Chapter 10

Mid-November of 1991, a Friday. It was still autumn season but the air was beginning to take on a chilly turn. Old man winter was fast approaching.

That night, nine year-old L had been eating his dinner in Quillsh Wammy's office, a chocolate brownie ala mode topped with vanilla ice cream. From time to time, usually at night, L would decide where he wanted to eat, may it be in his room, in the office or in the kitchen depending on his senses. When he was busy, he would prefer to eat alone in his room. Otherwise, if he wanted to, he would be in the office sitting on one of Quillsh's guest chairs. If he needed a little more light on, he would eat alone in the kitchen. The last option had an advantage for him since he had nearby access to the refrigerator.

"I finally had one account settled, L," spoke Quillsh who just finished talking on the phone. The founder made separate bank accounts, one account per individual cooperating foreign stock, as means for the expansion of his orphanage. "It's about time I set up another orphanage in Scotland."

"Yes," the boy replied, scooping vanilla ice cream into his mouth. "At least with a nearby cooperative, we can monitor and travel to them with ease."

Though his eyes were set on the food in front of him, L could clearly see the old man smiling cheerily. He knew how glad his older companion was since he could finally begin establishing the foundation he had been yearning for all his life. Now that he had started it, there was no turning back.

"Mr. Wammy," the boy interrupted, instantly remembering something from back then. "Would it be alright if I ask you a favor?"

The old man, who was writing down on his journal, peered to him. "What is it?"

"How many copies of our individual photos do you have?"

"About several. Why do you ask?"

"Would it be alright if I ask for individual photos of two children?"

For a second, Quillsh was stunned. He knew it was his priority to keep the children's personal information a secret and from falling into other people's possession. Their names and other important data were all held only by Quillsh himself. Yes, he kept individual photos of the children but these were only used for his files. Also, they were for other important requirements they might need, specifically those that would be asked from them once they have graduated from The Wammy's House. He knew the photos were also sensitive documents yet L was asking for them anyway.

With a sigh, Quillsh asked in reassurance. "You do know that these photos are part of my confidential files. Am I right, L?"

"Yes," the boy said. "I know very well that no one else is allowed access to our files. Even I'm not an exception but I'm simply asking if you'd allow me to have access to a couple of photos."

Hesitating, Quillsh pondered about the situation. Of course he needed to know the boy's intention first before giving out the photos to him. He needed to find out what the photos were for after all. Trying to get a grip on the situation more, the old man granted his request, lightly balling his hand into a fist, and rested his chin on it. "You have your reasons. What are they for?"

Finishing his meal, L set the bowl aside and placed a thumb on his lip. "It may not sound convincing to you." With one hand reaching into his pants pockets, he pulled out a silver locket, holding it in the air by the chain in finger and thumb. "It's to fill this up."

The founder took the pendant from the boy's pinch and studied it sensibly. "This is a simple yet classic piece of jewelry," he admired. "Where did you get it?"

"From the Halloween party in a barmbrack slice," he deadpanned.

"I see." The man set down the pendant on his desk. "Whose photos would you want to be in it then?"

The boy pondered "I was thinking about Temi's." His cheeks blushed a hint of red. "Her birthday is fast approaching, it seems."

Quillsh smiled sincerely, understanding what their conversation was about. "So you do wanted to give her something for her birthday."

L turned his face to the side and pouted. "I guess it's just my way to make up for what she gave me."

The founder chuckled. "And I suppose I know whose photo is the other one." He opened one of his desk drawers and rummaged through his folders. Pulling out two ID-sized photos, he closed the drawer and placed the pictures in front of the little boy. One of them was a photo of Temi, the other was L's. "They're ones from just this year's photoshoot but I think this is accurate enough for your current ages."

"Yes," the boy agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Wammy."

"Would you want me to put them in the locket?"

"Please do so."

Quillsh took out a pencil, a piece of paper, and a pair of scissors from another drawer. He opened the locket and traced its photo frames with the pencil and paper, cutting the paper into two ovals. The man traced the ovals on the two photos, the shapes encircling from the top of the heads down to the shoulders. "Do you, by any chance, know her plans for her own birthday?"

"I'm not certain. I'm not fond of asking people about their plans."

"Do you have any plans then?"

"I don't have any. I was just thinking of giving her this locket."

