~~
THIRD PERSON POV
The pitter patter of the rain on the streets became the background music of the night, where there were no people who were walking around in fear of the storm.
All except for one.
A woman.
She wore a cloak, an old, ripped cloak which did little to shield her from the cold.
She ran as fast as she can without slipping to her destination.
Mrs. Pepper's Orphanage, the old wooden sign at the top of the porch said.
She stood outside of the door, but not for finding refuge from the rain.
Well, at least not for herself, but for the bundle which she held close in her chest, attempting to hide from getting wet, but to little avail.
She remained there, contemplating of what she would do is the right thing.
Granted, it really wasn't. No matter how a normal person put it.
But she wasn't a normal person. Nor was this little bundle she had in hand.
Finally making her choice, even though a hard one, she inched a little closer to the door, a decision on her mind.
She kissed the baby's forehead with utmost love, a tear escaping her eye and onto the baby's cheeks, who was completely unaware of all that was going on.
With a final gaze into the baby's violet eyes, she carefully layed him on the welcome mat and rang the doorbell.
~~
Gramma Pepper.
That's what the kids at the orphanage called her.
She was a small, kind lady who had a special place in her heart for orphaned and abandoned kids.
So imagine her surprise when in the middle of the night, at the middle of a storm, when her doorbell rang.
She hurried to get it, thinking that someone had needed a place for the night.
Little did she know, the person who was there needed to stay for more than a night.
She opened the door, looking around when she found no one, but then she looked down, and lo, behold, a small baby who looked no less than a month old, crying on her mat.
Her heart ached for the small child, who was obviously abandoned by his or her parents.
She quickly took the infant in and closed the door, heading straight to the bathroom to run a warm bath.
She soon found out that the baby was a boy, and decided to name him Rayver Cruise. She took it from the name Ray, which meant wise protector, and the surname was what all the kids in the orphanage named.
~~
An eight year old Rayver came running into Mrs. Pepper's room, tears streaming down his face, making the old lady worried.
"Dear, what happened to you?!" She asked in alarm, looking the child over to check for injuries.
Whilst rubbing his eyes, he answered, "Gramma! The other kids from school are saying mean things to me. They said that nobody loves me, and that's why I have no parents!"
The elder had heard of such circumstances before, of kids bullying an orphan, but even so, she was not immune to it. Her heart still hurt that someone would dare hurt an innocent child.
She softly grabbed Ray's shoulders and lifted him onto her lap as she sat on her bed.
She said, "Ray, listen to what I will tell you. Those kids, they only say those because they are jealous of you--"
"But why would they be jealous of me?" He interrupted her.
She simply gave him a soft smile, "I do not know, sweetie, but remember this, do not let them get to you because, one day, someone will come here, and see just what kind of a wonderful child you are, and take you to their home."
He gazed at her with wide eyes full of excitement and hope, "Really?!"
Now, seeing his expression, Mrs. Pepper slightly faltered, for she knew that there is a big possibility that he won't get adopted, like many other children in the orphanage, but she didn't want to let him down.
"Of course." She answered instead.
However, as years passed, a few kids got adopted once a while. Some even tried to talk to Ray, but alas, he was too shy.
His insecurity got ahead of him.
He kept on thinking about 'what if's.
What if they don't like him? What if they hurt him? What if they get tired of him? And most importantly, what if he doesn't get a family?
Because of these, he grew to be very shy. Starting when he was ten, he would hide whenever there were any visitors looking for a child to adopt.
And because of this, he didn't get adopted, and his demons kept on taunting him, making the change for the better in him nonexistent, buyt instead worse.
He entered high school, and of course, being the hierarchy in high school, he was one of the bullied, as he was very shy.
He was the one that the whole school bullied, and he can't even say anything to the teachers because they wouldn't do anything against the children of those who gave donations to the school.
So instead, he took it all.
Mrs. Pepper was worried, that's for sure, but she couldn't be with him all the times, as there were new children at orphanage, making them both stray away from each other.
He focused his attention to his studies, acing every test and doing credit work.
But with all his hard work, he became an even bigger target to bully, because he now gained a new title, 'the nerd'.
Original, I know.
He decided to take in all of the bullying and to tolerate them. He was only going to deal with it for a few years, anyway.
But just before the start of senior year, something unexpected happened.
Something that he had been dreaming and dreading since his childhood.
~~
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