Resting against the window, her head perched in the crossover of her arms and her eyes staring out onto the snowy campus of the orphanage with barely a blink, some called this her zone-out time. When she just fell into a whole other world and left her body behind for everybody else to think that she never left at all. But her mind wasn't completely in the clouds yet. No, she was distracted, yes that part was true, but the distraction wasn't sourced by the white fluff balls falling from the plain grey sky of England, or the fact that the there were ear-splitting screams coming from the complaining children sitting just outside the room she was currently dazing off in. What caught her into the act of distraction were the two faint silhouettes stalking the gates of the orphanage. She had noticed them just when the huge haunting sound of the bell started to ring. Yes, even that didn't get her mind off whom the silhouettes were, and its sound wafted throughout the air, vibrating through to every child and staff member's eardrums. However, this didn't bother her, at all.
Who are they?
Her question was conveniently answered when the snow started to slow, the fog starting to sift away, and the tall grey old man with the moustache known as Quillish Wammy standing beside what looked to be a spiky haired midget. They were suddenly moving past the huge iron gates and walking slowly towards the main doors where they had escaped her view. She didn't move though. Of course, like any child would, she was curious to see who the mysterious spiky haired midget was. But she didn't move, flinch or even twitch. Lord knows why she didn't get up and run past the screaming and crying children residing in the building, and run into the comforting arms of the kind old man who owned the school for the gifted and intelligent and greet herself to this strange person who so mysteriously clutched the old man's hand like it was his life insurance. She didn't get up because it was not her right to get up. She had no reason or manner to do all those things, even if curiosity was the excuse. Unless she was called to greet this new child/midget, she had no option but to stay seated there until some sign of introduction was announced.
And it was.
Coincidently.
"Ee-lay-ree, Mr. Wammy requests your assistance immediately." One of the nurses of the orphanage stood at the door, her hand on the handle, and half of her body hidden by the door's frame. She had spoken calmly and softly, so how could the girl sitting by the window refused?
The small child had suddenly found her feet and lifted herself off the floor, following the nurse down extensive halls and rooms with screams and cries of infuriating children. Besides the noise, the little girl remained silent until she had reached the main doors where Mr. Wammy stood patiently and smiling like a kind old man, with the spiky haired midget by his side. But as she looked closer towards the midget, she realised it was hunched over so that would explain the reason why it was short. Well, it was more of a boy if you looked closer as well to that fact. She had nearly slapped herself for thinking he was a midget, and that he was an it. If she hadn't have been called to come down, and one of the other children would've have seen what he looked like, there was no doubt in the little girl's strawberry –red coloured head's mind, that they would have judged him before actually knowing what his personality was like. It's a cruel habit of humans to judge a person before knowing what they are like. But, in truth, she could not help but wonder why the kind old man had requested to see her. He had never done this in the past so why now? Why, when a newly arrived child that he was very much aware of, would he need to speak to her in a predicament like this?
The question wasn't about to be answered so soon as she and the midget were both pushed forward by Mr. Wammy and the nurse, so introductions could begin the awkward meeting. Slowly, without a moment's hesitation, the midget had slid his coat off, the faint thump it made against the hardwood floor coming straight after, left him in only baggy jeans, an extremely large white t-shirt that kept sliding off his shoulders, and a scarf wrapped around his neck which he was tending to at that moment. His hunched back and spiky hair weren't the only things that had appalled the red haired girl standing before him.
His large raccoon-like eyes had never left her gaze, she was not sure whether he had blinked at all whilst examining her, at an age like his – or so it seemed – he had peculiarly long fingers that reminded her of a tarantulas long legs. Only on the plus side of the killjoy introduction they weren't hairy. And thank the heavens for that.
"Ee-lay-ree, speak to him."
It was an immediate action when she had quietly said 'hi'.
And the reply was a nod. Wow, thanks.
