Life went on as usual at the Magical Ministry (the only notable change was that Maria had started taking self-defense lessons from Cyrus), and very soon it was time for Cyrus to go to the orphanage again to deliver his vegetables. He told me that he didn\u2019t need any help, since the quantity wasn\u2019t as great as last time, but I insisted on going with him, because I wanted to know what Liam had been up to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time, since it was only going to be the two of us, going to the orphanage wouldn\u2019t be that big of a deal…or so I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s this? It was supposed to just be the two of us this time around!\u201d Cyrus asked me, lowering his voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cW-Well, you see…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hadn\u2019t told him about it, but Keith had somehow managed to learn that I was going to the orphanage through the Claes family\u2019s powerful information network, and decided that he would come along too. Mother, as usual, agreed with him that it was better not to let me go by myself. Of course, being alongside my brother made me feel safer too, so I didn\u2019t mind that much. I only wondered if it was fine to have him come with me on his free days so often, considering how busy he usually was, but according to him, that wasn\u2019t a problem at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, for reasons that I really had no idea about, Jeord had somehow managed to find out about the whole thing and joined the expedition. I was honestly, genuinely stunned. He just casually turned up uninvited, got on the carriage, told me good morning, and started chatting as if it was the most natural thing in the world. So I gave up and stopped trying to think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeord is just mysterious like that…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s why, this time, it would be me, Cyrus, Keith, and Jeord going to the orphanage. At first, Cyrus complained about how this was different from his plans, but since at least he didn\u2019t have to be around girls like last time, he quickly figured that it didn\u2019t matter all that much. Since there were only four of us, we all fit inside a single carriage, and loading the vegetables didn\u2019t take much time either. Once that was done, we started riding to the orphanage for the second time in a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou must forgive me, but I really must voice my surprise at the extent of your information network,\u201d Keith told Jeord once we were seated on the carriage. \u201cHow did you come to know of today\u2019s outing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My brother\u2019s voice sounded somewhat harsh as he talked to the prince. During the trip from Claes Manor to the Magical Ministry, Jeord\u2019s sudden appearance still had us so surprised that he was in total control of the conversation, and Keith hadn\u2019t managed to ask him about that yet. To be honest, I was wondering the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInformation network? Oh, Keith, it is only through my love for Katarina that I was able to find this out. One look at her was enough to make me realize that she was probably going to the orphanage again on her next free day. All I had to do was to check when her next free day was going to be and wait in front of Claes Manor in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He read me like a book! He\u2019s incredible!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are probably trying to make it sound romantic, but what you are doing here is stalking, which is a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease, do not use such words to describe the pure love I have for my fianc\u00e9e.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe may be your fianc\u00e9e now,<\/em> yes. But not for long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI must agree with you. She will soon cease to be my fianc\u00e9e and turn into my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat is definitely not what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou may also call me Big Brother if you so desire, Keith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have absolutely no intention or plan of calling you that. Just so you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keith and Jeord always looked like they were having so much fun chatting\u2014since they were kids, their back-and-forths were always so quick and intense. Being so busy as of late, they hadn\u2019t had many chances to talk to each other like this, so I decided not to intrude, and spoke with Cyrus instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHas there been any news from the orphanage?\u201d I asked him. I thought it\u2019d be uncouth to ask him directly about Liam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you talking about that kid who was running away? Since you looked so worried, I asked about him in a letter, and they told me that he\u2019s been behaving since we last met,\u201d Cyrus replied, immediately guessing what I was getting at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, I see. Thank you for doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was relieved to know that he hadn\u2019t tried escaping again, and I hoped that I would have the chance to talk to him once more when I reached the orphanage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI must say though, you\u2019re a really weird girl. Why\u2019d you take so much interest in a kid you\u2019ve only met once?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe just looked like he needed someone to watch over him… I thought that it\u2019d be dangerous to leave him alone,\u201d I replied, thinking that what I was doing wasn\u2019t particularly weird. I wasn\u2019t sure exactly how or why leaving Liam to his own devices would be dangerous, but I just couldn\u2019t shake off the feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know,\u201d Cyrus replied, chuckling, \u201cMaria\u2019s description of you was really on point. Oh, everything she says about you she means as a compliment, of course. She really, really likes you. You\u2019re the only topic she\u2019s ever talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see… Oh, lately you\u2019ve had more chances to be alone with her, right? Since you\u2019ve been teaching her self-defense. Were you able to make any progress?