A collection of tales from Plant Three, Gracefield Farm.
December 2039.
It had been two months since she arrived in her "new home" with two of her brothers. Ava was bombarded with questions left and right about what it was like past the gate, not that she had much to say anyways. All she could tell them about was the long and white hallway and infirmary in as much detail as possible and gave apologetic looks to those who seemed disappointed. The pale boy - Norman seemed quite interested though, Emma got bored often hearing the same thing, and Ray always sat around and did his own thing - but she could tell he was listening.
The house gave off the same atmosphere as the one back home - warm light flowing in through the windows and sweet scents infiltrating every room. It glowed like a candy shop (at least from her imagination), with children laughing and playing all day. Slowly but surely though, the skies got less sunnier and cooler tones reflected off the white surfaces as winter made its way in.
Ava stared out the window as she styled her hair in the usual loose bun, watching as one by one, her new siblings filled the fields covered in a blanket of white snow. They were going to have a snowball fight today. Everyday since she had arrived, the children always played some sort of tag game outside, which bored her by the end of the week. So she always found other things to do when she wasn't in the mood to play with them. Today though, she would join their fight after a week of avoiding their games.
She let out a gasp when a tan boy, Don had tripped over but quickly relaxed when Gilda helped him get up. Meanwhile, her hand searched for her mama's turquoise ribbon given to her the last day she saw her.
"Here." Anna handed it to her. "You always look so pretty with it."
"Thank you." The blue-haired girl smiled at her. Ava took a chunk of Anna's long hair and thought for a bit. "I always do something with my hair, I think yours would look good too if you did something to it!" Anna stroked her hair with her fingers.
"But I don't know what I should do to it." She queried.
"I think you should braid it!" Ava smiled at her. "Here, I'll do it for you." She helped her after seeing her usure look.
After giving Anna two braids, she showed her the mirror.
"You look great!" Anna stared at the mirror.
"Thank you." She let out a smile, awestruck.
"Everyone will love it!" Ava assured her. She turned to see Ray pass by the door to the room "Ray!" She called out. He retraced his steps and turned to look at them questioningly.
"Don't you think Anna's hair looks pretty?" He stared at her for a moment before humming in agreement.
"Yeah. You should do that more often." He said nonchalantly and walked off, book in hand.
"See?" Anna looked delighted.
"Thank you so much, Ava! Can you teach me how to do it tomorrow?" She asked, helping Ava put on her cardigan.
"Of course!"
June 2040.
It was now approaching Ava's 5th birthday. She ran around the halls, playing with the other kids while the older ones prepared breakfast. The girl somehow managed to find herself clutching onto the library shelves she climbed up while Emma tried to catch her. Ava thought she had gotten the best of Emma, when she started climbing up too. Of course. Never should have underestimated her. Ava let go and hit the ground, resulting in tremendous pain on her left side but scrambled back up when Emma leaped down and almost caught her. If only she had been watching where she was going, she wouldn't have bumped into one of the older kids who were carrying a pile of ceramic plates, which ended up crashing onto the ground and shattering into pieces (save for 1 or 2 plates that were caught by Emma in time).
"Oh! Be careful, Ava." He scolded her as he went to get a sweep. "You're lucky only 3 broke, and that we have extra." Ava looked down in shame and squatted to help pick up the pieces, unsure of what to do.
"Ah!" She gasped when a shard cut into her palm. Blood started seeping out and the girl had to look away to stop herself from vomiting. Someone grabbed onto her collar and hauled her up into the air. She looked up to find Ray raising an eyebrow at her.
"What did you do this time?" He questioned, looking from her to Emma. Emma stood up and pointed at Ava.
"It was her."
"Hey!"
"Emma! Are you okay?" Norman came rushing towards the scene, where many were starting to gather.
"I'm fine, look at her!" Eyes were drawn to the navy-haired girl who looked down again apologetically.
"Here's a bandaid. You need to be more careful!" Anna came in, helping her. Ray finally let go, allowing her to breathe easier.
After the incident, Ava got reprimanded by many and apologised multiple times, promising to make up for it. She decided that she would later draw a portrait of the boy she had bumped into earlier to give her apology.
