Risa waved at kids of the orphanage who were all crowded around the living room window.
Her brown bangs whipped into her hazel eyes from the wind, causing her to wrap her scarf around her neck a fourth time.
They called her telling her bye and that they would miss her, along with that they hoped she found her family. She smiled fondly as she took in their faces, since she's probably never see them again after this.
The owner of the orphanage wrapped the scarf around her head, pushing some of her short black curly bob behind her ears. "It's time for you to go into the real world. I have been waiting for this moment for quite a long time." She grumbled as her brown eyes glared at the girl before her.
She tightened the fur coat around her body to try and keep out the wind and snow whipping around. "I will be giving you the speech I give to everyone who leaves. I'm only saying it once, so remember it." She waved her gloved hand at Risa, her voice just shouted grumpily.
She continued with the speech she gave everyone. "Once you get outside that gate you will not be coming back in. You will go into town and find a job, then try and find someplace to stay while you work on getting onto your feet."
"I can't give you anyone to ask for help. You will figure it out on your own. It is part of growing up, which you should know in these past months." She stopped halfway to the gate and shook her head as she watched Risa. "Are you even listening to me?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning even deeper than she had been.
Risa bent down and picked up her black, tan and white fluffy puppy. "I am listening to you Mrs. Hemmingworth." She sighed as she pulled her coat up around her body. "I can handle myself." She looked at the woman with a frown on her lips.
Mrs. Hemmingworth frowned at how arrogant Risa was being. "Oh, you can?" She inquired, giving the young woman a challenging look.
Risa pursed her lips for a brief moment. "You said you were dreading letting me go because no one else was responsible enough to take my place to help care for the orphanage." She explained, jabbing her gloved finger at the older woman.
Mrs. Hemmingworth shook her head as Risa spoke. "Even if I did happen to say that, you young lady, need to learn not to eavesdrop on conversations that don't concern you. That is another reason why I am glad you are leaving. No more having to worry if you will be listening to a private conversation."
Risa frowned, even though Loyal licked her cheek to try and cheer her up. "Maybe if you'd talk softer -" She began to mumbled only to be cut off by Mrs. Hemmingworth.
"You were always this way: sarcastic and back talking me. I still gave you food, gave you clothes, kept a roof over your head, taught you how to do average things like reading, math, spelling, and history. I even let you keep that mangy mutt for the past few months out of the kindness of my heart." Mrs. Hemmingworth ranted, her cheeks growing from both the weather and getting worked up over Risa.
Risa put one hand on her hip after setting down her small suitcase. "And, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mrs. Hemmingworth." She forced a polite smile. "It means a whole lot to me, even though I was a troublesome child."
"Troublesome? That is an understament, Risa." Mrs. Hemmingworth shook her head, giving her a disappointed look with a deep frown on her painted red lips. "You were one of the most trouble children I've ever raised."
Risa rolled her eyes, not exactly caring to hear her bring that up again for the tenth time just that morning. "I was stubborn, I was sarcastic, I get it. I wasn't a peach like you wished. I never asked for anything but the chance for you to help me find my family, which you never did." She huffed, pulling her hat down over her ears.
"Of course I never did. What point would there be to go on a wild goose chace?" Mrs. Hemmingworth inhaled sharply. "You don't know anything about the past and even your own name yet you still want to find them You are chasing silly dreams, the harsh truth of reality will slap you in the face one of these days. Ignorance is bliss Risa, ignorance is bliss." She exclaimed in her normal frustrated voice.
Risa pouted, looking at her with puppy eyes, hoping that it would soften the cold-hearted women. "Maybe for you and the other kids, but for me I can't go on living without finding out what happened. Whether it's a good ending or a bad, I need the closure." She sadly spoke, kissing the head of her squirmy little puppy in her arms.
Mrs. Hemmingworth frowned as she scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I know you do Risa, everyone needs closure of some type. Sometimes, like you, you will never be able to. You just have to accept it and move on with your life. Dwelling on the past will only bog you down." She exclaimed exasperated with a heavy sigh.
Risa really didn't want to keep listening to her, yet until she was done she had no choice. "I will prove you wrong. I have a lead and I will follow it through come whatever may. Then you will have to eat your words, good or bad, you will." She sneered, sticking her nose up in the air.
Mrs. Hemmingworth scoffed at what Risa had said to her. "You say your pocket watch holds the clues to your past? So what if it says Paris? It doesn't mean anything." She told her waving her finger at her.
Risa gasped dramatically, putting her free hand over her chest. "Doesn't mean anything? It means that this was made in Paris to be given to me? If that's not a lead, then I don't know what is?" She inquired rhetorically with a hunt of haughtiness in her voice.
Mrs. Hemmingworth pulled open the gate swiftly. "For once in your life Risa, be sensible. You need to grow and stop with this foolishness." She opened the gate and pushed her out, then tossed her small suitcase into the snow, closing it shut once again.