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maria had asked Cyrus to give her lessons in the martial arts from his hometown, and she would sneak off to attend these as soon as she had some free time. Since she was keeping the whole thing a secret, I could imagine that Dewey and the others must have been perplexed about where she was going so often, probably thinking that it was some kind of secret rendezvous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cP-Progress…? W-Well, Maria\u2019s smart, so she learns fast…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even now that he\u2019d gotten closer to her, and could even survive spending time alone with her, he seemed to behave in much the same way as before. One time I took a peek to see how the lessons he was giving Maria were going, but I was disappointed to find out that he was just teaching her self-defense without using that perfect opportunity to do anything more than that. Even so, I was happy to know that they were chatting about other things, as Cyrus had just informed me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy the way, where is Maria working today?\u201d I asked. Not everyone\u2019s free days at the Ministry coincided, and Maria told me that she was going on a mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, she\u2019s on a mission in another town close to the orphanage. If she finishes early, she promised that she would come by to say hello,\u201d Cyrus explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReally? That\u2019d be wonderful!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d he agreed, surprisingly honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever he was talking about Maria, Cyrus always looked happy. Seeing love as pure and intense as that made me think that maybe, after putting doom behind me, I wanted to give romance a shot too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The carriage eventually reached the orphanage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you for coming here again so soon. The children are very excited to see you,\u201d Maggie, the director, greeted us at the entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After carrying the vegetables, of which there weren\u2019t many, inside the building, I started playing with the kids, just like last time. And, just like last time, Jeord and Keith were almost forced to help them with their homework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It hadn\u2019t been very long since the last time they saw me, so the children still remembered me and were happy to approach me. When I replied to their inquiries about \u201cthe cool big misters\u201d (Alan and Nicol) by telling them that they weren\u2019t there today, the children were clearly disappointed. I was only a little bit saddened by their reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We played tag. After playing with them for so long last time, I\u2019d gotten much better at catching them. Practice really makes perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to talk to Liam, but like the other children his age, he was busy studying. I thought that I would go and look for him whenever the children that I was playing with took a break for snack time. However, while playing hide-and-seek, thanks to my perfect eyesight, I saw a kid walking by himself in the distance…and he was going toward the orphanage\u2019s exit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey! Where are you going?!\u201d I shouted, but instead of stopping, Liam started walking faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I started running, and upon noticing this, he started running too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think you can beat me? I\u2019m an adult!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As it turned out, kids have a lot more energy than adults do. I got very close to catching him, but I didn\u2019t manage to. I eventually tripped and fell down face-first with a sound so loud that I scared the birds off all the trees in the vicinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n O-Ouch… Look at me, an adult, tripping like that… This is so embarrassing. I don\u2019t want to get up…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But I had to get up, so I did. My face still stung. When I looked up, I saw Liam, staring at me with his mouth open in surprise. Well, I guess falling down was worth it after all. I quickly reached toward Liam and hugged him so that he couldn\u2019t escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI finally got you!\u201d I crowed, unable to restrain my glee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your problem?\u201d he asked, looking annoyed as he tried to struggle free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t just leave you alone like this!\u201d I replied, and his expression grew even more annoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t need the sympathy of a well-off girl!\u201d he shouted at me. His little fists were shaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy are you trying to run away?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI already told you. It\u2019s prissy and boring! I hate it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hmm, no way. That\u2019s <\/em>not the tone of someone who hates something…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you scared?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He swayed wildly between my arms. Raphael was probably right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you scared,\u201d I continued, \u201cthat if you found happiness at the orphanage, then you could suddenly lose it? Is that why you want to go away before getting to like it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The annoyance in his face changed to pain, and tears started flowing from his beautiful eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat would you know? What would you people know? You don\u2019t know me! You can\u2019t know how I feel! You people have always lived your boring, peaceful lives! You don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to have your parents and brothers killed by bandits and have to live like an animal in the slums!