Fallen Leaves

Chapter 3: Probing Questions

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Time was passing by so fast that I hardly realized that we're halfway done when school year started. I've met a lot of people but I rarely associate myself with them. I chose to make my circle of friends small and most of the time, I spend my breaks and lunch with Sunoo, Jay and the others. 

It was a weekend and I'm quite busy with all that's happening in the orphanage. I have to help out and organize the event because today, one of the sponsors of the orphanage decided to have a clean up drive and to repaint the whole building of this organization. 

I'm excited because for the first time after years of seeing the green walls of my so-called home, everyone will help out and renovate the place! 

I was in the middle of supervising the kids after they took a bath when my cellphone rang and Sun's name appeared on the screen. I was about to answer it but then, a kid cried across the room that caught my attention. 

I ignored Sunoo's call for awhile to attend to the crying kid. 

"Kian, why are you crying?" I cooed as I sat beside the kid.

"My slippers are missing!" he cried out loud and I smiled at how adorable the kid was. 

Here in the orphanage, many children lack emotional support and I'm one of them, but as time passed by, I realized that I'm one of the eldest here and I should take the role of a parent while everyone is lost and unanswered questions are still lingering inside their heads. 

It's hard, really - the part where a kid should grow with the help of their parents plays a big role to their character development. I can see that everything is doing quite well, but still, it's different when your parents are around. You can express yourself more, you are assured that you are loved, you are assured that you have someone to run to when things messed up. 

But that's not the case with these kids - with us. When things mess up, we deal with it on our own. Financial support will never be enough for a kid - at least that's what I believe in. 

I did my best to console Kian and helped him find his slippers. Of course it was a trivial thing to some but for this kid, it's already a big problem and I don't have the right to invalidate that. 

When we found his slippers, Kian was back to his jolly and giggly self that I can't help but smile and pinch his cheeks. I love these kids so much that I can't imagine my life without them. 

Maybe it's true that when destiny takes someone from your life, a whole bunch of others shall replace them. 

In my case, these kids are the replacements. These kids are my family. 

I don't know how long I stayed in that room just so everyone is ready. I looked at the old wall clock and it told me that it's nine in the morning already. 

"Okay, kids! It's time to go outside and greet our guest! Remember, be polite and always say thank you, okay?"

"Yes brother Won!" the said in unison and I smiled before telling them to form a line so we can finally go out. 

We went on our way and I guided the kids to the backyard where we saw a truck parked near the gate. Two black SUVs were also parked beside the truck and I'm guessing those are the cars of the sponsor. 

"Is everything ready?" I asked Beverly, one of the volunteers here in the orphanage and she nodded before taking the kids from me. 

I took advantage of that time to take a quick bath and freshen up before the clean up drive. I was about to go back inside when I heard a familiar voice shouting nearby.