"By the way-" The old man started cutting out one of the photos. "What did she give you on your birthday? If it's not too personal for me to ask."

The boy shook his head. "She gave me the chocolate bar she won in a contest."

"Well, she knew you liked eating sweets, right? That probably meant a lot to her."

"She probably just didn't have anything else to give me," the boy doubted. "I don't really know what her intention was for giving it to me but then, that also might be true."

"Let's see-" The old man placed Temi's photo in the right frame. "What is it that catches her attention?"

"She likes to read books," L explained. "She also told me once that she wanted to travel to places."

"A wanderer, I see," Quillsh commented, placing L's photo in the other frame. He knew Temi was also a curious child. She wanted to engorge herself in countless experiences. With these experiences, she would convert them into useful knowledge. 'That is how Temi's mind works,' he thought. Thinking, the man closed the finished locket and handed it back to the boy. "I know just what it is that will knock her off her feet."

The boy then gently took the locket from Quillsh's hand. "What is it?"

30th of November 1991, that Saturday afternoon. Looking out from the window, Quillsh watched buildings passed by as he and his celebrant companion rode a taxi cab for a several minutes-long drive. The little girl who sat beside him peered out to her own window, her feet up on the car seat and legs folded to her right. "Where are we going, Mr. Wammy?" she asked, her gloved hands resting on her thighs.

The old man smiled, eyes still fixed outside the window. "Where do you suppose?"

Temi hummed, her eyes set to the sky. "You did mention around Winchester College but I'm still not sure which part of it."

"Tell me," he inquired, turning to face her. "What is it that you most enjoy in life?"

She flashed him her cheery smile. "I'm really fond of books."

"Just like what your friend told me," he thought, rubbing the stub on his chin.

"He must have told you about it somehow."

"Yes. Although I have subtly observed that myself, I still needed confirmation."

She stared at him intriguingly. "Confirmation? For what?"

The old man chuckled. "You'll know soon enough. Just you wait."

The clock ticked time away as the taxi passed by roads and establishments. Soon, Quillsh ordered the cabbie to stop at a vacant unloading spot and paid him. They were several blocks away from College Street, based from what his young companion could see from the nearest street sign by the corner. The old man stepped out of the car and reached his hand to Temi to help her out. With the cab driving away, the two walked on the pavement, the little girl holding onto the founder's hand. After walking a few blocks, they stopped in front of what appeared to be an antiquarian establishment. 'P&G Wells' was written on its wooden header board in white vintage lettering. Upon knowing what it was, the girl gasped in awe as line upon line of assorted books displayed through its glass window caught her eye.

Delighted, she asked. "A book shop?"

The old man nodded. "Happy birthday, Temi," he said pulling the glass door open and gestured the young girl to go inside. Overwhelmed, she scurried inside the shop with a huge smile on her face, dashing to the store directory. After searching through the books inventory, the girl trailed off to the 'Fiction' section. Letting the young one be, Quillsh took a seat by the café lounge, selecting from the stack of books available for guest reading. Less than an hour later, the girl ran to him and showed two hard-bound books she held in her hands.

"You're done choosing? I thought it might've taken you a more time," he chuckled, closing the book he was reading and placing it back on the coffee table.

"Not at all," the girl smiled. "I already had a fine idea of which books I should get."

Quillsh took the books from the child's hands and scanned them. One was 'A Study in Scarlet' and the other was 'The Sign of Four'. Both of which were works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. "I see you're really immersed in the 'Mystery' genre. Sherlock Holmes, indeed. Are you sure these are all you're going to check out? I know there were supposed to be four of Doyle's works."

Temi nodded. "I'm already fine with just two for now, Mr. Wammy. I still have a lot of reading to do."

The old man stood up, carrying Temi's books, and walked to the counter while the girl helped herself to a seat. Returning, the old man walked to their table with the books packed in a brown paper bag, a receipt taped on it, and sat back on where he was previously seated. A while later, a store staff approached them, carrying a tray of hot drinks and sponge cakes. Sincerely, she set the cups and plates on the table, nodded then walked away.

Holding on the cup of hot chocolate, the girl spoke. "This is very nice of you to take me all the way here, Mr. Wammy."