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n An animal\u2014that is what he sounded like. A hurt, dying animal crying for help. I could almost see his fur bristling on his body. Seeing him in so much pain made me sad for him, and I hugged him harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStop it! Leave me alone!\u201d He struggled, but I didn\u2019t let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, I wouldn\u2019t know. I\u2019ve always lived here, in this peaceful place. I don\u2019t know anything about violence and hardship…but that doesn\u2019t mean that I can\u2019t be on your side. Both me and all the people in the orphanage. We\u2019re on your side, Liam. Even if we don\u2019t know about your past, we can try to understand. If you just reach out your hand, we\u2019ll take it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I paused and looked him straight in the eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t be scared. Just reach out to us,\u201d I pleaded, and Liam started crying even harder. His tears told me that he wouldn\u2019t try to run away anymore. It was as if all his strength had left him at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s just a kid, but he was trying so hard…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I kept hugging him, patting him on the head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raphael really is incredible. He immediately understood what Liam\u2019s problem was, and also what I had to tell him to help. Oh, right. I have to tell him that…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLiam, parting with the happiness that you\u2019ve grown accustomed to is dreadful, but the memory of that happiness will give you the strength to fight through anything. So, I want you to be happy at the orphanage. I\u2019m sure the happiness you can find here will make you stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Liam hugged me back. I stroked his back until he stopped crying, knowing that he had finally accepted what I had told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverything\u2019s going to be fine, Liam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I still remember how my sister hugged me back then, trying to stop my shaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bandits came into our little village during the night, barging inside our home. They killed everyone. Dad was killed trying to protect us, mom was killed trying to make us kids run away, and then my brother was killed while trying to save my sister and me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She and I were hiding in a tiny old hut near the border of the village. I was hiding inside her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bandits had set almost the whole village on fire, and I was scared that the hut would burn too, or that they\u2019d find us and kill us. I could do nothing but try to make myself as small as possible, ignoring all the screams and cries from outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know how much time passed, but it felt like forever. Eventually, the cries stopped, and everything went silent. The sun rose, and my sister and I slowly walked out into its light. There was no village anymore. There was only ash and black debris everywhere. Everyone was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I held her hand as tightly as I could, and it felt cold. I looked up at her as she smiled, falling on her knees and then falling down to the ground. It was then that I saw the arrow stuck inside her shoulder. There was a lot of dried-up blood below the arrow. She must have been shot while we were running away, but she didn\u2019t tell me so that I wouldn\u2019t be scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSis!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I called for her, but she only heaved painfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLiam… Live…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those were her last words. She died, and it was as if everything went dark. I don\u2019t remember what happened next. Maybe I ran away by myself, maybe someone brought me there… But after that I was an orphan living in the slums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had to rummage through the trash to find food, and sometimes an angry adult would beat me up just because he felt like it. My family had always been poor, but life with them seemed so sweet. I wanted to go back to those days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One day, after being beaten up so badly that I threw up, I was sitting in the rain, thinking that I didn\u2019t want to live anymore…but then I remembered my sister\u2019s final request. I couldn\u2019t die. I had to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I crawled and struggled, finding whatever food I could, trying my best to survive. After some time, I was kidnapped and thrown onto a ship that brought me to a place I didn\u2019t know. In that tiny room, with all the other kidnapped children being kept with me, I thought that this time I was going to die for real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, all of a sudden, a bunch of adults in nice clothes walked in, told us that everything would be all right, and brought us to a clean, beautiful building. They asked me a lot of questions. \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d \u201cWhere were you born?\u201d \u201cWhere are your parents?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m Liam. I was born in a village in Ethenell. My parents were killed, and the rest of my family too. I was living by myself in the slums.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It felt like being surrounded by fog, but I answered them. They told me that I wasn\u2019t in Ethenell anymore, but in a country called Sorci\u00e9, across the sea. Since I had no house or family to go back to, they brought me to some place called an \u201corphanage.