Lost and Found (A Castle Fanfiction)

Sparking Knowledge

As Kate sat awaiting that same young boy whom her boss had set her up with one more time, she leaned back in her chair and continued to page through Rick's newest novel. As she did this, her fingers on her free hand combed over what baby bump she had. She doubted this would work simply because of the bruises and the beating she'd taken. As she sat, trying to be patient, trying not to give up on the poor boy, she prayed he would come. Learning to read was so important. She desperately hoped she could help him.

Ten minutes after that kid was supposed to show up, Kate sat alone at her table and studied the room. The boy was no where to be seen. She then, once twenty minutes had come and gone, rose from her chair and started toward the children's books section. She thought about grabbing a new book for Alexis or at least finding some story about something she knew Alexis liked just to have something to talk about with her when she got home. But when she rounded the corner into the kids' section, she found that she wasn't alone.

On the floor, flipping the pages of a book was a young boy with dark African skin. He was staring at the page, clearly confused about the words, but interpreting the message in it's illustrations. Kate tried to find his face, but it was too firmly directed toward the book. She then took a leap and assumed it was Cavin, the boy she was supposed to be tutoring. Based on what she knew of him, however, she didn't say a word to him. Instead, she watched him for a few seconds and concocted a plan. The moment her plan was hatched, she walked in a diagonal, her eyes dead set on the books just slightly off to the opposite side of him across the isle, only feet away from where he sat.

When she walked over toward that section, she could feel his eyes curiously and cautiously look up at her. She then let her eyes peruse the spines on the short stories for a moment before she pulled one out and turned sideways. As she looked at the back cover of the storybook, she moved her hand over her shoulder to outline her baby bump even more than it typically was. She studied the story for a moment and then looked down at her stomach in theatrics and spoke gently. "What do you think, bud? Would you want to read a Dr. Seuss story?" She waited a moment as though she was waiting for a response. She then told her unborn son, "Yeah, that's what I thought too." Finally, she slid the story back into place and looked back over the other stories.

After a short while of looking, as the boy studied her and her actions as though it was the strangest thing he had ever seen, she finally stood, placing her hand on her back, thinking to herself for a moment. She then turned and asked the child behind her, "Hey, bud, can I ask you a quick question?" The child hesitated for a moment, watching her carefully before saying a word. When he finally decided it was safe to respond, he chose to negate his words and instead simply nodded. She softly asked, "What books did you like when you were younger?" He looked at her, trying to think, and then shrugged. Kate then smiled, "Didn't your mom or dad ever read to you?" He shook his head. Her heart hurt for a moment. "Well... a teacher had to read to you, right?"

He finally used his voice. "Mrs. Parker," was all he said.

She then asked, "Did you like any of those books?" He nodded, a smile forming on his lips. "Which ones?" The boy then thought for a second before getting and ah-ha! moment and he picked himself up off the ground. He then walked toward the bookshelf's end, pulling a storybook from the stack, and bringing it back to her.

He explained as he handed the book off, "It's get trains. I like trains."

"Really," Kate asked in surprise. It was The Little Engine that Could. She was touched. "Well, do you know what it's about?" He shook his head. "Haven't you ever read it yourself," she asked just to get a feeling on how much experience in reading the boy actually had.

He looked at her with a bit of shame. "I don't know how."

"Well, do you want me to read it to you?" She thought that, if nothing else, the story was inspiring enough to maybe spark his want for reading. He face lit up when she asked, and his nodding yes was nearly unnecessary.

The two of them then sat on the floor. She had him sit beside her, but not so close that it was inappropriate. As she cracked open the cover and started reading the story to her, she watched him light up. He clearly understood what she was saying on both the obvious and deeper levels. As she read on about the Little Engine climbing his mountain, believing in himself as he toughed out a major challenge in his life, Cavin listened with both his mind and his heart as she allowed him to flip the pages for her. At eight years-old, he was a smart kid in an unfortunate situation, and this all seemed to resonate with his. When she was finished, she closed the pages of the book and asked, "So, was it everything you remembered?"

"It was very nice," he said, a hint of an accent left in his voice as though English wasn't his first language, but the main language he used now.

Kate then prompted thought by asking, "So, if that train could do everything it did, do you think you could learn to read if I maybe helped you learn?"

The child once again hesitated to answer. He then looked into her eyes and found she sincerely just wanted to help him. This wasn't something he was used to, but she did seem trustworthy. As he breathed out, looking into her eyes, he smiled and told her, "Yes."

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A.N: I promise this isn't just some random side story. There is a purpose to it that I think you guys will enjoy. Thanks for reading this far and I hope you've enjoyed the story. LOVE YOU ALL!!! :*