"So." Elkis said standing across from Nasha who was sitting on her bed. "Care to explain why you made plans to run away?"
"Well duh I wanted to leave. I still do."
"You know running away from your problems won't make them go away."
"I don't have any problems."
"That's not what your file said."
"Everything in that file is bull crap. Alright so I misbehaved, what kid doesn't?"
"Nasha do you even realize how dangerous it is out there especially for a young girl who's on her own? If you were to run away you would get into all sorts of trouble. You could get kidnapped or injured or sick. You don't have a job so you don't have a means of supporting yourself. You'll starve and end up homeless."
"I can get a job."
"You're thirteen you're not legally old enough to have a job. No one would hire you. I know you think you can take care of yourself Nasha but the truth is you can't. Not now anyway. You're still a child and you still need a responsible adult to take care of you."
"And you want to take care of me?"
"I'm pretty sure I made my intention to do so clear last night. What do I have to do to get you to believe that I want to help you?"
"Nothing because I know for a fact that there is no one out there who really wants to help me. Who really wants to give me a home and a family. No one wants me! My own parents didn't want me!"
"You don't know that for sure."
"Oh yeah? You said you read my file? Did you read the part about where they found me? My so called parents didn't even drop me off at a hospital. They left me on the side of a road! What if no one found me? I would have frozen to death or something! It's bad enough that they didn't even want to take care of me but to just leave me somewhere to die! It's like they didn't even want me to exist!"
Nasha had tears in her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had let herself cry like this or talk about her parents. It made her feel embarrassed and stupid. Like she was too old to be upset by this. That she should've moved passed this by now. Elkis on the other hand couldn't help but feel compassion for the girl. This breakdown had given her a little information about why Nasha behaved the way she did. She felt rejected. She felt like everyone in the whole world rejected her for some reason.
She moved to comfort Nasha.
"Just leave me alone." Nasha said turning away from her.
Not wanting to pry, Elkis respected her wishes. She left Nasha's bedroom and an hour later she asked a neighbor to watch her while she went to pick up Greige from school. She only hoped that it had been a better day for him and it was.
Miss Lockser's class seemed nice enough. The kids acted friendly like toward Greige and Miss Lockser tried to be as welcoming as she could be. He was able to get an understanding of the class lesson in almost no time and he behaved in the best way he knew how. His only problem was that he tended to be shy and wasn't sure what to say to the other kids. At recess he just sat under a tree and read his book, he didn't really feel like talking to anyone today. He would try to socialize better tomorrow.
"Alright class we'll pick up on pg. 26 tomorrow." Miss Lockser said after looking at the clock. "Have a good rest of the day."
The dismissal bell rang and the children left the classroom. Shortly after leaving Greige realized that he had left behind his notebook in his desk. When he went to retrieve it he saw Miss Lockser standing by an open window and in her hands she held a white dove, stroking it's feathers gently. The dove then moved to give her a peck of a kiss on her cheek and flew out the window.
"That bird seems to like you." Griege asked.
"Oh you scared me." She said jumping a little. "Griege what are you doing back here? I thought that you would be outside waiting for Elkis?"
"I forgot my notebook."
He went to grab it from his desk.
"Is that bird a class pet or something?" He asked.
"No. But for some reason the doves like to visit me." She said. "They'll perch on my window and I'll give them a little bird seed. They're very sweet creatures and loyal too."
"Loyal?"
"When a dove makes a friend or chooses a mate it's for life. And there's an old saying that if you treat them kindly then one day they'll repay that kindness."
"Do you believe that?"
"Not really but I do believe that you should treat them with kindness. Would you like to feed them?"
"Sure."
She pulled a pack of bird seed from her drawer and took Greige outside to where the school garden was. She put some of the seed in his hand and two doves perched themselves on his hands to they could eat the seeds.
"I think they like you." Miss Lockser said.
"Can I keep one of them as a pet?"
"No. Doves aren't meant to be pets. They're meant to be free and fly to wherever they wish."
"Awww."
"But you'll be able to see them everyday because they always come here."
"Okay."
At that moment Elkis's car pulled up and she stepped out of the vehicle. Before taking Greige back to her house she wanted to talk to his teacher about how his first day went. Greige continued to feed the doves outside while the two women talked privately.
"So how was it?" Elkis asked her. "Did he behave himself?"
"Yes. He's a very polite and well behaved young man." The teacher said. "He's very smart too. It didn't take him long to understand today's lesson."
"Does he get along with the other kids?"
"He doesn't really talk to them. They're not bothering him or anything but he seems to be a little shy. All he did at recess was read a book that he brought. He didn't play with anyone but I'm sure once he gets used to going here he'll make friends in no time."