\u201d I didn\u2019t know what kind of place it would be, but I hoped that nobody would try to kill me there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This \u201corphanage\u201d place looked nothing like I thought it would. \u201cI\u2019m Maggie, and I run this orphanage. Nice to meet you, Liam,\u201d an old lady greeted me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She looked like an old lady I knew back in my village. For some reason, when she offered me her hand, I got the chills. I didn\u2019t shake it. She looked surprised and a bit concerned, but she didn\u2019t get mad at me or hit me. She just smiled. I didn\u2019t know why, but I was scared. I ran away from her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After that, the other people at the orphanage would talk to me, or smile at me. Every single time, I felt a pain in my chest, and I ran away from them. As long as I stayed there, I had food to eat and a place to sleep. It was nothing like living in the slums; it was more like when I lived with my family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the more time I spent there, the more the memories of when the bandits attacked came back to me. I remembered how they killed my family. I remembered how my sister lay lifeless on the ground. The memories had never come back while I was in the slums, but here they kept hurting me. I didn\u2019t want to be there anymore. I felt weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I ran away from the orphanage. I wanted to go back to the slums. Even if I didn\u2019t go back to Ethenell, they probably had slums in this country too. I thought I could go there and live like an animal, like I used to, so that the memories wouldn\u2019t hurt me anymore. But I didn\u2019t know the place well enough to get away, so I was found and brought back to the orphanage by some people who thought they were doing me a favor. Not just once. Twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I made up some excuses so that the director would leave me alone, and she believed me, thinking that I was probably just confused because of the new surroundings. I tried a third time, but I was brought back by some people who didn\u2019t even work for the orphanage! That was the worst<\/em>. I feared that I might not get another chance to run away, at least not easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They brought me to the director\u2019s office, like the other two times. This time, however, there was a weird girl with us. She\u2019d come to the orphanage to bring us vegetables or something, and she looked all clean and pretty, like someone from a totally different world than mine. That was enough to make me hate her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maggie asked me if I knew how many times I\u2019d tried running away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course I do. Just leave me alone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She went on to tell me that everyone was worried about me. That made me feel weird. Then she asked me if I had some kind of trouble with this orphanage and wanted to go to another one…<\/p>\n\n\n\n She doesn\u2019t get it. Nobody here gets it. They could never understand me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t help you if you don\u2019t help me, Liam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t help me anyway,<\/em> I thought, but I didn\u2019t say anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, that weird girl spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you want to go back to your country?\u201d she asked. I was surprised. This had been the closest that anyone had ever gotten to understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I glared at her, but she didn\u2019t seem to care. She just stared back at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that so, Liam?\u201d Maggie asked me. \u201cBut what are you going to do there? Here you are safe, you have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over your head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know that, but…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI hate this prissy, boring country. It makes me sick,\u201d I exploded. I told her what I\u2019d kept inside me for so long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I want to go back to the slums! I want to go back to living like an animal!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She tried to reason with me, but I didn\u2019t listen to anything she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I want to go back. I will! I have to!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan\u2019t you just let him go then?\u201d I heard someone say. It was that weird girl, who was looking at me again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The orphanage employee who was with us started yelling, but I was just looking at the girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust let him go back to his country,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But she just stopped me from running away… Now she wants to help me?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut he\u2019d need to prepare himself<\/em> first… Here you can learn a lot of things that you couldn\u2019t learn in the slums,\u201d she told me, moving closer. Her eyes were clear and blue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of my friends is from the Ethenell slums, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ethenell slums? But that\u2019s where I used to live…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd my friend, he told me that this knowledge is what helped him survive. You see, Liam, knowledge is a weapon that you can\u2019t do without.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A weapon? Wouldn\u2019t that be like a sword, or something else that you can use to hit people?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. He told me that on a battlefield you need a sword or a spear, but that in daily life you need knowledge. Sounds cool, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d she told me, smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d never thought of it like that. Knowledge could help me survive, and I needed to survive. So, even though being here made me hurt so much, I had to stick it out and learn as much as I could. Before then, the only thing that I thought of was going back to the slums. Now, for the first time, I was starting to doubt myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tried doing as that girl said and studying. I was put in the same class as the smallest kids, since I didn\u2019t know how to read. Studying was interesting, and I actually liked it. And when they saw me studying, the teachers told me that I was being a very good boy. Everyone was so warm, so kind…just like back in the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few days later, when we didn\u2019t have any classes, we were told that