"I thought it would be a great idea to bring you here since you like to read books and all. Also, I remember your friend telling me about the times you helped him with my business. I have no knowledge of that but I am definitely impressed. I suppose this is my way of saying thank you."

She laughed. "It's nothing, but if there is anyone that should be thanked here, it should be you."

Quillsh smiled back, holding a cup of Earl Grey tea to his mouth. "I appreciate that, my dear."

"Mr. Wammy, can we have a stroll on the way home?" she requested, grabbing on a piece of sponge cake. "I would really like to pass by the Abbey Gardens."

"Of course. It isn't far from here and we can get to breathe some fresh air on our way," he agreed. "With a quick rest at the Gardens, we should be able to go home without even riding a taxi. To be honest, we could have just strolled from the orphanage all the way here since they're all just near each other after all."

"Then why did we have to take the taxi?"

He chuckled. "I thought it was necessary that you use your energy once we have arrived here instead of using it all on walking. It's still quite a long walk though. Besides, I know how thrilled you are to go out of the orphanage for once in a while. I didn't want to tire you out so early."

The girl laughed once more. "Thank you, Mr. Wammy."

Finishing their snacks, the pair left the shop and walked out of College Street to St. Swithun all the way to Symonds. Right at the corner of The Square, the park could be seen with children frolicking in the play area. Temi stared at them, hoping she could join in their game. Seeing how enticed his companion was, he gently tightened his grip on her hand which made her turn to face him. With a warm smile, he nodded to her to go and play. At that, the girl nodded back at him and ran to the kids, all of them playing a small game of hide and seek. Temi then turned to face the ladder of a playground slide and counted to ten slowly as her playmates frolicked to find a good hiding spot.

Finished with counting, she searched for her companions and upon finding them, ran to home base, their game continuing on with a different seeker. About an hour later, she returned to Quillsh who was seated on a park bench, watching over her from afar. The child sat beside him and rested, wiping a bit of sweat on her forehead with her coat sleeve, and stared at a nearby bare oak tree.

"It's going to be winter soon," she observed.

"Yes. It's going to be incredibly cold again."

She nodded in agreement. "Winter is great."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because of how it is, Mr. Wammy," she explained. "It is appreciated but underappreciated at the same time. It's not quite as lovely as autumn but still, what is spring without winter? What is summer without spring? What is autumn without summer? At one point or another, people will realize the importance that one event that will arise to another. The seasons don't just change with magic, you know?"

"Does that mean you also think the other seasons are great too?"

"Yes," she answered. "I think they're all wonderful."

"Does the same apply to people?" Quillsh queried.

"I'm afraid so."

"Then you tend to be impartial with people too, I see." He stared down at the bag of books on his lap. 'Sherlock Holmes,' he thought. "I think you might become a great detective like Mr. Holmes once you're all grown up."

She giggled, tucking strands of stray hair behind her ear. "That's very nice of you to say." Passing the time away, the two watched the slow sunset, the sky turning from rich yellow into a mix of orange and a hint of the night sky. Minutes passed by when Temi finally decided to break the silence. "Should we be going back now?"

The old man peered to his pocket watch. 5:27 PM. "You're right," he seconded. "It's getting late. We should be able to reach home before night falls."

Quillsh and Temi had arrived back in The Wammy's House at what is short of nine minutes to six o'clock. Carrying the package of books in her hands, the little girl thanked the old man once more. After he had given her a light pet on the head, she excused herself and went out of the office.

On her way to the staircase and passing by the lounge, she could hear small individual notes coming from the upright piano. 'Ting, ting, ting, ting, ting,' it went, but she recognized what the song was. It was the instrumental of 'Heart and Soul'. She could distinguish that pattern anywhere even when the notes were played without the main accompaniment, not to mention shoddily performed. Curious, she let herself in, surprised to see that her black-haired friend was inside.

'Ryuzaki,' she thought. She had adjusted herself to calling him that since the time he requested her to. Unhesitant, she walked to the boy who was perched on the piano chair and pressing the piano keys, one note at a time solely with his index finger. With a sheet music placed in front of him, he bit harder on his thumb as he progressed through each note. Noticing the little girl standing beside him, he paused from playing and spoke.

"I studied this last night. According to my research, this was the best beginner's piece I could practice with," L explained, seeing her by the corner of his eye.