"I hope so. If both of these kids end up hating it here with me I will have failed as a foster mother."
"Elkis they're just unsure of things right now. Give it time and I'm sure it will all work out."
"I don't know Juvina. The girl I'm watching already made plans to run away after the first night. She probably would have succeeded in running too if Nakku hadn't of caught her."
"Hmm...When kids try to run away it's usually because they've had a difficult life. Or at least think they do."
"Her life has definitely been hard. I know that for sure. I've read her file. Every foster parent she's ever had has pretty much insisted that she be transferred immediately after only having her for a week or less. Apparently she's been through twenty foster homes for the past thirteen years."
"Twenty? Goodness. Why did so many of them request that she be transferred?"
"According to what I read it was extreme disobedience, a violent temper, troubling and abnormal behaviors."
"Such as? If you don't mind me asking?"
"Well I don't know all the details but one foster parent said that she started a fire in their house. The family was completely convinced she did it on purpose but she swore that it was an accident and that she didn't even know how she started that fire."
"How old was she when that happened?"
"Five."
"They think a five year old started a fire on purpose?"
"I think they just said that she did it on purpose so she would be transferred. I'm not convinced that she's a dangerous psycho child but I do believe she needs some help. Her and him. That's why I'm scheduling for both to see Dr. Fernandes."
"The psychologist?"
"Yeah. I hear he's supposed to be the best."
"I've never had him but Gazeel has. He helps him work on his anger management. If you have any questions about Dr. Fernandes you can try to talk to him."
"Does he still work as the janitor here?"
"Yes. I can get you his number if you'd like."
"Thanks that would be great. Also could you keep me informed on how Greige is doing in your class and with the other students."
"Of course."
"Thank you Juvina."
"You're welcome."
When their conversation was finished, Elkis and Greige got into her car and she proceeded to drive back home. During the drive she noticed Greige staring intently at an illustrated page that was inside his book.
"You sure do like that book." Elkis asked him. "What's it about?"
"It's about all these stories that took place in another world."
"That's nice. But why are you paying so much more attention to the pictures than the words?"
"Because I noticed something about one of the pictures today."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"One of the characters looks exactly like my teacher."
"What?"
"Take a look."
He pointed over to the illustration on the page. It was of a maiden dressed in rags who was feeding white doves by an open window and true to Greige's words she did look exactly like Juvina.
"There is a resemblance." Elkis agreed.
"There's also a character in here who looks like you."
He flipped the pages back and stopped on one that had an illustration of a woman that stood in the middle of a forest, branding a bow and arrow. To Elkis's surprise the woman in the picture did look a lot like her. In fact it was her spitting image.
"Okay that's a little creepy." She said. "Where did you get this book?"
"I've always had it. Ever since I was a baby. It's all I have left of my mother."
"Your birth mother? Do you remember her?"
"Kind of. There are some parts I can remember and some parts I can't but I know she loved me and I know I got this book from her because of this."
He flipped to the very first page where there was a small message written in the corner.
To my son Greige
At times we may be forced apart from each other by things that are beyond our control.
But those who truly love each other can't be parted forever.
If you have faith then you'll find your way back to me.
The answer is in these stories, keep them close, and read them carefully.
I will always love you, Mother.
"Something made her give me up." Greige said. "I don't know what but I'm sure the answer is somewhere in this book and I'm sure once I find out what exactly made my mother give me up, I'll be able to find her."
Elkis wasn't sure if she believed that but she wouldn't take away a little boy's hope. Judging by the message though, she believed that Griege's mother did love him and was reluctant to give him away. Perhaps she had been a teen mother and her parents forced her to give him up or that she just couldn't take care of him and felt that he would be better off in the system or with a different family.
Truthfully the system didn't know anything about Nasha or Greige's parents. According to both of their files they had both just appeared out of the blue as new born infants. No note, no birth certificate, nothing. Nothing except the blankets they were swaddled in and the keepsakes they had. She found it rather coincidental that they both had the same agenda regarding how they were found. The only difference was where. Nasha was found on the side of a road leading to Sycca while Greige strangely enough was found just outside of Edolas. It made her wonder just what kind of people were their parents?
...
Things had gotten so much harder since Natsu's father had disappeared that night. For the first few days after Arman vanished, Natsu tried to look for his father. He searched the forest and the village but in the end he found no found no trace of the man anywhere. He tried to get his mother to further explain what had happened but it was like she couldn't say anything to him about it. As if the truth would hurt him even more than not knowing. Arman's disappearance had also led to a decrease in their money. They had saved as much of it as they could but eventually it ran out. They made ends meat by selling the crops they grew on their farm and the milk they received from their cow. They would work the land for hours during the day and once a week Natsu would sell their goods at the village market.
