Nina
Every single day I am thankful for the life I lead. For not long since did I take each moment for granted. I took love for granted. But with each challenge comes lessons and these lessons I learnt the hard way.
About three months ago I met a girl. Her name was Nina and she had the most striking blue eyes and soft, golden blonde hair. From the moment I saw her I knew she would be someone special to me.
"Do you need any help there, Perry?" she asked, in a soft spoken tone. Those were the first words I heard her speak.
"No thanks Nini." he responded, his little grin shined brightly through his eyes at her.
"Okay. Well, call me if you need me." he nodded as she walked away.
"Hi, err, can I help you?" she whispered, noticing me standing in the corner by the door.
"Hey, I'm Jack. I've come to do some…volunteering." I told her, bending the truth carefully. She smiled as I spoke, looking glad that I was there to help.
"That's great!" she exclaimed, almost too eager at my presence. I grinned, feeling my cheeks turn red.
"I mean, it's always great when people take time out to help others." I listened carefully, taking in her words. The passion in her voice. I frowned.
"Have you done much voluntary work before?" she asked.
"I've done…work with the community." I informed her. I knew my withholding information was wrong, but I was scared she wouldn't accept my mistakes.
"That's fantastic!" I began to feel bad. With each new sentence I dug deeper into a hole.
"Have you done much?" I asked, changing the subject swiftly.
"I've been helping out here since my mum opened it up six years ago." she began. "At first I was forced to help out after school and things, my parents couldn't afford a babysitter and they couldn't leave this place. Then I grew to love it." I couldn't help become mesmerised by the beautiful, caring woman beside me.
"Come meet the kids." she grinned, walking towards some tables. "Orly, meet Jack, he's going to be working her for a while."
"Hello Orly." I whispered, finding it hard not to stare at his disfigured face. "What's wrong with him?" I enquired. Nina frowned, but answered me anyway.
"He's got downs syndrome, his parents used to beat him." I gasped, suddenly seeing the little boy in a new light. His face was a mark of suffering.
"Lucy, come and say hello to Jack."
"No."
"Lucy, come on sweetie, I know it's hard, but he's a nice person."
"How about I come to you?" I grinned, walking towards her.
"Wait, she's got Aspersers, she's really touchy about her space." I frowned, not really sure what she meant.
"Look, these kids are special." she told me after introducing me to Graham, Madison, Bailey and Ryan.
"What do you mean?"
"Lucy and Graham have Aspersers, so they've got problems when it comes to communicating. It's taken us a couple of months to build up relationships with them. Then we've got Orly, with Downs. Ryan has ADHD, so he's rather hyperactive and quite difficult to handle on the bad days. As for Bailey, well we're not sure what's wrong with her. But she doesn't talk, at all."
"Oh right." I was shocked to learn about each child and their lot in life. I hadn't come across many children who weren't "normal" before. Not in my family, not in my way of life. It was like a whole new world I was seeing.
"What about the kid you were talking to when I came in? What's wrong with him?" I requested, motioning towards the small, blonde haired boy in the corner.
"Oh, Perry, no, he's not like the other children. He's my little brother, I have to look after him sometimes. Especially in the week."
"Oh, so he's just here for the ride?" I grinned. The girl nodded and smiled back. And then I realised that I didn't know her name.
"What's your name?" I enquired.
"Nina, Nina Tucker." she smiled, holding her hand out for me to shake it.