𝓜𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝓕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓

𝓒𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆r 𝓞𝒏𝒆 - 𝚂𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚢'𝚜 𝙾𝚛𝚙𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎, 𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜, 𝙲𝙰 - 𝟼𝚝𝚑 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟿𝟻𝟽

The last place Addison Walsh had ever expected to end up was in an Orphanage but at aged ten here she was. Her eyes were wide and the hairs on the back of her neck rose up as she was led through the dark hallway by a very strict looking Nun. The woman from Child Services followed behind, almost like she was making sure Addison didn't run away.

The Nun stopped outside a large solid wood door and knocked. From inside the room she could hear the sound of a man's voice. He didn't sound angry, more frustrated at something.

When the door finally opened a young boy walked out. He was probably a little older than her but with his blonde hair and blue eyes he was very striking. He spotted Addison and gave her a wink before shoving his hands in his pockets and happily walking away. The man's voice was now much clearer and caught her attention so she turned to see a Priest smiling at her. He held out his hand and she automatically put hers out to shake it. "It's so nice to meet you Addison. I'm Father Maghill."

For over an hour Addison had to sit next to the Nun while she listened to the woman from Child Services explain her case and how her father had been a Serviceman who was killed in action seven years ago and now her mother had been killed in an accident while crossing the street, leaving her with no one to take care of her. Neither of her parents had any other family so the Orphanage was the only option. With each word spoken Addison seemed to shrink further into the couch and the Nun who was seated beside her had noticed. She looked over at the Father and nodded towards the girl. He nodded back and reached over to tap Addison's knee. "My dear this paperwork is going to take a while so why don't I let Sister Katherine here take you to the girls dormitory so you can get settled in?"

Sister Katherine stood and picked up Addison's bag from the floor. "Come on child." Not having much choice in the matter she followed the Nun from the room and they headed through the Orphanage to a large set of stairs. "Now we Nuns have rooms on the ground floor. We have all the girls on the second floor and all the boys on the first floor. That way there is no reason for the boys to be on your floor." It seemed a simple system and Addison was thankful.

On the second floor she led her to the dormitory. It only contained ten beds which were evenly spread out but it was still the first time she would ever have shared a room with someone. Eight of the beds were made up leaving two bare at the far end of the room. Sister Katherine set her bag down on one of them and pointed to a large cupboard at the end of the room. "All the sheets and blankets you need are in there. As you're ten we expect you to make your own bed each day. Now the other children are in class so when you're done why don't you take a look around. Lunch is at twelve so you've got an hour and a half to yourself."

She walked out of the room leaving Addison behind and suddenly an overwhelming feeling of being alone swept over the little girl. She sat down on the bed and began to sob loudly.

"I'm guessing you're new here?" The voice from nowhere made her stop crying and look up only to see the blonde haired boy from earlier watching her. She wiped her eyes and nodded as he walked over and sat on the bed next to her. "I thought as much. You were crying so loud I could hear you in my room." He nudged her gently with his arm and smiled at her as he gave her a handkerchief.

Addison could barely get the words out as she tried to stop her breath hitching in her throat. "I'm sorry. I just got a bit overwhelmed I guess."

"I get that. So what's your name?"

She wiped her eyes and sighed to herself. "Addison."

He grinned at her again. "Well Addison it's nice to meet you. I'm Alvin."

As he said his name he flinched and she was curious to find out why. "Don't you like that name or something?"

Alvin shook his head. "I hate it. I still don't understand why Father Maghill chose it.
Now Addison is a pretty name. I wish I had a name that nice."