Shadu: And it's time for another chapter. Please, if you read, review.
Mary studied the little boy. He seemed unusually thin for his age and his brown hair looked as though it hadn't brushed or washed in days. He did nothing but sit there, his back against the wall and his right side resting against the wall beside him. He was positioned so that his head faced the front door and his other side shielded him from everyone else. His knees were pulled up to his chest and his arms were wrapped around them. But Mary's thoughts were interrupted by Alisa.
"Everyone, we have two guests that will be spending the night with us," Alisa announced to the children. "Be nice to Mr. and Mrs. Kujaku."
"Mr. and Mrs. K will do fine," Mary told Alisa.
The kids all came over to meet and greet the two strangers. They all were ecstatic that outsiders had come into the orphanage. It wasn't everyday that they got visitors. They all looked the two strangers up and down. Some hugged their legs while others yelled hi. The only one that didn't come over to join in was the kid in the corner. Alisa looked over and noticed the boy. With a heavy sigh, she walked over to him, Mary watching her.
"Hey, aren't you going to join us in welcoming our guests?" Alisa asked the small boy gently.
The small boy didn't respond with anything other than pulling his legs even closer to his body. Mary managed to get out of the mass of children and get over to where Alisa and the boy were. Bending down, she got a better look at the timid kid.
His hair would've been a beautiful brown, if it were clean and his eyes were the deepest shade of blue she had ever encountered. He was very thin, but not necessarily small, exactly. He looked like he would be tall, if he stood up.
"Who's this guy?" Mary inquired.
"His name is Seto, but he doesn't respond to that," Alisa replied. "He doesn't know his name is Seto. He thinks his name is 'kid' or 'brat'," Alisa replied as Seto tensed at the two names she spoke. "He's been through twenty-one foster homes in three years. He's currently seven."
"That's seven foster homes a year! What's wrong with him?" Mary demanded.
"He's keeps getting put in abusive homes that either beat him because he won't do what they say or who ignore him, which is nearly the worst thing you can do to a child," Alisa stated, sitting down beside Seto, who pressed even harder against the wall.
"I thought the orphanages run background checks on their foster parents," Mary raised a surprised eyebrow as she continued to study Seto, who kept his fidgety eyes successfully diverted.
"Yes, well, they checked out alright and then turned bad when he got there," Alisa sighed sadly. "It's a sad thing."
"So, that's why he's so afraid," Mary mused.
"We also believe he was abused by his biological parents," Alisa continued. "He used to have a brother, but he died in the first foster home because of a disease, I think."
"So, why hasn't anyone adopted him, why'd he end up here?" Mary questioned.
"My you have a lot of questions," Alisa chuckled merrily. "Well, for one thing he's terrified of everyone. As you can well see, he hates being around anyone. He doesn't move from this spot very often, only to go to the restroom and shower, upon my request. But other than that he doesn't move much. He eats in this corner, sleeps in this corner, sits in this corner. Most of the kids leave him alone, now. When he first came they tried to do things with him, but they've all given up on that. Newbies are warned that they don't touch him, though we don't get many. I still keep his bed open for him, incase he wants to go and sleep on a mattress, but he hasn't so far. The other thing is I don't think he wants to be adopted. It's like he's lost all drive to go on. Poor fella."
"Alisa, Alisa it's six!" a little boy of about four called as he raced over to Alisa.
"Okay," Alisa chuckled, standing up. "It's dinner time, would you like to help cook?" Alisa asked Mary.
"Sure," Mary nodded, standing up.
"Yay!" all the children cried.
Mary took one more look at Seto, who had relaxed a little, and then followed Mary into the kitchen.
Cooking dinner turned out to be quite an experience. All twenty-nine kids pitched in, retrieving supplies and appliances from various places. Mary and Alisa swam through the sea of kids to the stove. They reached over heads and between bodies to find what they needed and move the pots and skillets on the stovetop. Mike sat back and watched the whole thing. He wasn't sure that the kitchen could fit another person, let alone one his size.
When everything was finally cooked, Alisa yelled out, "To the table!"
All the kids raced to the long table in the dinning hall, making sure they sat by the one they wanted to, and watched anxiously for the food. As Mary and Alisa brought out and set the food on the table, the kids eyed it hungrily, but didn't eat any. Really, there wasn't much of a variety. It was mostly macaroni and cheese with some hot dogs, but there was a bunch of it. There had to be a bunch of it, though.
After Alisa and Mary sat down, Alisa looked around and then said, "Everyone, let's bow our heads and say grace."
All the kids bowed their heads, just like they did every mealtime.
"Father, thank you for the food, and for every little kid here, and for our visitors and good health," a little girl broke in, "And Seto, even though he doesn't like any of us," Alisa smiled, "Yes, and for little Seto," she agreed. "Amen," she concluded.
At the sound of the last letter of the last word, all the kids eagerly began to reach for the food in front of them. The plopped heaps of macaroni on their plates and took a hot dog and began to eat greedily. Mike crumpled his nose at the yellow mess in front of him, but didn't say anything as he began to eat slowly. Mary didn't take it slow, however, always being a big fan of macaroni and cheese herself.
"I never caught your name," Alisa, who was sitting beside Mary and Mike, asked Mary.
"I'm Mary, and you already know my husband," Mary answered with a smile.
"Yes, so, what brings you down this way?" Alisa asked.
"Coming back from a business meeting," Mike replied.
"Ah, you must have had a meeting in Jaskan, the road by this place is the only way to currently reach it," Alisa stated.
"Yes, that's right," Mary nodded.
"Well then, I guess it's rather fortunate that this place is out in the middle of nowhere," Alisa chuckled.
"Alisa," a little girl called.
"Yes Michelle, what is it?" Alisa replied.
"Doesn't Seto get to eat?" Michelle asked.
"Oh, yes, with all the excitement, I nearly forgot little Seto," Alisa nodded, taking a plate with her as she stood up.
After putting some macaroni and a hot dog on it, Alisa took the plate over to Seto. Mary watched as Alisa tried to get Seto to take it. When he didn't do anything, Alisa set it on the floor beside him and walked back to the table. Seto sat there for a few seconds, and then, he began to sniff the food. He turned his head to look at the food, and then let his legs go and crossed his legs as he picked up the plate. Slowly he began to nibble at the food. He ended up eating half the hot dog and half of the macaroni. Then, he set the plate back down and pulled his legs back up to his chest, turning back to his original position.
He was depressed, no doubt about it, Mary concluded. A kid that young shouldn't be depressed, but little Seto was.
Shadu: Hehe, it's kind of fun reconstructing Seto's past. Anyway, please review.