"Ahhhhh...... What did I get myself into now?" I said looking at the building in front of me.
It was an old and big house kinda like what you see in movies. The mysterious house only had one word written on it; 'orphanage'.
I sighed and went to the door. The whole place got a creepy vibe to it, the dark, old house with little windows, muffled children laughing and yelling, but mostly the fact that I have to work here from now on.
"Still better than picking garbage next to the road" braving myself I pushed the door and entered hell itself.
A screaming kid welcomed me, running to me yelling 'save me save me'
'What is his problem' he hugged my leg and hid behind me.
"There you are!" I lifted my gaze to the middle aged woman in front of me. "Oh you must be the new nanny, Lian right?"
"It's Liên actually."
"You have a really beautiful name." She said with a warm smile that I couldn't help but copy. "My name is Barbara. I will show you this place after I can finally catch Tom and get him to take his vitamins."
She lifted the little boy from my legs and he pouted.
"Feel yourself home, I'll be here in a few moments."
I looked around. "Hmm small hallways, moldy walls with wallpaper coming off and this smell...disgusting." I got a really bad feeling from this place.
I wanted to escape, so I found a door and excused myself outside.
It's only been a few minutes since I set foot in that building but it feels like a prison. I don't know how I will survive this.
"...Anna get down before you fall down" I heard a little voice yelling from the other side of the garden.
It was a little boy yelling to a girl on the tree, clearly afraid to even breathe not to mention climbing down.
"I don't know how" the little girl cried. And the others under the tree seemed scared, on the verge of panic.
"Shh don't worry" a girl around my age approached them and helped the girl climb down from the tree.
She was wearing a pink dress and had short brown hair.
"Thank you for saving my life Ji-ah" the little girl hugged her while crying and the girl in the pink dress just laughed and hugged her back.
I must've fallen into a trance or I don't know but I didn't notice the nanny next to me.
"Her name is Ji-ah." I got a little scared but didn't show it. I just ripped my eyes off from the beautiful girl and looked at the woman next to me. "She is one of the orphans here, but she always helps us nannies, so she doesn't feel like one anymore." She had a sad smile on her face.
"Nobody adopted her?"
"Most of the kids won't get adopted here...especially if they hit puberty"
"Oh...that's... I'm sorry to hear that."
"It's just a fact. Most people adopts babies... it's not a rare sight to see kids grow up in orphanages."
I just looked at her sad expression . I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that.
"Well I still have a tour to give to you." She said with a smile and guided me inside.
-
After an hour or so we finished finally. The longer I'm between these walls the more I feel like they will crush me.
"Soo you can come every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Right?"
Just the thought that I need to spend more time here than I already did is bad itself. I don't think I can handle this place anymore.
"That's right, yeah" I said with the best forced smile I could do.
"Well see you on Tuesday then" Barbara said with a nice smile.
I smiled back and waved than opened the big door and stepped into freedom.
My smiled dropped and I grabbed a box of cigarettes out from my pocket and lighted one.
After all this anxiety one breathe of nicotine really feels like salvation.
"Did you know that it's illegal to smoke near the 5 meter border of the orphanage?" A high voice spoke behind me and I turned to see who it was.
The girl in pink dress from before stood behind me with a neutral smile on her face.
"What will they do? Give me plus 5 hours of charity work?" I inhaled one more smoke filled puff.
"Ohh so you're the new nanny?"
"Do not call me that."
"But you are one. The new nanny who will help the other nannies take care of us." She smiled at me but I'm pretty sure she was a mocking me. I started thinking about her age because no one in our age speaks like that.
"Yeah no. I'm not a nanny."
"Then what are you?"
"I'd rather be called a caretaker"
"It's the same as a nanny." She laughed childishly.
"It's not"
"Why?"
"'Cause it doesn't only mean I take care of children, who knows maybe someone'll think I'm taking care of rich grannies."
"How is that better than looking after children?"
"I'll leave that to your fantasy" I suck in the last puff of my cigarette, throw it and start walking ahead stepping on my cig in the meantime.
"Hey! Where are going?"
"Home"
"But we're not done with our chat!"
"I am" I keep walking and shove my headphones on my head.
"How rude" she mumbles and goes back inside.
Ohh how much I'm going to regret my place choice of charity work.
