It was a couple of weeks later and Farah had really started to settle in to Ashdene Ridge. It was fortunate that she had joined during the summer holidays as she had time to settle down which was essential for Farah especially due to her needs. May-Li had been very organised and written a timetable for back to school shopping. She was going to take the children shopping throughout the next week in groups to get their new school clothes. Farah was paired up with Jody and Sasha and they were scheduled to go next weekend.
Farah was enjoying sharing a room with Jody. Her nightmares appeared to have settled slightly and having told May-Li about her father's abuse, she felt like it had taken a weight off of her shoulders. She was still mute majority of the time, but she had moved to occasionally speaking to Tee. Her relationship with May-Li had increased and know she never used her notebook wen it was just the two of them. She was able to speak to her without a worry. There had also been odd moments around the house when Farah had felt so comfortable with her surrounding that she felt able to say a few words. Now it wasn't so surprising for others to hear Farah speak and they never made a deal of it. Mike and May-Li hoped that as time went on Farah would continue to improve as she became more and more settled and got into a routine. School might aid this development.
It was early morning and as usually it was busy within the house. Farah hadn't wanted breakfast; this was the norm. She struggled to eat so early in the morning and found it easiest to stay in her bedroom, if she came down then May-Li or Mike would encourage her to eat. Farah waited until she was sure most people would have eaten breakfast before heading down the stairs. On the way done, she decided she was ready. She needed to do this. She needed to find May-Li before she changed her mind.
Farah walked into the kitchen and nervously walked over to the tap to get herself some water. She grabbed a cup and filled it with water.
"May-Li, can I speak to you?" She asked nervously and May-Li nodded.
"Of course, just give me two seconds to get tidied up and then I'll meet you in the office" She said smiling to Farah. Farah nodded before watching May-Li hand something over to Carmen. She explained that it was a necklace which had been passed down in generations. She wanted Carmen to borrow it as it would go well with her dress. Carmen thanked her and then gave her a hug. Farah froze, she ran up the stairs as quickly as she could.
15 minutes passed and Farah heard a knock at the door. She got up and answered the door unsure as to who it would be. It was May-Li.
"Do you want to talk now?" She said cheerfully and Farah rolled her eyes. Like she'd want to talk now. She walked over to her bed and sat down folding her legs on the bed.
"What's up?" May-Li asked confused with Farah's attitude. Farah grabbed her notebook and tore a page out. This was the first time she had done this. Usually she left the pages in the notebook. In large writing she wrote;
I don't want to talk to you about anything.
Before throwing it at May-Li with a scowl on her face.
"You said you wanted to speak to me. I don't understand what has changed" May-Li said confused. "Is this about me giving Carmen a gift?"
She turned her voice softer as she said the last question. She hoped that the girl wasn't upset about it. That hadn't been her intention. Though it did bring up some questions.
"Are you jealous?" May-Li asked but her patience was pushed when she received yet another glare from the girl. She couldn't have the girl acting this way each time she saw May-Li bond with another child.
"Because if you are, then perhaps we have to rethink your care plan. There are 14 other children that need to be looked after here, not just you" May-Li snapped. Farah still showed no emotion on her face but she didn't look happy. May-Li had never seen Farah like this before, but she wasn't going to stand for it.
"I'm going to leave you now to think about your behaviour" May-Li said as she closed the door. As soon as May-Li left, Farah burst into tears. She buried her head into her duvet and sobbed. Why did she have to act like that whenever she was close to letting someone in?
She stayed in her room for the rest of the day; Jody came to get her for lunch, but she declined stating that she wasn't feeling well. Later in the day both May-Li and Mike tried to speak to her but each time she simply turned away when they entered the room. May-Li's shift finished at 6:30 and only then did Farah pop down the stairs to get herself something to eat. She was starving. She hadn't eaten all day; she had become used to eating regularly unlike when she was with her father.
