His hand, which took me completely by surprise, finally released mine to give the boy who opened the door a huge hug.
"Kristoff, brother! How are you doing?"
'Brother?'
"Can't complain at all. How's everything going around here, buddy?"
'Brother or buddy?'
"Pretty much the same as always. Thinking of preparing some kind of outing now that the nice weather arrives and little else."
The kind boy fixed his gaze on me and gave me a friendly smile.
"Anna?"
"Yes!"
"I'm Sven," he said hugging me briefly. "I'm glad you could come. The kids are looking forward to meeting you."
"Me?"
"Of course! They're already bored of always seeing the face of the man-mountain here," he added as indicated with his hand to follow him. "Most of them are in the backyard."
Sven led us through the long, dark, cool corridors of the orphanage that would have been terrifyingly creepy if had it not been for the cheerful hand-made decoration they had made the effort to do to put all over the walls. Little by little, more and more racket was heard and the light in the corridor increased until reaching a glass door that opened onto a stony earth yard in which approximately twenty children of almost all ages played among themselves like real brothers.
"Look! It's triple B!" one of them exclaimed upon seeing us appear.
They all got excited and ran to meet Kristoff, they completely ignored me and dragged him with them to the fort that they were setting up with cardboard boxes.
"Yeah… they were looking forward to meeting me."
"Don't take it badly. They missed Triple B."
"What's that Triple B thing?"
"Big, big brother."
"Big, big brother?"
"Yeah. Kristoff comes around a lot and he's like a big brother to them. And it's too obvious why the second big, isn't it?"
Kristoff was immersed in a battle of newspaper balls and tried to hide behind the fort he had been dragged into, but he wasn't able to keep his whole body behind those cardboards. Whatever posture he put himself in, one or another part of his body was being shown. He was an easy target.
"I get an idea," I replied smiling at the scene my eyes were witnessing.
"Are you a couple? I would be surprised if he hadn't told me, but the way you look at him…"
"What? No! We're not! ["In reality at least"] We practically just met."
"Hey! Have no qualms, my brother is a great, great guy."
Sven winked at me and I didn't want to tell him that I already knew how great that man could be.
"So, you are brothers?
"Kristoff and me?"
"Uh-huh."
"Of course not!"
"Oh, friendly treatment, then?"
"We are brothers at heart, like everyone here. We've grown up together for years and without having anyone else. It is easier to make tribe with your playmates than with the carers, you know?"
"Playmates?"
I admit I wasn't very witted there.
"Oh… oh! He grew up in this orphanage!"
Sven smiled at me between amused and surprised by my surprise and placed his hand on my shoulder, I suspect, looking for some comfort.
"We both did. We are the same age and have known each other since before our first memories. The difference is that he was adopted by a charming and incredibly large family and I stayed here until I had no choice but to become independent."
"He was adopted?"
"Yes. And it made me so happy. But I missed him so much, you know?"
"I bet."
I could feel Sven's gaze out of the corner of my eye, denoting that there was no way I knew what he had felt and I certainly wished there wasn't, but, unfortunately, I perfectly understood his feelings.
"I'm sorry it wasn't like that for you too."
"It's okay. It wasn't that bad. Kristoff continued to come to see me from time to time and I made many more friends. I got to take a liking to this place."
"Is that why you are here now?"
"I thought no one could understand these kids better than one of them."
"I'm sure they adore you."
"Almost as much as they adore triple B," He laughed as Kristoff struggled to walk while a pack of children hung on his arms, his legs, his waist, and even his neck trying to prevent him from reaching the 'enemy territory' flag.
There was a few seconds of silence between us until Sven spoke again without turning to look at me.
"I wouldn't want to be rude, but… you know we don't need the donation, don't you? It's true that this place is not full of luxuries and that sometimes it's difficult for us to make ends meet, but, as you can see, these children don't need more to be happy. What they need cannot be given by money."
"I suspected it."
"Why did you come then?"
"I still didn't know why, but it seemed important to him."
"Do you like him?"
"I just met him."
"That's not what I asked you."
"Sven."
"Tell me."
"Will you do me a favor?"
"Maybe. What favor is it?"
"Would you take the ring?"
"Sorry?"
"I know you don't need it, but you can pawn it or sell it and get a good sum. With that, you can make a little financial buffer for the months in which you are short and, if you see that it is too much, you can donate it wherever you want. I don't care where as long as it helps someone."
"But I…"
"I hate that ring and everything it represents, but… if it helps to make the place where he grew up a little more comfortable, it might not be so bad that it got into my hands."
"Fine. Thank you very much, Anna. But I'll only accept it if you join the battle."
"I was looking forward to you asking me."
Sven and I raced in the middle of a battle cry to ally ourselves with the opposite team to Kristoff so that it was a little more balanced. The dirt ended up reaching our ears, I tore my pants and got elbowed by a kid of about seven years old that left a small bump on me. I've never ever rolled around like that. I had never had children to play with. I had never been carried on anyone's shoulder like a sack and had started running as if our lives depended on it. I have never laughed so much or sweated so much. It was the funniest day of my life!
It was time to get ready for dinner and, not before promising that we would return, we gave and received lots of hugs and, Kristoff and I, left there.
"So this is your home?" I asked shyly as I sat on a curb to remove the pebbles from my sneakers.
"One of them. Did Sven tell you?" he replied less reserved than I would have expected.
"Yes. He also told me that they didn't need the money."
"I know. He's told me about your deal. I'm sorry."
Kristoff mimicked my actions and began to empty his canvas.
"What are you sorry about?"
"You were looking for a place where money was needed and I have brought you here, letting myself be carried away by…"
"Guilt?"
"I was going to say for my feelings, but I think yours is more accurate, yes. Why do you assume I feel guilty?"
"Because you left without Sven. It sure wasn't hard just for him."
Kristoff said nothing, but he looked up enough to meet my eyes and smiled warmly and nostalgically at me.
"Would you like to…" he muttered just before taking his gaze from mine. "Nevermind. Do you want me to walk you home? It's getting late."
"Hm… do you have dinner plans?" I said plucking up courage and taking advantage of the euphoria of the day.
"Nothing that doesn't involve reheating leftovers."
"What do you think if we go somewhere where we can clean ourselves minimally and someone cook for us? I have no leftovers to reheat or the energy to do so."
His gaze lit up and an enthusiastic grin spread across his face.
"Ya want to meet my parents?"