Delighted, the girl smiled. She took a seat beside him, placed the books on the piano top and began playing the piano accompaniment herself. Reading where she was on the sheet music, the boy joined in and played the instrumental bit that he had been playing earlier. Halfway to the end, the girl could not help but snicker at the gladness she was in.

"I knew you would study piano eventually."

"I thought it was necessary since I don't have anything else to give you on your birthday," he replied. "I thought showing you that I can also somehow learn to play the piano was good enough to be considered a gift."

Flattered, Temi embraced one of his arms, hugging him tightly. With one of her cheeks pressed on him, L's face slightly blushed pink. He stared at her, perplexed by her warm friendly gesture. He felt a sense of discomfort at first but it immediately died out, understanding why so. That was the first hug (if it were to be considered as one) that he ever got from another child, a girl at that, and she was just the right person to give it to him. That was as far as he can comprehend, but he also knew that he felt happy though he did not understand why nor would he ever want to. Knowing himself, he was good at keeping his sentiments in place, and sure of himself, not a small cuddle should be able to move him. Therefore, he should continue doing that, he thought. No, he must continue doing that.

Letting go of him, the girl turned to her books and held it in front of the boy, a cheery smile painted on her face. "I already thanked Mr. Wammy for these but I guess I should thank you too."

L's thumb played with his lip. "I suppose you can't wait to read them then," he commented.

"I can actually," she giggled. "It's just that I wanted to thank you first before I could open it."

"You can thank me whenever you want, but I think I should give you some alone time with your books."

With that said, the girl gave him one more embrace, one which her arms encircled his shoulders. This time, L shakily lifted his arms and placed them around Temi's waist. He did not want to embrace her back fearing that he might hurt her. Instead, he let the girl pull him closer and hug him as much as she wanted. In return, he just buried his nose on her left shoulder and naturally breathed in her scent.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki," the girl spoke as she pulled herself away from him, standing up then walking out of the room.

As the only one left in the lounge, L continued playing the individual notes of the song and pondered. Thinking, he began to speculate if he really did everything out of sentiment, that maybe he had been developing feelings for her. But then he made it clear in his mind and to Quillsh that he did it simply as compensation for what the girl gave him for his birthday. However, for all L knew, that was not the only reason why he did it. He knew there was another motivation for his actions.

But then, emotions would never catch his interest, as Temi noted before. And even if the girl did question the reason behind his actions, he questioned himself. 'Would it even matter if she knew?'

A while later, the orphanage's founder went inside the lounge and joined him. "It was indeed the perfect surprise for Temi," the founder spoke from behind the lad.

"Thank you cooperating, Mr. Wammy," he replied, his index finger continuously pressing on piano keys. "Has she seen it yet?"

"Not yet, L." The old man smiled. "But soon enough."

Finally entering her bedroom, Temi climbed atop her bed at the bottom bunk and set the paper bag down before getting herself settled. One of her roommates, a girl on the bunk bed above hers, caught eye of her and asked. "Hey, where have you been, Temi? I was afraid you won't make it to dinnertime."

"I didn't mean to worry you," the brunette replied, trying her best to explain. "But Mr. Wammy wanted me to assist him with something."

"With what?" asked a Japanese child sitting on the opposite top bunk. "I know he usually asks that weird black-haired kid to help him with things. Why not ask him?"

"Kimiko, it's alright," she smiled. "I don't mind at all."

The girl huffed. "As long as both of you don't mind, then fine," she dismissed, never even bothering to look at her companions since she was heavily immersed in reading a medicinal booklet.

The brunette shrugged the thought away and turned to her paper bag. She gently peeled off the adhesive tape until the bag's opening flap was released. She pulled out the two books when something else fell on her mattress. It was a blue box the size of a small Cadbury Dairy Milk bar.

Knowing that she did not grab anything else other than the pair of books, she held the box and stared at it questioningly. Opening it revealed a silver oval-shaped locket resting on dark blue felt. Surprised, she took out the necklace and held it by its chain. Her eyes glimmered at it, her hands searched where the pendant's opening was. She folded the locket out to reveal photos of two children. Recognizing who they were, she blushed.

For her, she just could not find the intelligible words that would explain what she was feeling at the time. All she knew was that it just made her extremely happy. With that, she held the necklace close to her heart as a smile made its way to her face.