One morning he went to go sell a basket full of ripe corn and two quarts of fresh milk. It was hard for him to sell anything because apparently no one was in need of corn or milk. At the end of the day he finally manged to sell his goods for five copper pieces. It wasn't much but it was the best he could do.
"This probably won't last us a week." He said looking at the small amount of money he earned. "I guess I'll have to double my efforts. I'll work the fields day and night."
He stuck the money into his pocket and made his way back home. The route that he normally took to get home required him to walk across a bridge that was above a river. But today the bridge had collapsed because the wood it had been made from had become so very old and weak. The only other route he knew of was one that would take him past the castle of King Xavier and Queen Esme, the rulers of the Eastern Lands.
The castle was truly magnificent. Large and made entirely of stone yet possessing a great elegance to it. Natsu couldn't help but stop and admire the castle. He wondered what it would be like to live in such a place, to have all the wealth in the land, and to have servants wait on you hand and foot. Maybe someday if he worked hard enough and earned enough money he could have a castle built for him and his mother. How wonderful that would be.
He was just about to get back on the route when he heard the sound of someone crying. It was coming from over the castle wall. Concerned for whoever could be weeping, he went to the top of the wall by climbing a tree that was close to it and leaning over. On the other side of the wall was a royal garden in the center of it was a little girl sitting on a swing. She hung her head down and was sobbing quietly. But not quiet enough to where his advanced ears couldn't hear her.
"Hello there." He called. "Why are you crying?"
At the sound of his voice the girl jumped from her swing and looked up at him. She had long blonde hair that almost went down to her ankles and she was dressed very elegantly. A fair child obviously but so sad.
"Who are you?" She asked becoming frightened.
"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that I heard you crying and I thought that maybe I could help you. Would you mind if I came down?"
The girl checked around herself as if she was making sure that no one was watching.
"Alright I suppose you can."
Natsu carefully moved himself to jump into a tree that was in the garden. He climbed down and went to see her.
"So would you mind telling me why you were crying?" He asked her.
"I was crying because my father said I couldn't have any friends. He won't let me leave the castle and play with the other kids. So I'm all alone."
"Oh I'm sorry. Why doesn't he want you to have any friends?"
"I don't know. He says it's because I don't need them."
"That's stupid. Everyone needs friends."
"My father begs to differ. Besides I don't think it's possible for me to make friends. I've never left this castle and I'm pretty sure no one outside the castle even knows I exist."
"Well I know you exist and I would like to be your friend."
"You would?" She said
"Sure. Mother won't expect me home til much later so I can stay here for awhile. Wanna play tag?"
"What's tag?"
"Seriously? You don't know?"
"No."
So after explaining what tag was to her the two of them played it for an hour. After that he introduced her to the game known as hide and seek, taught her how to climb trees, and told her about everything that existed beyond the castle walls. In no time at all the girl's sad face became one of pure joy. Like this was the first time she had ever been really happy.
"I still can't believe you've never played tag before." Natsu told her when it became late.
"I'm don't really play that much." The girl said.
"So what do you do for fun?"
"Nothing. I wake up, go to my lessons, have my three meals with my parents and then just sit alone. My grandfather will sometimes take me to the ride the horses or have a little tea party with me but my father tries to get him to stop."
"No offense but your father doesn't sound all that nice."
"He's not."
"What about your mother?"
"She's afraid of him."
"Afraid? Why?"
"Well he-"
But before she could finish the atmosphere around them suddenly became very cold and still. Looking around the children saw that a man had entered the garden. A man dressed head to doe in dark colored clothing with hair and a beard of fire along with eyes that held no soul.
"You!" He said to Natsu in a voice that held no feeling. "Just what are you doing here?"
Poor Natsu couldn't speak. His entire body just trembled and his skin lost all color. The girl couldn't speak either but her brown eyes seemed to be pleading with the man not to do something.
"Answer me boy!" He demanded.
Finally Natsu forced himself to speak.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
But Natsu didn't get to finish because the man grabbed him by his throat and held him up with every intention of strangling him.
"No!" The girl begged with tear filled eyes. "Stop! Please! Don't hurt him!"
Natsu couldn't breathe. He felt so dizzy and he could hear his heart pounding. The last thing he remembered seeing before blacking out was seeing the girl hold her arms out toward him and a mist engulfed him.
When he woke up he was lying right in front of his house with his money still in his pocket. But he was greatly confused and had no idea of what exactly happened.