Over the next few days, Farah was very much the same. She refused to come out of her room and when she did, it was simply to get some food and then she returned again. Mike and May-li were in the office having a discussion on Farah.
"We are going to need to find out what's going on. She needs to learn techniques to cope with her emotions rather than hiding in her bedroom every time something happens" Mike said, and May-Li agreed.
"It just shows how much she struggles and the limited amount of life skills she has due to her upbringing" May-Li said "I'm worried that it is my fault that she is like this. She's jealous that I gave Carmen the necklace"
"She needs to deal with that. I think it is something we can work on, it's clear that Farah hasn't had someone to trust and now she has you. She's struggling to find the line and that's to be expected. I think we should give her two more days to come out of it herself before bringing her down for a meeting. She can do this; I know she can. She doesn't need us holding her hand all the time" Mike said, and May-Li nodded. She knew that she had to trust Mike on this one.
Meanwhile Farah was sat outside her bedroom. She liked hearing what was going on in the house. She was debating whether or not to come down the stairs. She wanted things to return to normal, but she was scared. Had she ruined it, was it never going to go back to normal? What even was normal? She was embarrassed as well, was May-Li still mad at her? Surely she was, she'd been so rude to her. So many thoughts were going through Farah's head and she was getting really overwhelmed and confused. She listened carefully and heard May-Li and Toni had moved to the kitchen. They were now making lunch. Ryan and Jody had gone outside. She could hear the others playing, suddenly her thoughts were interrupted but Mike, Finn, Harry, and Toni came running past her and down the stairs.
"Come and join us" Mike encouraged with a tiger mask on his face. Farah laughed but stood up. They walked down the stairs noticing an issue in the hallway. Farah looked around and saw an elderly Chinese woman in the hall speaking about Jody, well complaining about Jody. May-Li also didn't look happy.
It soon become clear that the woman was May-Li's grandmother and they made their way through to the kitchen. Farah hung back feeling uncomfortable with the large group and small space. She was also nervous having a new person in the house. Feeling anxious, Farah nipped back up the stairs to her bedroom again. She stayed there until Mike came to get her.
"Come outside, Popo is going to teach everyone Kung-Fu" Mike said. Farah went to decline but Mike got in their first.
"It's not a choice" he said standing at the door and holding it open. Farah sighed and went down the stairs, Mike followed closely behind. She noticed Popo and the woman walked over to her. Farah froze and panicked, what was she supposed to do. She put her hands together bringing her thump up to her nose and her index finger to her forehead and bowed. Popo nodded her head in expectance.
"What did Farah just do?" Harry whispered.
"That was so weird, but Farah is weird" Floss said.
"You are a very well-trained young lady" Popo said. Farah looked up keeping her head down and smiled.
"A wai is a traditional Thai welcome. The type of wai that Farah did is to show that she respects me as I am older than her" Popo said having picked up Farah's names from the comments from the other children.
Popo then started teaching and Farah stood near to Jody who was stood next to Ryan. Farah copied Popo and heard Ryan and Jody muttering away to each other. She felt a lot better after spending time in the garden with Popo. They soon went inside for lunch and a break. For once Farah didn't disappear to her room to hide.
"Maybe Popo got through to Farah?" Mike whispered and May-Li nodded.
"Maybe but the girl is still completely ignoring me" May-Li said.
"One step at a time" Mike said, and May-Li agreed. Mike left the room and Jody entered. Farah was sat in the living room and listened into their conversation. She was used to having to listen hard to hear what people were saying. She heard them speaking about how May-Li and Popo didn't get on. She knew that it must have been due to a big issue as like Thais, Chinese were very family oriented and stayed within their family. She listened as May-Li told Jody how she had a wife. This confused Farah, she had never heard of this before. It wasn't something she was aware of. She still didn't understand why it would be an issue anyway though.