"That was quite the scene." Elijah grinned as she walked to sit next to him for breakfast. Ava just sighed, already drained early in the morning.
"Ava's so hyperactive, it always gets her into trouble." Gilda commented, amused. Ava covered her ears and shut her eyes.
"I get it, I get it! I'm a disaster!" She groaned.
"No one ever said you were." Elijah tried to comfort her, patting her back awkwardly.
"She's a disaster." Don grinned from the other side of the table. Avan and Elijah glared at him.
"You better be nice to me on my birthday, Donny boy. Otherwise I'll never help you in tag again." She smirked at his annoyed look.
"We never won anyways."
"We've won plenty of times!"
"Not against Norman." He huffed.
"You should give your mouth a rest from whining so much."
"It's okay, Don. Maybe you'll win some day." Norman smiled at him.
"Yeah right." Ray scoffed. Don squinted his eyes at Ray, and was fuming with anger. Just before he burst out though, Gilda managed to calm him down.
"Don! Me and Ava will help you. We'll make sure we win."
"Yeah. So let's calm down." Ava agreed, still on edge from Don's behaviour.
"Especially today. We're getting a new sibling!" Anna reminded them, in an attempt to relax everyone.
"That's right!" Emma pointed at her. "Mama, will you go get her after we eat?" She asked as mama Isabella walked in.
"Yes, we'll get to meet her today." She then looked at everybody, and rang the bell to gt their attention. "Good morning, my sweet children. Let's give thanks that all 39 of you siblings are able to live here happily, today too…" Everyone put their hands together and closed their eyes. "Thank you for the food." She said the usual prayer, before everyone repeated.
Ava walked with Don and Gilda back to the tree, as Don complained about losing again. She separated from them when she spotted Anna standing by the tree.
"Anna! You got caught?"
"Yes. You're pretty good at playing though. I don't think I'll ever have the energy." She smiled tiredly.
"I'll never have as much as Emma though." She looked behind Anna and saw Ray reading by the tree again, fiddling with something in his hands. She walked over, with Anna behind her.
"Oooh. What's that?"
"I'm making something." Ray replied, keeping his eyes on the book.
"A toy?" Ava looked at the book and saw some detailed drawings with instructions and how the mechanics worked. She then plopped down by him after Anna sat against the tree next to him. Ava looked at what he was holding, and noticed an empty mint container.
"What does that do?" Anna asked.
"I'm trying to make something that can hurt you guys badly whenever you come to annoy me." He said sarcastically.
"Nothing can hurt me!" Ava said with proud determination, clenching her fist. Ray flicked her forehead, sending Ava to the ground with cries of pain.
"Ouch! Ow Ow!"
"You sound like a dog." Ray laughed at her. She then heard Anna's stifled giggles and looked up to glare at her.
"You're supposed to be helping me!" She accused Anna.
"From what?" She shrugged, smiling.
"I'm just a toy to be used for entertainment." Ava sighed dramatically, placing the back of her hand to her forehead and falling over back, hitting the ground.
Emma came running over, with an unamused look.
"Nor-"
"Yes Norman caught me! That's why I'm here!" She huffed, sitting next to Ava's head, and crossing her arms. Ray took out his pocket watch.
"Too bad, you only had 2 minutes left." Emma groaned.
"That's okay, Emma! I'm sure you'll beat him next time. Maybe you can learn to jump over the cliff thing." Ava encouraged her. Emma sat upright and smiled.
"Of course! Thanks, Ava."
"Guys! Mama's back!" Elijah came running towards the group of children. Ava immediately jumped up and ran towards him.
"Really? Let's go!" She grabbed his arm and raced for the gate. All of the children started excitedly running towards their mama, who could be seen a little far away in the fields. Ava and Emma were ahead of the group, racing each other (which Emma won).
"Mama!" Emma hugged the woman.
"Hello, my dear children." She smiled at all of them, who were panting heavily. She squatted down to give the children a better look at the baby. "This is your new sister, Conny." She introduced, as Norman and Ray arrived.
May 2042
Hello, Mama
I miss you! My new hous is like your one. I also have new brothrs and sisters who are realy fun to play with. I can't wait to see you again :)
Ava
Ava decided to write a letter to her mama when she realised she might still be able to talk to her. She had a few doubts, but just wanted to let her know she still loved her with her whole heart. All she needed to do now was to ask mama Isabella to send it to her.
