Broken Together (MCYT au)

Chapter 11: Not all Angels Wear a Halo

Nobody ever asked about the boy who lived in the back neighborhoods of Minilus. Everyday, she would watch as a little boy would run out to school, as if the scariest thing was chasing him.

Surely the boy was hardly seven or eight years old, maybe nine? Nadia wasn't sure, the hood usually covered most of his facial features but there was something she could always notice.

The boy's smile, he never showed one. The boy looked so fragile, always clenching his fists wherever he walked. Clutching his belongings close to his chest running to school but always walking at the slowest pace to return home. It's been like that since her last brother left.

She never left her childhood home. It was perfect in her eyes, the best place she could ever be. Two bedrooms, one with the bed her parents slept in, the other having four bunk beds where she and her siblings used to sleep.

There used to be six of them, then Mother fell ill and passed away. Her father quickly followed his love for death. Each child mourned in a different way, it just so happened that the others moved away and left everything they ever knew behind... including their youngest and only sister.

Of course, she wept over the loss of her family but in her eyes, no more tears should be shed for a sentiment of the past. Brushing herself off and heading to the clinic every day for work, coming home and straightening up the place of her dreams.

It repeated for months but Nadia always found herself watching the boy run from home in the same thin hoodie, despite the weather. Standing by the windowsill, watching him like a bird in a tree.

He would age and so would she. Nadia was relatively young, about 25 when she noticed something off about the daily activities. The boy was walking slowly, leaning against the walls of some of the buildings, trailing his feet through the snow.

Today was different, the snow was falling quickly, and something told her that the boy she had simply seen every day needed someone. Slipping on her coat and winter clothes before heading out the door. The air felt frigid against her skin as she walked down the road.

The boy was now leaning along one of the buildings, keeping his fists clenched while Nadia walked over, facing the little boy. He had light brown hair and olive eyes, looking as fragile as an ice statue. As if you could simply bump into him and the boy would shatter into a million pieces.

"Hello little guy, what's your name?" Nadia spoke gently as the boy looked down at the ground, shivering in the cold. He refused to speak, his shivering beginning to slow but of signs with fatigue, not of warmth.

Nadia frowned before putting a gentle smile on her face, extending one of her hands to the boy. "You look a little cold, want to come inside?" She asked the boy who continued to look down. That's when she realized the bruise on his cheek and other scars scattered where anything was exposed.

"I promise I won't hurt you." Each word sent a pang in her heart, the boy weakly looking up at her before falling into her embrace. He felt so fragile and small in her warm arms, Nadia holding him close. The little boy was freezing but lacking the energy to keep himself warm. Staying quiet and lifting him to her home, his eyes were hardly open at all.

Nadia had worked with some children in the clinic before. Be gentle and friendly, but never working with kids like this. Arriving at her home and bringing him into her bedroom, he was already sound asleep. Laying a few quilts on him in bed, bringing some of her medical supplies. Most of the scars had already healed, a few bruises and cuts that needed bandages, but time passed, and she was finished with treating the boy.