The rest of the day went quickly with an afternoon Kung-Fu session. Later, Farah stayed down the stairs although ensuring that she kept a good distance from May-Li. She joined the others for dinner and watched a film with Tee and Carmen. However, it was still clear that she was on edge and didn't say a word.
The following day
Farah joined the others outside as Popo joined them again. She ensured that she greeted Popo with a wai and received the same head nod of approval as yesterday. She was very pleased with herself as this showed that Popo was happy with her. They turned the Kung-Fu into a competition. Farah didn't want that, she just wanted to concentrate on the Kung-Fu.
As the competition continued, it wasn't long until only Farah, Mo, Jody and Ryan were left. A bowl of water was placed on top of their head and their hands. Farah tried to zone out and stay completely still. As she emptied her mind, thoughts and memories she wanted to forget flooded into her mind. The more she tried to block them out, the more the memories strengthen. She was panicking, her breathing became erratic.
"Get it off of me" Farah screamed. Popo was fast to remove it from her head and Farah through the bowls of water in her hand to the ground. Mike and May-Li watched her go. They both went to move to follow her. Popo instructed them both to stay. Popo postponed the competition and went in search of Farah. She found the girl sitting on a bucket wiping her eyes.
"You've done a lot of Kung-Fu before haven't you?" Popo asked and Farah agreed.
"Mum taught me" She mumbled.
"Your mum must be very proud of you" Popo said. Farah shrugged; she couldn't explain it.
"I can see something is on your mind. The Kung-Fu helped you, it helped you block it out until you were ready to deal with the issue. You are ready now" Popo said, and Farah shook her head.
"I'm not ready" Farah cried as a tear slipped down her face.
"Your body is telling you that you are" Popo said.
"I can't, May-Li is mad at me" Farah sobbed letting all her emotions out.
"I know my granddaughter; you have to do something really bad for her to be mad at you. She's explodes sometimes but she doesn't mean it" Popo said.
"Do you think she'll still speak to me?" Farah asked and Popo nodded.
"Do you want me to get her?" Popo asked.
Farah thought hard for a moment before nodding. She needed to do what her body was telling her. She nodded and Popo placed a firm hand on the girl's shoulder before walking away. Farah's mind was racing, she was scared. She was nervous that May-Li wouldn't come. Maybe Popo didn't know her granddaughter as well as she thought.
May-Li walked through the trees and found Farah.
"Popo said you wanted to speak to me?" May-Li questioned, and Farah nodded in agreement. She took a deep breathe.
"I'm sorry" She said, and May-Li nodded looking at her. She needed more than that and Farah knew that.
"I was upset and mad. I shouldn't have been rude to you" Farah moved on to say. May-Li knew that it was important to let Farah say everything that she needed to before replying. She could see that Farah had more she wanted to say.
"I wasn't jealous. I know that you think I was, but I wasn't. I came down the stairs because I felt ready to tell you. To tell you something that has gone round and wrong in my head. To tell you what happened to my mum. I was going to tell you but then I saw you giving the gift to Carmen. I wasn't jealous because you did that, I promise. Someone said to me a few days ago that you and Mike are paid to care and it's just played on my mind. When you gave that to Carmen, it just made me understand what they'd said. It made it feel true. I was angry that you'd made me feel that I could trust you. I was just confused" Farah confided. She hoped that May-Li understood what she was saying.
"I promise you that I care, I really care. The trust we have is real and it's both ways. Yes, I get paid to do this job but trust me, if I didn't truly care, I'd never be able to last in this job" May-Li explained and Farah smiled.
"I've been so worried about you the last few days. I just wish you told me this earlier" May-Li said putting an arm around Farah.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, it's just so hard" Farah explained "I'm not used to this. I'm not used to having someone to talk to. It's all new to me"
May-Li nodded. She did understand what Farah was going through and how new all of this must be for her.
"Do you feel ready to tell me about your mum?" May-Li asked. Farah shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I just need to be ready. I can't write it down, it's too important" Farah explained, and May-Li nodded.
