My Own Four Cents [2016]

Chapter 3: Home

When you are reading this story, you need to be patient because it is REALLY LONG, I have it on Google Docs and it is literally 100 pages long! And some points it's a little bit boring, so tell me if you think so. 

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This afternoon is the loneliest one of my life. Tanisha and I are on kitchen duty, and I have to make lunch by myself for the first time ever. I make a normal meatloaf meal times about fifty or sixty for the other unwanted kids. I had never done this job without anybody else helping me before.

After I finish serving the meatloaf, I sit down in my usual seat. There is no one around. Tanisha was my only friend, because no one else could speak sign language. I pick at my food, my appetite lost. I feel more lonely than I ever have.

The light blinks and we all stand up. I let my fork fall onto my plate and reluctantly get in line. I know it will end the same way-- the people will instantly lose interest in me as soon as they find out I'm deaf. Then some kid will get a new home and I will be left over, the unwanted kid whom nobody loves because of a disability they can't control (not to mention not wanting to have it). My parents and my sister learned to accept me for who I was, and they loved me because I was smart, optimistic and kind. I was just-- well, deaf.

The head of the Joyous Children Center goes to the door and a man and a woman walk in. The man is dark haired and kindly looking, and the woman is African-American with black hair and warm brown eyes. They look like nice parents.

The man and woman make their way down the line, finding out things about each child. When they come to me, they hesitate to leave. The woman's shiny lips move. She smells like tea-tree mint. Her long black hair cascades down her back like a black waterfall. She has a green dress with long sleeves and black flats. Her skin is the color of coffee and her eyes are chocolate brown. She is young and pretty, but she looks as if she's had a hard life, like me. I examine the man. He has a little bit of stubble on his chin and wears a baseball cap, jeans, a button down short-sleeved shirt and sneakers. His hair is dark brown, and his eyes are sweeping the kids. His eyes are hazel with flecks of gold, brown, and green. The woman looks at me. Her lips move, her eyes trying to tell me something. I wish I could hear her! I just stare at her, unable to tell her how I feel. The woman looks confused. She doesn't know I'm deaf. She wants to talk to me. I want to talk to her too.

The woman gestures to me subtly, and the headmistress nods and says something to her. The woman's eyes widen, and her strong stare softens as she looks at me. The man and the woman lock eyes, seem to make a decision without speaking, and then nod. The woman talks to the headmistress, and the headmistress raises her eyebrows and says something back. I wish I knew what they're saying.

Finally, the man and woman go to the front desk and talk to the people there. I expect them to leave, but they don't. Instead, the woman comes back, stands in front of me and sends me a message-- in sign language. It surprises me that she knows sign language, but what surprises me even more is the message. We have always wanted a daughter. We would love to adopt a child and give her a good life and a good family. I want to make you my daughter, and I will treat you as my own child. Do you want to come with us?

I am too surprised to speak. You want me?

Yes, we want you. I can treat you like a normal person even though you have a disability. I know how you feel. I was always inferior-- while everyone was white, I was black and everyone decided they were better than me. I imagine you feel that way too.

YES! I feel that way. Nobody wants to give me a home when they find out I'm deaf. I've been stuck in this place for six years. Are you sure you want me?