuggle in the sheets of his parents bed and somehow find sleep but alas, he could never go back. Tears streamed down the child's face.
"Please... I just want to go home..." the five year old begged.
"Well, your getting a new home now. It isn't safe or healthy for a child like yourself to be living all alone. Don't worry. You'll make new friends at the orphanage." The man explained.
"But... I don't want to go..." the young blonde protested. "It's not a choice you can make." the man replied. The blonde child sniffled, longing for his home.
After awhile of walking, the orphanage came into view. As they came closer, the young blonde felt nervous and sad. Once they walked inside, other children could be seen. The man closed the door with a loud thud, causing the young boy to jump. Kids of various ages sat and stood around, some clutching or holding precious toys, teddy bears, stuffed animals, or blankets, others sitting or standing around looking sad or nervous, perhaps even happy in some cases.
"Well, my work here is done." the man said and with that, he left the building, closing the door with another loud thud, causing the young blonde to jump again. He looked around, unfamiliar with the place. Not sure where to go or what to do, he walked forward, looking at the children who he could see. They gave him confused looks, curious looks, odd looks, sad looks, mocking looks, happy looks, and other various looks. His eyes began to fill with tears and he began to cry again.
Just then one of the kids walked over, feeling sorry for him. The child had dark, black hair and blue eyes. He seemed to be about his age. Approaching carefully, he walked and stopped across from the blonde boy and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Hey. Don't cry, kid. It'll be ok." he assured, trying to comfort the weeping blonde. The young blonde cast his green eyes upon the other child, looking into his eyes. He sniffled, wiping the tears away with the back of his right hand before wiping his hand on his pants.
"How do you know?" he questioned.
"Well, believe it or not, I know what your going through." the dark-haired kid explained. The green-eyed blonde sniffled once more.
"You do?" he questioned curiously. The blue-eyed boy nodded.
"Mmhmm. It's scary being here for the first time. But trust me. It gets better." he explained. The blonde wasn't quiet convinced but decided to take his word for it.
"My name is Miguel. Who are you?" he questioned, wondering who this friendly stranger even was.
"Tulio. I'm Tulio." the dark-haired kid replied. Miguel gave a light smile.
"Nice to meet you." he replied.
"Same to you." Tulio replied.
"Hey. Why don't I show you around the place?" Tulio offered, wrapping an arm around the young blonde's neck gently. Miguel nodded.
"Sure. I'd like that." he replied. Tulio nodded back before leading Miguel towards a staircase. Miguel followed Tulio's lead. Up the stairs the boys went. Once they were at the top of the stairs, the two boys made there way down the dark hallway.
"There are many bedrooms up here since there are a lot of orphans here. They either don't have parents or their parents gave them up or they couldn't take care of them. Some of the children here had parents who treated them terribly or weren't taking care of them right and things like that so they were taken away." Tulio explained. Miguel stopped, looking down at the floor sadly.
"My parents died when I was only two. I didn't know how to react. One day I walked into the kitchen and my mom was face-down on the floor. I thought she was asleep so I tried shaking her awake. When she didn't move, I got scared and went to see where my dad was. I found him dead on the couch face up. I thought he was asleep too and climbed up onto his chest. I didn't feel the familiar thump of his heart beat and realized something was wrong. Before long, I realized he was dead too." the young blonde concluded, trying not to cry again. Tulio had stopped and was listening to Miguel carefully. He frowned, feeling sad for the boy.
"That's terrible. My story is a bit different than yours. My mother abandoned me when I was only two years old and left me at this orphanage. I never knew my father though. For all I know he could be dead or lost." Tulio explained, feeling sad. Miguel walked until he was next to Tulio.
"Maybe he's alive." the young blonde said, trying to think positive. Tulio gave a sad sounding sigh.
"Maybe. Odds are I'll never see him again though." Tulio said, looking down at the ground. Miguel frowned, starting to feel sad again.
"Hey! Why don't we continue the tour." he said, changing the subject. He didn't want to cry anymore and he assumed Tulio didn't want to cry either. Tulio shook his head around, trying to clear his mind. He then gave a nod.
"Ok." he replied before the tour continued with Tulio leading the way once again. After awhile, the tour was complete and the two toured the downstairs area next. Afterwards, Tulio sighed and put his hands on his hips.
"Well, that's pretty much it for the tour." he concluded before looking back at Miguel. The young blonde nodded.
"That's great." he responded, looking around a bit.
"Hey. Why don't I introduce you to some of the other kids? Maybe you'll make some new friends." Tulio suggested, still looking at Miguel. Miguel nodded once more.
"That would be great." he replied and with that, the two went off to do just that.