She folded up the paper carefully, and drew a picture of her, Noah, and Elijah to show that they were still together after 2 years. Unfortunately though, this would soon be no longer the case, as Elijah was going to meet his foster family tonight. This greatly upset her, after all it was only him and Noah that she had known since birth. It was like reliving losing all her family at once, so they had made a promise that he would visit the orphanage at least once a month (realistically). She heard someone walk in behind her.
"Hey Ava. What are you doing?" Anna asked.
"I decided to write a letter to my mama. Maybe I'll be able to talk to her like this." Anna blinked then beamed excitedly.
"Maybe we can do that too! Send letters to our brothers and sisters who left!" She grabbed a sheet of paper and started writing too. "Who should we write to first?" She wondered. Ava tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Lola?" She asked.
"Sure!" Anna agreed, and started writing down a letter. Ava read what Anna wrote from her bed, and started doodling little stars and clouds on her letter as she waited for Anna to finish.
"What are you two doing?" Ray appeared at the door. Anna was the one to answer.
"We're writing letters!" She replied happily. Ava looked up and was surprised to see the slightest hint of pity in his eyes.
"To who?"
"Lola." Ava answered.
"If they don't write letters to us, we'll write to them instead!" Ray walked over and bent over her to see what she was writing.
"But, don't you think that if she didn't want to write then maybe she doesn't want to talk to us?" He asked.
"Why wouldn't she?" Anna asked innocently.
"Shouldn't we respect her wishes?" As the two conversed, Ava studied them. Ray was stiff, and pity still lay somewhere in his face. His tone was different too, it was pleading. But why? Ava asked herself. She decided that it could wait, and maybe she'll find out later on.
Emma and Norman walked through the door. Anna looked up at them and explained the activity. Emma was pleased and delighted at the idea, and grabbed her own sheet of paper.
"I'll write to Max. She was so cool! I want to know if she managed to start her band." She thought out loud. Norman strode up to where Emma now sat and gave her ideas on what to write. As more children came in and joined them, Ava had decided to paint the house on a new sheet of paper to put in her letter. She managed to get new stains on her already-stained uniform, but quickly dismissed it when it was time to see Elijah go. He had been writing with them too, but had to go and prepare.
Everyone crowded around Elijah while mama Isabella waited by the door. The little kids cried as the 7 year old boy hugged them all tightly. Ava stared at his sad smile, knowing he felt the same way as she did. Like they were reliving the loss of a whole family. She walked up to him and they stared for a few seconds before she lunged at him with the tightest hug she ever gave.
"You better write and visit." She croaked through her tears. He patted the back of her head kindly.
"I would never!" He laughed. "Not unless I'm dead." He joked. She opened her eyes and saw mama Isabella's smile sink. Ava let go of the embrace and looked at him.
"Or unless your parents don't allow you to." She smiled softly.
"If that happens, I'll send help." He said in a light-hearted tone. He was about to turn around to leave, when he remembered something.
"Oh! Here." He handed her a beaded bracelet of stars and moons. Her eyes widened when she saw it. "It's the-"
"The bracelet I made for everyone back home." She gasped. Turning to look at him, she asked, "You kept it all this time? You never lost it?"
"I'm never one to lose things. Or throw away remaining memories of home, especially after we left." She stared at the faded beads and the vibrant blue string.
"Bye-bye, everyone! I'll write!" Elijah declared, waving his hand to them. Ava looked up.
"And visit!" She reminded him.
"And visit!" He repeated with a laugh.
"We'll send you photos of Ray's hair done!"
"H-hey!" Ray stuttered.
"It's okay, Ray. You look very cute with them on!" Emma giggled. "Don't you think so, Anna?" She hummed her agreement and hid her laughs behind her hand. Ray only glared at her.
"Make sure it's got stars and bows all over it!" He shouted from outside the house. Ava ran out onto the front porch.
"We'll miss you!" She yelled, waving as Noah joined her.
Thank you for reading! Next chapter: we'll be taking place when the manga starts.
-larika 3