She had forced a small smile and then had turned her gaze on him to her feet. For some reason he had wished for her to keep her view on him, because when she looked away from him, his head ducked under to catch sight of her eyes. Her eyes had widened to the size of his as he stared up at her, a hand twitching as in to hide the urge to do something because it wasn't very polite or he just felt like it wasn't the right time. He had seemed so inquisitive, his actions being controlled to a rate where it will not scare her, or force her to push away from him for various actions that can cause discomfort. The two orphans had been wrapped so tight in their silent animalistic introduction, which they were oblivious to the warm looks coming from both the nurse and Mr. Wammy.
"Ee-lay-ree, I had requested you from your current activities so you could possibly look after this poor boy. His parents had died in an accident, and I unfortunately have to fill-in all the paperwork for a new orphan, could you please prepare a bath for him and maybe show him to his room." The kind man had spoken softly, giving her another warm smile when she had nodded and replied to his commandment with a 'Yes sir.'
Slow, while they walked through all the halls that the red headed child had walked through before, time had seemed inexplicably... slow. It was either her walking infuriatingly slow, or maybe she was just slow because it seemed like the raven spiky haired midget was shuffling behind her in his own pace. Resisting the urge to look back to see if he was still even behind her, she continued to move, direct the both of them towards this strangers new bedroom.
Finally reaching the large mahogany door (she had somehow new that the bedroom belonged to him because it was the only one vacant) blocking the rest of their path, she reached on her toes, stretched her arm until it hurt, and pushed her fingers further to reach the door handle which was higher than what she stood at, observably. Small pads of fingertips had just about twisted the handle, and then the door squeaked open as she had almost tripped inside. She didn't blush scarlet though; she merely went inside and had suddenly felt like claustrophobia was no longer existent in the world. Let alone in the other rooms with the other children.
Translation: the room she had led the both of them to, was enormous.
Two pairs of bare feet pressed against the soft crimson carpet, two sets of eyes were lurking themselves all over their surroundings, at the wooden empty bookshelves over at the cream coloured wall by the large windows that were covered by gold curtains, the king-sized bed placed on the east side of the room facing the empty bookshelves, and mahogany wood with gold and scarlet flashed dimly from the grey sky outside, however, it was all visible. Even with the dismal, snowy atmosphere radiating from the open window. Carpet, good thinking.
Snap out of it.
Her subconscious gave an order, involuntarily she had obeyed it, and lost focus on the magnificent interior of a child's bedroom, and concentrated on the boy, who was standing hunched over in the middle of the room.
I should leave, the thought, she knew, would soon become another involuntary order.
"I will leave you alone..." A heavy English accent in her deep voice had swept out the words perfectly, like the rest of the young geniuses that were orphans as well that resided in the building, speaking in absolute perfect sentences was another observation made by many of the orphanage's visitors. She turned, her back facing him and her left foot hanging in the air ready for her to step out of the room and continue looking despairingly out of her bedroom window.
He wanted to know something though. And he would know before she had left.
"What is your name?" absolute perfect sentences...
She turned to face him with an appalled expression, the midget had spoken. Was it even possible? She wondered. Was she hearing things coming from his direction, or did it actually occur? Shocked mint green eyes locked with raccoon-like ones that held no emotion, or feeling in them at all. It felt as though she was staring at a blank piece of paper, nothing on it, no writing, no picture, not even one speck of ink or even dirt. Just a complete blank stare. Concentration had suddenly overwhelmed her, telling her intelligent mind not to stutter like an idiot, and actually try to answer his question. She had answered his question, with one of her own.
"Weren't you listening to Mr. Wammy and Nurse Judith?" she asked, an eyebrow twitching to arch in curiosity and disbelief.
"No, I was too engrossed by your vibrant hair." Complimented by the newbie, well, this a turn of events.
"U-um... w-what did you-u say?" so much for concentration on the no stuttering cycle.
"Forgive me, if I had frightened you or you had assumed I insulted you in any way. I was not meaning to hurt you, it was merely a compliment. I like strawberries, the colour of your hair had reminded me of them and 'vibrant' had suddenly come to mind. Again, forgive me." He pressed a thumb to his bottom lip, chewing on the nail.
