Lost and Found

Chapter 7: The Best Part of Waking Up

"Yes ma'am." I said as I was told to take out the trash. Mrs. Teredia was the owner of the orphanage I had stayed in for a little bit while a foster home was found, and she demanded respect from all of us. Whether it was dinner conversations or telling us to do our chores, her voice was firm and commanding. Nothing slipped by her either. Within an hour after I had hid a kitten in a box under my bed, she confronted me with it cradled in her arms. I was terrified that she was going to make me get rid of it and, being only nine years old at the time(not to mention thinking my parents either didn't love me anymore or were dead), I broke down and started crying.

"Where did you find this kitten?" Mrs. Teredia said after my crying had reduced to sniffles.

"He *sniff* crawled through the fence while I was p-playing.. and he came right *sniff* up to me and started p-purring." I replied, wishing I could just go to my room and hide under the bed until she forgot about the kitten.

"Why did you hide him?"

"I wanted t-to keep him and I didn't think y-you'd let me."

"Why did you think that?" She asked. She didn't sound angry, so I wiped my eyes dried and looked up at her. She seemed rather amused by the fact the kitten was sitting boldly on her shoulder and looking at me. I could her it purring. "He seems to like you."

"I.. I don't know." I said quietly. "You don't have any pets here."

"That doesn't mean I don't like animals." She said firmly, but it was calming somehow. "I simply cannot care for them the way they deserve because you children come first."

"So I can keep him?" I asked excitedly. Mrs. Teredia held her hand up to keep me from going on.

"He must stay outside until I come back with the things he will need. It will be your job to clean up after him until he learns to use the litter box, keep him from getting into people food, and play with him everyday so he can get used to being around you and people." Was she kidding? It was sitting on her shoulder! I was trying not to laugh as she handed the kitten to me. It climbed up to sit on my shoulder and purred loud enough to make my ear buzz.

It was hard, taking care of Pendant(I had to explain that Mrs. Teredia had said it looked like he was wearing one, and then explain that it was something that went on a necklace), but I kept it up and treated him like he was the greatest treasure in the world. He was too.

Because he was my best friend.

Part Two

"I just don't understand it, Cheryl! That boy cares more about that cat than sports or video games or girls!" I was sitting at the top of the stairs listening as my third set of foster parents talked about me like I wasn't in the house. I could have heard Thomas in my room with the door closed though.

"Thomas, that cat has been the boy's only real friend for two years, it's understandable that he'd care about it." Cheryl was so.. mild most of the time, and it had surprised me to learn that it was her idea to take in foster kids. "You're just making a mountain out of a mole hill."

"Am I?" He asked. "Is it normal for a kid to come home after school and have to be told to do his homework before he can play with a cat? I think we should take him to see someone."

"You mean like a psychologist?"

"No, Cheryl, I mean a vet. Lord knows the boy spends enough time with that cat that we could take him to one!"

I stood up and ran to my room, slamming the door and locking it before throwing myself down on my bed and burying my face in a pillow. I knew they heard the door slam shut, and knew Cheryl was mildly scolding Thomas for not keeping his voice down. I heard the doorknob shake as one of them tried to turn it, and I expected to hear the sound of the key turning any moment, but it never came.

I don't know how long I lay there and cried, but I know I hated myself for it. Why should I cry over what was said? It probably wouldn't be long before they had me moved to another home anyway. That was what my life was going to be like from now on. Moving from one place to another, away from a school I was just getting use to, away from people I liked and might one day call my friends. How long would it be before I went to someone who didn't let me keep Pendant?

I cursed the tears that soaked the pillow even more as I thought of all the cuss words I shout at the people that would try and make me get rid of him, of all the things I would do to their home. I'd become a juvenile delinquent.

Maybe I would considered 'normal' then.