Risa stumbled, catching herself and almost dropping Loyal. "I'll show you! You're just an old ungrateful old hag! I will find my family! I have faith that I will and then you will have to eat your words!" She proudly yelled, turning around and looking at her through the gate.
She knelt and picked up her suitcase, gripping the handle tightly in her grasp. 'Why did she have to push me out? Couldn't she just open it and let her walk out? I could have fallen and on my beloved puppy.' She thought to herself, pouring and kissing Loyal's head.
She stood back up, blowing the snow off the front of her suitcase. She frowned a little, looking at the ground, feeling like her whole world was a glass out crashing down around her.
She groaned, kicking the snow with her boot and glaring back at Mrs. Hemmingworth. If looks were deadly, she would most likely be dead, of course, it was a good thing it wasn't true.
"That lady just gets on my nerves! Ugh, why does she have to be such a grump? You think with all the sugar she eats it would make her sweeter but now, she just gets sourer every day." She mumbled to herself, hugging her puppy.
Loyal nuzzled her mother's leg and gave a happy bark. "She gets on my nerves too Risa. She always tried to kick me but you always came in just at the nick of time." She barked, wishing Risa could understand her.
Risa smiled fondly down at her dog, crouching down and kissed Loyal's head. "I am so glad you came into my life, Loyal. Without you, nothing would be the same in my life. You truly are a blessing." She cooed to her, hugging her close to her body. "My daughter, my sweet, sweet baby daughter."
Loyal happily panted, licking Risa's face and barking just as happy. "Aww Risa that is about the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me! You are a blessing to me! If you didn't find me I wouldn't be alive and you gave me hope and a purpose! You are the best mother ever!"
Risa stood up and walked down the snow-covered path, crunching frozen ice crystals under her boot leaving deep footprints behind.
"Maybe she is right," She grumbled looking down at her feet, continuing straight, never needing too look up since there was one path until the fork in the road. "I'll be an orphan for the rest of my life with nothing to live for."
Loyal perked up a bit when she felt that Risa was sad and licked her cheek a little bit. "Cheer up Risa! I believe in you!" To Risa, it was nothing more than a few barks and a whine, nothing more.
Risa smiled softly, kissing Loyal's head and holding her close to her chest. "Thank you for that." She whispered, stopping and burying her face in her dog's fur. "What would I do without you? You are my only supporter throughout this whole journey."
She stopped at the fork in the road, looking at the sign that pointed to Frontrance. "I have two choices when I get to the city. To do what Mrs. Hemmingworth told me to do or find my family?" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
She plopped down on a stump after she dusted off the snow. "Oh," She set her suitcase beside the trunk and set her dog down at her feet. "What if she is right? What if they don't remember me or don't want me in their life? I could be setting my self up for the biggest disappointment in my life!" She exclaimed, burying her face in her hands.
She removed she hands from her face and tightened her scarf around her neck as the cold wind blew sending snowflakes flurrying around the air.
"The snowflakes seem so carefree, far from what I feel." She mumbled, looking over at Loyal who was a few feet from her, frolicking in the snow. "Loyal even seems carefree. Oh the joys of being a dog with zero worries and cares."
She laughed softly at her pup and how excited she was about snow. "It is beautiful huh. That is one thing Mrs. Hemmingworth never let us do: play in the snow." She mused, recalling Mrs. Hemmingworth's strewn words over snow getting tracked in.
She looked around at the snow covering everything. It glistened as the sun popped out of behind the clouds, the snow finally letting up, causing her to smile.
She grabbed some snow and began to roll it into a little ball, making a little snowman. "Might as well have fun while I walk through the snow to the city to take my mind off Mrs. Hemmingworth's words." She explained to the snowman she was creating. "You don't care, do you? I thought so."
She sighed, standing up and dusted off her hands sitting back down and looking at the small snowman she had created in front of her. "It's cute." She declared, hearing a whine from Loyal. "Not as cute as you Loyal." She giggled as Loyal barked, wagging her tail.
"Now that you think about it, this snowman seem very lonely." She mused, tapping her fingerless gloved hand on her cheek. "Oh, let's make him a friend," She suggested, making him a little snow-dog.
Loyal bounced over and sat down looking at the snow-dog. "Now that's what I am talking about. Man's best friend!" She barked, sniffing the snow-dog Risa had just created for him.
Risa put her hands in her pockets and clicked her tongue, beckoning Loyal to follow her as she walked down the path. "I want to find my family, Loyal. I never got the closure I needed. Most of the orphans knew why they were there or were given as babies. I arrived with no memories at six, well, I have my pocket watch only." She exclaimed, bopping Loyal's nose.
Loyal looked up at her and tilted her head. She sat at attention, wagged her tail, and panted, tilting her head at what her mistress said. "Oh Risa, you will find out!" She barked happily, standing up and trotting over to Risa's legs.
"You're right," Risa bent down and rubbed her head, smiling softly. "I'll find my family. I've got the courage, and the faith, to find what I'm looking for." She steadfastly declared, making a vow in her heart to find find.