some guests would be coming to the orphanage to help us with homework. I took my textbook and started walking toward the classroom. All of a sudden, I heard a loud crash. One of the orphanage employees had dropped a vase on the floor while cleaning, and it had broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUgh… It\u2019s in pieces, and… Ouch… I even cut my hand,\u201d she groaned. I saw the blood flowing from one of her fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The memory of my sister\u2019s bloody shoulder resurfaced. Just a few hours before that I had been having dinner with my family\u2014I had been having fun. My brother even gave my sister and me some of his share, even though it wasn\u2019t much to begin with. We were poor, but we enjoyed talking to each other about our days and then going to sleep, ready to give our best the next morning. But it only took a moment for all of that to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I knew it, I was running away from the orphanage again. I didn\u2019t even know where I wanted to go. I just wanted to run. And then, that weird girl from before called out to me. I didn\u2019t understand why she was there, but I had no time to think. I didn\u2019t want her to catch me, so I ran as fast as I could. I put one foot in front of the other, trying to get as far away as possible. I heard a huge noise behind me. It surprised me so much that I had to look back, and I saw that girl laying facedown on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is going on?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I was so confused that I couldn\u2019t think of running away anymore. I just stared at the weird girl. Then, out of the blue, she got up and caught me between her arms. She had a scary grin on her face. I didn\u2019t get it. Why was she always sticking her nose into my business, talking about knowledge and stuff? I tried to get away from her, but she wouldn\u2019t let me go. She was a weird girl, but she was wearing good clothes and she looked pretty. She must have been rich or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She asked me why I ran away, and I told her what I told Maggie. It\u2019s true.<\/em> I hate this place… It makes me feel weird.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you scared?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scared?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Those words pierced through me and hit me straight in my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Am I…scared?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d never thought about it…but it sounded right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you scared that if you found happiness at the orphanage, then you could suddenly lose it? Is that why you want to go away before getting to like it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Losing my happiness was scary. I finally realized what that weird feeling was. Fear. All I had was stolen from me in the blink of an eye, and I couldn\u2019t do anything. Even if I managed to find happiness here, that could happen again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So this is why I felt this way… But she wouldn\u2019t know. None of them would know.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I shouted at the girl with all the force I had in me. She didn\u2019t know how it felt to lose what I had lost, to live through what I had lived through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have never lost anything in your life!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That was the last resistance I could put up. I risked finding happiness in this place where nobody understood me, and that was scary. That was sad. I couldn\u2019t think straight anymore. The girl was holding onto me even stronger now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, I wouldn\u2019t know. I\u2019ve always lived here, in this peaceful place. I don\u2019t know anything about violence and hardship…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s right! You don\u2019t! So leave me alone!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean that I can\u2019t be on your side. Both me and all the people in the orphanage. We\u2019re on your side, Liam. Even if we don\u2019t know about your past, we can try to understand. If you just reach out your hand, we\u2019ll take it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try to understand? Be on my side? Take my hand?<\/em> Her words kept swirling around in my head. She looked straight at me with her clear blue eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was so scared of losing what I had that I ran away from everyone who tried to take my hand and help me out. Those hands that reached out to me, kind and warm like none had ever been in the slums. I was too scared to take them…but I wanted to. I wanted someone to hold me like my family used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was so scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt something snap inside of me, and I started crying. I wasn\u2019t so sure, but maybe, the day that my family was killed, I hadn\u2019t cried. I had never cried since then. I was too busy finding out what I had to do. But now, years later, I could let myself go in this girl\u2019s warm hug. I didn\u2019t have to worry so much just to survive anymore. Now I could cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sure the happiness you can find here will make you stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She\u2019s right. The happy memories with my family were what kept me going in the slums.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I hugged her, and she started stroking my back, kindly, just like my sister had done years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Life went on as usual at the Magical Ministry (the only notable change was that Maria had started taking self-defense lessons from Cyrus), and very soon it was time for Cyrus to go to the orphanage again to deliver his vegetables. He told me that he didn\u2019t need any help, since the quantity wasn\u2019t as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tak-berkategori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3671"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3672,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3671\/revisions\/3672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}