Remember Me (Hayley Williams fanfic)

Chapter 2

I am the void

Chapter 2

July 21st, 2004

Nine years earlier

It was a warm summer afternoon in Franklin, Tennessee. Summer breeze in the air, the crispy rustle of leaves filling the ears and clear skies. For once, those idiots at the weather monitoring station got it right. Everyone around town was usually giddy this time of year, especially the school kids. For the townspeople, time was mostly spent in the good ol' outdoors.

The afternoon sun didn't reach Seth while he was seated on one of the benches just behind the open outdoors of the group home. Two of the benches were lined perpendicular to the house while the other one stood lined between them and against the grey exterior of the house. The house was a two storey building thus enabling it to cast its shadow over Seth.

Inside the house, little children no older than the age of four ran around in the play room, fiddling with train sets and toys and whatnot. But obviously not Seth. No he was too old for that. Books were his choice of pastime. He adored reading. Rarely was a time when he didn't have a book in his hands (Unless you count the eight hours of sleep in which case his book would be NEXT to him).

Today it was a work of Anne Rice in his hands; Servant of The Bones. He was unfamiliar of her work but he had no complains about the book. Last time it was Stephen King. It was unusual for them to let a fourteen year old read a Stephen King but Seth was the exception. They knew of his fondness for reading and they let him have at it.

His gaze strayed from the pages for a few seconds as he noticed two women talking inside the house, through the large windowpane facing him. However the book kept begging for his attention and he didn't dally longer than that. He knew what they wanted, what they were here for. He was much too familiar with the process that was taking place.

They came and they went. And they always took someone with them. But they would never take him away from here. No, he was safe. He was too old and no one wanted him.

They were afraid. You see, Seth was different from most people. He was a deaf-mute. In a nutshell, the people who came saw no future with the boy. They only had pity for him. However, the people who kept him didn't consider him as a heavy burden. He didn't ask for much, mostly minded his own, avoided unhealthy confrontations, never in anyone's way. Nearly invisible one would say.

When they took the children on trips, he would usually isolate himself from the rest of them; find some shade and read while the rest of the children played and took part in activities. He knew his way around lip reading as much as the next deaf person did. And he knew how to use the American Sign Language, although he didn't have anyone to practice it on other than caregivers who knew it. For other communication methods, he always had a pen and a notebook with him. The staff didn't mind his presence but he was getting old. And that posed a problem.

He might be deaf but he wasn't blind, surely not to this issue. He imagined that they didn't want him reaching adulthood in there. Surely every kid deserves parentage at some point of their lives right? Seth knew that pondering is a pointless effort but he couldn't help but wonder for a second; would today be the day?

He had called this place home ever since he was handed over by a woman as a month old infant. She had been the owner of one of the local motels. Supposedly the baby was found in one of her motel rooms, inside a baby basket. There had been a note beside the basket saying "His name is Seth". The only memory the owner had of the person who rented the said room, was the fact that it was a woman in her mid twenties. Probably some junkie bitch who had slept around too much and got knocked up, but was too broke or unfit to handle childcare. The group home was well respected for its upbringing of children, making it the prime choice for the owner to leave the baby. After the exchange, they never heard from her again; not even a phone call out of curiosity.