Thank you.
"Uh..." Thank you.
"Um..."
THANK YOU!
"How old are you?"
A mental kick and slap in the face was something she desperately yearned for at that very moment, or any physical violence towards her would have been just extra good. She was sincerely, going to run off a cliff once she had left that room.
The first sign of emotion he had shown throughout their entire time together had suddenly moved at the corners of his pale mouth. He smiled. He was smiling. He was smiling like Quillish Wammy before, kind-hearted and understanding. To state the obvious a bit more, he didn't have so many wrinkles like Mr. Wammy, or hair as white as the snow pouring itself outside, in fact, it was jet black. And stood at the back like a porcupine, before she had briefly wondered if it was soft or rough or messy or whatnot, but she had let the thought slip thinking it would be slightly perverted to just ask to feel his hair. At this moment now, perverted didn't even cover it.
"I am seven-years-old. But may I ask you again what your name is? I am exceedingly interested."
"Ee-lay-ree Veck-ahn-tah." Where did all this confidence had suddenly come from? What mind games were he playing to get her to speak?
"Spell it." He made another demand, and she had no longer felt offended by it. Because even the small identical voice to her own at the back of her head was giving orders and all she could do was reluctantly comply with them.
Ee-lay-ree goes as I.L.L.E.R.I.A.H. Veck-ahn-tah goes as V.U.C.A.N.T.E."
His kind smile had suddenly turned into an entertained one, like a man who enjoys playing Sudoku had suddenly found an even more challenging game, and was willing to play it.
"Ah, I see." He began.
"The 'I' is pronounced as 'ee', very much to the Japanese, one of the 'L's are silent while the other acts as the pronunciation, the 'e' is pronounced as though it was an 'a' thus equalling the 'l' and 'e' sounding as though a person is saying 'lay'. And the 'ree' bit is also similar to the Japanese, only the 'A' and 'H' are silent." His elucidation for her first name was outstanding, how did he figure it out? Many of the other children have tried but they have failed (then again looking back with the last participants, she didn't spell out her whole name).
"And with Vucante, hmm... let me see..." he tapped his thumb against his bottom lip, giving the intuition to Illeriah that this was a habit for him.
"They swap sounds." He said after a few moments of deep thinking and silence to assist his train of thought. His eyes had moved away from hers, and were suddenly staring at the ceiling whilst his head titled back.
"What?" The red-haired little girl had suddenly divulged.
His head turned from the ceiling, staring at her with those eyes again. No longer a blank stare but suddenly a look of realization. Illeriah had suddenly thought of Albert Einstein, speculating if that was the look on his face when he had come to a realization.
"The 'U' and the 'E' swap sounds. The 'U' is articulated as though somebody is saying 'until' and the 'E' is said as though somebody is saying 'pet' or 'exit'. The C-A-N-T is said as 'can't' and the 'V' is just said with the 'U''s sound. I take a fondness to your name, it's a puzzle hidden inside and I find that fascinating and very much entertaining for me."
Flabbergasted would have definitely been the correct word for her expression. This person, this stranger, had cracked the one thing she liked about her name.
Cracked, deciphered, solved.
Amazing. She thought.
"What's your name?" she said, sounding bold, and with that she had received a hesitant, but straight-to-the-point reply.
"Lawliet." He muttered. Able to hear enough, she smiled. A rare thing to see on her pale-but-pink tinged complexion.
"Intelligent name for an intelligent person."
"Thank you."
WHY DIDN'T I SAY THAT BEFORE?
She was ready to leave, turning on her heel, and pressing the ball of what Quillish Wammy called 'her Cinderella feet/foot', until his voice had halted her leaving once again.
"How old are you?" he asked, amusement clear in his voice, and it had occurred to her that he knew what she had wanted to say before asking that idiotic question.
"2 years younger than you, Einstein."
And she walked from the door, releasing a small chuckle after the new orphan had, and completely unaware of the kind old man hidden in the shadows watching their every move with a kind smile hanging from the wrinkled corners of his mouth.