Behind The Last Laugh

Memory I | The Orphanage

His big blue eyes scanned the surroundings. Everything was clean, cozy and somewhat friendly. He always thought this kind of places would be dark, rusty and frightening, perhaps his mother read too much fairy tales to him. Too much fantasy for an eight year old. A young boy whose life was far from a fairy tale.

He gripped the hand of the woman that accompanied him as they walked down to the lobby, a boy and a girl whispering to each other at the sight of the new kid. They laughed and disappeared into the next room. The boy sighed in relief and looked up at the lady who, in response, kneeled down before him.

"Don't be scared. This is a nice place. The headmistress is a very kind and loving woman. You are safe now, sweetheart." she said, pulling out a green teddy bear from her coat and without warning, tears started to roll down his pale cheeks. The woman had to bite her lip to prevent herself from crying. The little boy before her was so sweet, so innocent, it broke her heart to know what had happened to him. He didn't deserve this.

"Will I ever see you again?" the boy asked. Her hand travelled from his hand to his brown hair, tucking a strand behind his ear. His eyes were expectant it hurt so much to tell him she wasn't sure if they would meet again. The lady smiled warmly and kissed his forehead.

"I'll try to come and visit as often as I can." she said and pulled him into a tight hug. She needed to find another job. Doing this over and over again, saying goodbye to these sweet children hurt so much it was unbearable.

As if on cue, a lady in her mid fifties arrived at the lobby and gave them her best smile. "Sarah, good afternoon! It's so nice to see you." the women hugged and the boy looked down at his worn out shoes. He focused his attention on the small hole on his left shoe, a purple sock peeking out.

"He needs a lot of support right now. I am the only one who has been able to talk to him since–" said Sarah but was interrupted by the headmistress.

"I'll get it from here. No need to worry." the older lady kneeled down and smiled at the boy, poking the green bear he clutched tightly in his lean arms, "This is a cute buddy. What is his name, honey?"

The boy held the bear even closer to his body and looked away. Sarah took a deep breath, extended her hand towards the boy and he reluctantly placed his small hand on hers. "I need to go now. Be a good boy. Everything will be fine, little one."

And she left, leaving the teary boy scared and hopeless.

"Come, sweetie. I'll show you around and introduce you to your new friends!" the headmistress offered her hand to the boy but he just shook his head and looked down at his shoes, but started walking towards the next room by himself.

He walked in silence and followed the lady from one room to another, children from all ages running and playing everywhere. Every once in a while the lady asked questions and tried to get a word from the kid, but his answers where limited to a shrug, a nod or a shake of his head.

"This is where you'll sleep. Your bunk is over there and you will find new clothes, a towel and a toothbrush. Would you like to eat something, honey?" she said, but still no answer. We walked towards his new bed and sat down silently. "I have to check on dinner, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

The headmistress left the boy and then, he finally broke down. Letting his face bury on the pillow he muted his own sobs. He cried for endless minutes until a small hand poked his shoulder and he looked up, gasping. A petite girl, just a few years younger than him stood with a puzzled look on her freckled face.

"Why are you crying?" the little girl asked as she sat next to him. She reached for his cheeks, her small hand brushing away the tears than ran down his face. To the boy's own surprise he found the girl's touch welcoming, but still he didn't emit a single sound apart from his sniffles and sighs.

"Put a smile on that face." she tried again, moving closer as she took his hand on hers with a grin, "I'm new here too! We can be friends!"

"B–but you d–don't even kn–now me." he finally stammered and she clapped with success as she giggled.

"I thought you were born mute!" she said in an extremely loud voice. Her expression suddenly went solemn and serious, "why are you here, boy?"

He stiffened and looked down a his teddy bear. It had happened just a few nights ago and he could still listen to the screams and the sound of furniture shattering as the monster hit his mother mercilessly. He couldn't take that away from his mind. The boy looked up and found the girl's eyes. They were so green, so beautiful and he suddenly felt confident, safe.

"My mom," he started, gripping the bear tightly, "she died three nights ago. My d– my father ki–"

There was something odd about the little girl. It was like she was too mature for her age or maybe, she didn't understand the magnitude of the boy's recent experience. But she sat silently, listening to every word he managed to say.

"It's not your fault," she whispered and bent over, wrapping her arms around his trembling body. "your mommy saved you, so you should smile for her! She's watching you from over there. Maybe my mommy snd your mommy are friends now."

Her small hand pointed towards the window, grinning and for the first time in days, he felt his own lips curl up into a small smile.

"My name is Jack."

The little girl looked back at him and giggled. "I'm Jeannie, and I have this tiny feeling we're going to be the best of friends!"