Part Three

I shifted in my seat and was promptly told to stop squirming and listen. I was a thirteen year old, at a concert I didn't want to be at, in an uncomfortable seat wearing an even more uncomfortable pair of dress shoes, and Charlie(or Charles if he didn't like you) was telling me to quit squirming. I sighed, frustrated, and turned my attention back back to the concert. It wasn't like I was going anywhere or had anything better to do. On stage there was a mass of people that equaled about half of the people in the audience, and each was had an instrument on which they played. I'll admit "Ride of the Valkyries" and "Flight of the Bumblebee" were okay, but other than that I couldn't understand why people still listened to this old stuff! It doesn't... I don't know, speak to me? I spent the next two hours completely bored, and I was starting to think about pretending to get sick when all the music ended. I looked at the stage and I swear the conductor was looking right back at me. Without looking away, he adjusted the microphone that had been brought on stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "we have a special treat for you tonight! You see, a dear friend of mine came to me a few weeks ago and asked if I would add a piece of music he had written to our performance tonight. After reading it and listening to it, I have to say that the answer is a resounding yes. I hope you enjoy The Rush of Life I much as we do." And with that he turned back to the orchestra and...

"Wow." I said, amazed, a minute into the song. I turned to Charlie, who was smiling broadly, and I could feel me heart beating faster to keep pace with the music "It.. sounds so cool."

"I suppose it would." He replied, and something about the way he said that piqued my interest. I was about to ask what he meant by that when he nodded to the stage again. "Listen closely, since you think this song is so cool."

Still wondering(and now slightly suspicious), I went back to listen to the music. I felt it working it's way into my very core, and I nearly cried out as it broke something open. Whatever it was, it didn't matter to me anymore, because images began to flood my mind as music flooded my soul. That sounds incredibly sappy I know, but it's true. Coasting down a slope on roller blades, playing with Pendant, zooming down the go-cart track so fast the wind could make your eyes water, all of those and more floated through my mind. It really was amazing.

"What did you mean when you said you thought it would sound cool?" I asked Charlie as he drove us back to his house.

"I meant exactly what I said." He replied, which frustrated me to no end. "The person who inspired the piece usually likes it."

"WHAT!"

"Don't shout. Look, I've got a little tradition. Whenever I get a new foster kid I write a bit of music that reminds me of them. I give them a copy before they leave. Each time one of them has heard their song, they've discovered a love for music. I just bring it out in people."

"So that's why all the things I like came to mind.. all the things I love that you've seen me do! Why?"

"I've got a saying that goes along with the tradition. 'When you're doing something you truly enjoy, you stop hiding from the world and embrace it like an old friend.' I write that at the end of every song I write for a kid. I do this because I want the kids I take in to have something positive they can remember about their time in foster care, no matter what their reason is for being in it in the first place."

I was quiet the rest of the way back to his house, but after I had gone to my room and changed out of the suit, I found Charlie and gave him a hug, something I had thought I'd never give any of my foster parents. He hesitantly returned it as I looked up at him.

"Thanks for the song."

Part Four

Suddenly I wasn't giving Charlie a hug anymore because he wasn't there, and I stumbled forward. After picking myself up and dusting myself off, I looked around and found myself in a featureless landscape. It was like a void, with absolutely nothing around to tell me if I was standing or laying down. So I started walking, or at least going trough with the motions. I started to hum, sing, tell jokes to myself, anything at all to fight off both boredom and panic, and I kept it up for what seemed like hours before I saw something small in the distance. With a huge sigh of relief I began running toward, and as I got closer I could tell it was a table that only looked small because I was so far away. To my supreme disappointment the only thing there besides the table was a note that told me "It's time to wake up." What in the world did that mean? I was awake! I was just about to rip the stupid note to peices when I heard the voices, faintly at first and then louder as they continued, though they kept fading in and out before I could hear everything that was being said.

"...he okay?"

"Yeah.. got to him in time.."

"...he awake?"

"...four arrows in the chest..."

The white expanse I was in began to fall apart and before I could jump out of the way the part I was standing on fell out from under me. I screamed as I fell, flailing as I... sat straight up in a bed only to be forced back down by Kay and.. Matthew!

"Calm down man, you've got to rest and give Haley's spell a chance to finish healing those arrow slits in your chest!" Kay told me as he held my arms at my side. I wasn't listening though, I was looking at Matthew and smiling like an idiot.