*
She pulled out her pocket watch from her pocket and ran her fingers across it. "I know the person who gave me this pocket watch loved me otherwise I would have never been given such an expensive gift." She paused and stuffed it back in her pocket. She was going to guard that watch with her everything and protect it in every way she could.
She looked down at her dog, smiling softly and pushing her hair behind her ear. "You know Loyal, Mrs. Hemmingworth wanted to sell my watch for the money, but I would never let her. It was my old piece to find where I belong." She explained with a frown on her lips. That was the worst thing overhearing her saying that. "All that lady did was care about money."
She stood up off the stump and turned onto the path to the city. "Alright Loyal, let us go to the city! My journey back now. The journey to find my family." She said with all the courage she could muster. She began to walk down the path, Loyal following behind her parking and bouncing in the snow.
She looked around, the snow falling, the sun that had just come out from behind the clouds shining down on the snowflakes. "Millions of diamonds, floating around me, careless and free. Like all good things, they come to an end. Happiness becomes sadness when you have no one to share it with. Love becomes cold as the ice on the pond." She paused from the little song she had made up on the spot.
She looked down at her dog and smiled. "You know Loyal, I always loved to sing, make up songs, and grow up. You know, when Mrs. Hemmingworth was busy, I'd sneak into her room, take a pen and write in my notebook a song I made up. I still have the notebook here," She stopped and opened her suitcase pulling out the worn notebook and jotting down what she had just written.
Loyal stopped and tilted her head, panting as all dogs do. "That sounds really cool! How come I never heard this until now? Oh well, better now than never. At least the journey I can help with making music!" She spoke to herself walking through the snow and walking down the path in front of Risa.
Just as Risa looked up after putting her notebook and pen in her suitcase, she saw a doe and a fawn were eating berries. "Hello there." She whispered as the doe and fawn looked up at them then went back to eating. They didn't seem to be bothered by her, and she liked that. She took a moment to admire them before continuing on her way.
She started to walk again, looking around and touching the weighted down tree limbs covered in white snow. "How long do you think we will have to walk to get to the town? I don't know exactly how long but when Mrs. Hemmingworth said about waiting for someone it took half an hour or so in an automobile."
Loyal stopped and laid on the ground doing a quick roll in the snow before getting up again and bouncing behind her. "Not sure Risa. I am sure it will be hours though since there are no houses for miles! Oh, do many miles and deep cold snow and terrible wind." She complained whimpering a little bit.
Risa sighed looking down at her dog and stopped, bending down and picking her up, holding her close to her chest. "Don't worry Loyal. Before we know it we will be in town!" She was trying to be encouraging, not only for her dog but for almost herself. She was freezing but yet had no choice but to walk in this almost blizzard-like weather.
You think Mrs. Hemmingworth would have let Risa borrow one of her fur coats or take a blanket to wrap around her and keep her warm. Of course not, she had to tough it out in her thin black overcoat. The wind went right through it like a bunch of icy needles hitting her skin making her miserable.
She let out a huffed picking up her pace just a little bit more than she had before. "When I get to the city, I will be a frozen fish. I hate Canadian winters and I will forever keep saying it because it's a fact." It was true, the winters were harsh sometimes and were freezing, not something she enjoyed, to say the least.
She knew however long it would take to the city, it wasn't over just yet, it was the beginning. The beginning of her figuring out what to do next for her to find her family. She wished it would be an easy task, yet no one fully could understand what was going to be happening in the future. If they did, they wouldn't want to do it.
❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅
A/N:
I am finally here with this wonderful book! This was my first ever baby and the only book I had gotten to 13 chapters, 15 if you count the two that were unfinished. Of course most of them can be cut down to two of three chapters, which gives me a whole lot to work with!
I really hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did writing it. I have to admit, there are a lot of characters and I may end up adding more if I come across any characters I have missed. Some I may not have written down in my notebook for all my stories to keep track of the characters, including their hair and eye color which I changed most of them.
Sorry for the little delay. I have been really busy and trying to find the will to keep writing. I am so exhausted that some days all I wanna do is watch the tv and sleep. Don't worry thought, I should do better in April, which is the month I plan on finishing a chapter in the span of nothing less of two days.
Chapter Talk:
I feel bad that Risa had to deal with Mrs. Hemmingworth who is something else aye? At least she is free to go on her own and try and find her family like she wishes. It is sad that only the children and her dog supported her in her journey to find her family. I kinda understand how she feels.
I originally had her finding Loyal, but I decided that I wanted her to already have the dog with her. It would make more sense since she cares about Loyal more than anything in this world since she is the only companion she has. She practically raised this pup from the tiny little puppy wandering around in the cold snow.
And lastly, anything else I forgot ask away my pals. I am happy to answer anything!
In closing, all rude, impolite and mean comments will be replied to in a diplomatic way, reported or deleted if I feel like it is attacking me personally.
Thanks for reading!