"I understand and respect your view" May-Li said as she took a hold of the girl's hand.
"I'm glad we've got Farah back now" May-Li said, and Farah smiled. She lent in towards May-Li who moved her arm so that it was around Farah and brought her close towards her.
"Shall we join the others?" May-Li asked, and Farah agreed. She walked back with May-Li and they took pictures with Popo who winked at her. Farah smiled.
They later headed back inside, and Farah disappeared with Carmen and Tee.
"We've missed you the last few days" Tee said, and Farah smiled.
"Sorry, I just wasn't myself" She admitted.
"That's allowed but remember that sometimes it does help to speak about it" Tee explained. Farah nodded. She knew that now.
They were soon called down to say goodbye to Popo, they did the respect sign in Kung-Fu before watching her leave. Jody offered to walk her to the bus stop. Farah stayed in the hall and watched on as Jody returned. She heard a conversation between Jody and May-Li regarding a diary. She smiled when she heard that Popo had accepted May-Li and her family.
She waited until Jody had left the office before following in behind.
"And how can I help you Farah?" May-Li asked cheerfully.
"Can I help you make dinner?" She asked and May-Li smiled.
"Of course, you can. Shall we start now?" May-Li asked, and Farah nodded enthusiastically. Farah helped May-Li make the dinner and soon they were back to chatting away as normal. May-Li was glad that they had dealt with the miscommunication and were able to move on. She just wanted the very best for the girl.
After dinner, Farah joined Tee and Carmen in the living room again. They were both glad that Farah was back to how she was before. They didn't know what had upset her, but they knew better than to ask her. If she wanted them to know then she could tell them but in her own time.
Farah headed up to bed shortly after the movie ended, she liked to spend time reading before going to sleep. Jody was the same, it was one of the reasons they were so good roommates. May-Li checked on them both just before 10 and instructed them to turn the light off now. They both knew that lights were meant to go out at 9:30.
Farah struggled to get to sleep at first, so many thoughts were going through her head and although she could keep them out of her mind during the day by staying busy. It was something she struggled with at night-time. It was the main reason for her nightmares. However, eventually Farah did drift off to sleep.
May-Li jumped out of bed at the noise. She needed to stop the noise before it woke the other children up. She ran into the corridor and saw Jody opening the bedroom door with wide eyes. Instantly May-Li knew that it was Farah.
"What's the noise?" Carmen complained stepping out of her room.
"Don't worry go back to bed" May-Li said as she walked into Jody's room with Jody and closed the door. Farah's eyes were closed and she was flapping about. May-Li knew that she needed to control the girl and quickly. She sat down on the bed and pulled the girl into her arms. She decided to restrain the girl in a home to coax her out of the nightmare.
"You are okay" May-Li soothed "It's just me, open your eyes sweetie"
With some more soothing, Farah opened her eyes. She collapsed even more into May-Li's arms and sobbed. May-Li had never seen the girl sob like this. She'd never seen her as upset as she was now. Knowing that speaking wasn't going to help Farah at this moment, she just continued to calm her and soothe her.
"He killed her, he killed my mum" Farah said looking directly at May-Li. May-Li froze she was not expecting that.
"Who?" May-Li asked. Farah shook her head and started crying again. May-Li simply held her and rocked her close.
"Jody, you do not repeat anything you heard" May-Li said and Jody nodded still in shock. Although Jody was worried, she got into bed and tried to sleep again. May-Li continued to stroke the girl's hair and felt her get heavy. Once sure that Farah was sleeping, she moved the girl to lay down. Tomorrow they would need to have a really hard conversation. It was hard, yet important.
So what do you think? This was always my main idea. Is it okay? I really hope you like it. Also if anyone is really into the TDG and interested in the ages of the cast can you message me. I'm needing a bit of help sorting out the ages of them haha. Please review if you are still reading tho :)