He tried to remember the last time he saw Father in the orphanage, but Theo could barely recall anything. If he could recall, Father was always out of the orphanage looking for lost and orphaned children to take home. There might have been instances when the two of them interacted, but Theo couldn’t remember a thing.
His hand reached his head as it throbbed, though pushed the pain away when Father clapped his hands once.
“Children.” He smiled, one that felt slightly warm and comforting. “It has been quite a while since I’ve seen you all together. It warms my heart to see you all enjoying your time here.”
Theo opened his mouth, but immediately closed it before anyone could see him. What would he even say? He didn’t have anything to contribute, so it would just be better if he would zip his mouth.
But it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who thought of talking. At the corner of his eyes, he could see Zamira with a hand over her mouth and the twins in their table hushing the younger ones down.
If Father wanted to say something about the matter, he kept silent about it. He cleared his throat before continuing, “Though it is with great joy and sadness for me to announce that one, or perhaps two, of you are going to be adopted into a new family!”
This time, no one bothered hiding out their reactions. Some were louder than the others, but Theo just turned to his table and looked on his plate.
Someone was going to be adopted… it had been a while, maybe even ‘years’ while, since someone had been adopted. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help but feel… annoyed? Disappointed? He wasn’t sure.
“Someone’s going to be adopted!” Korri whispered next to him as she lightly shook his arm. “Do you- do you think it’s us? Or- or maybe it’s Kuya Tristan? He did say that that was the news, so it might be him!”
Zamira scoffed as she poked her food, then rested her chin on her hand. “Don’t get so excited, Korri. I understand wanting to be in a new family, but you’re already eleven and Theo’s turning thirteen in”--she put a few fingers up--“two days.”
Theo scoffed before turning back to Father again. A new family… a thought entered his head, but he pushed it away again. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about his old family or how he was certain that they were still alive somehow, but he could think about that later.
Besides, why would anyone want a new family when they already considered one another as one?
The cheers died again when Father placed a hand in front of him, though there was still a smile on his face. “Now, now. I understand that you are all excited to know which one of you is the lucky child to be picked. We have our… thoughts on who they could be, but we’ll keep them a surprise for now.”
“Kon”--Rui cleared his throat before standing up --“Father, if I may.”
Father turned his head to their table. It was a split second, but Theo saw it. Father’s brows furrowed down, shooting them--or perhaps Rui--a glare. There was a gleam in his eyes, a gleam that Theo would have thought was just the trick of the light if it weren’t for the color.
Gold… Father’s eyes were gold…
Father smiled as he slightly tilted his head. “I understand if you have questions, Misaki, though I do feel like you should save them for our meeting after lunch.”
Rui frowned, but he took a deep breath and returned the smile. “Of course, I understand.”
With that, Father left the dining area. It was silent for a while, but the talks and chatters slowly returned. This time, they were a bit louder than before. As for Theo, he looked down on his food and pushed the plate away.
“I’m not hungry anymore.”
Korri leaned her face closer to him and poked his cheek. “Are you… doing okay? You feel a bit weird.”
Theo patted his sister’s head and nodded. “Don’t- don’t worry, I am. I think I just lost my appetite, that’s all.”
“Can’t blame you,” Rui replied with a scoff. “Old man really knows how to be creepy. I swear no adult in this house has a normal smile.”
Zamira laughed, though it sounded like it was a forced laugh. “That includes you too, ya know?”
Rui returned the laugh. “I guess it does.”
For Theo, the rest of lunch continued in peace. He talked to Korri every now and then and forced himself to continue eating, but he kept his mouth shut most of the time.
It was a relief when lunch ended. He passed his plate to Zamira, who started collecting the other plates on their table.
Rui stretched his arms and grinned. “I gotta go now. Who knows, the old man might have accidentally tripped and fallen to his death while we’re away.”
Zamira lightly smacked the fork on his arm and frowned. “Not funny.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waved his hand once again. “Don’t do anything stupid, ya hear?”
It almost made Theo laugh, and a smile managed to form on his face as he waved his hand back. “No promises.”
As Rui left the kitchens, Theo finally released the breath he had been holding for a while. He sat down on the chair once again and slumped his back against the table, only moving when Zamira lightly pushed him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Korri asked as she furrowed her brows, which was a poor attempt of her raising one of them. “You look like the times Kuya Rui told you not to climb the rooftop to read.” She giggled and sat down next to him. “Which is kinda all the time.”
Theo shot her a glare, though it only made her laugh even more. “I’m heading back to the library. You wanna come?”
Like before, his sister’s eyes sparked. She clasped her hands together and nodded. “Yes, yes, yes, yes! I wanna read the book there!”
Standing up, Theo bobbed his head to the doorway and smiled. “Come on, maybe you can even show me what that book is about and why the author apparently means something to Kuya Rui.”
He headed to the hallways first, with Korri trailing just behind him. “What do you mean?” she asked with the tilt of her head. “You think that Kuya Rui knows who Tatsuhiko Hanabusa is?”
Theo narrowed his eyes and hummed. That sounded possible, especially with the way Rui reacted when he heard the name. It was also the only logical sounding conclusion. But despite that, he had a feeling that wasn’t the case. Maybe the author meant something more for Rui, though Theo could ask later. Right now, there--
“...decision is final.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to his right. If he could recall, the room next to them was the parlor, where the caretakers and Father were. Though it was a bit strange. Usually, the voices were either too muffled or too soft for him, or maybe anyone, to hear their conversation. This was probably the first time he heard anyone talking.
He turned to his sister and whispered, “Did you hear that?”
Korri nodded. “Was that Father?”
“Probably.”
“Are you sure nothing’s going to change your mind for that?” another voice, probably Aunt Felicia’s, asked.
Theo furrowed his brows when the rest of what she said was muffled. He turned to his sister again and placed a finger over his lips, then pressed his ear against the door. Korri furrowed her brows, but she mimicked him and stood just below his head. For a moment, the voices still sounded a bit silent, but he could hear the next ones clearly.
“For once, I agree with Felicia here,” Rui said. By the sound of it, he just sat down in one of the couches. “What if you’re wrong? What if you found something else other than the entrance?”
Entrance? His brows furrowed even more. If it was possible, his ears probably dug in the doors.
There was silence for a while, until Father responded, “I’m very sure that it is. As far as I’m aware, no other place leads down there.”
“Father, if I may.” There was shuffling before Mei continued, “They’re just children. I would have understood if you brought the twins, but aren’t Yuan and Theo a bit too young?”
Theo felt his heart skip a bit, and his breath got caught up in his throat. He and Yuan… were they the ones that were going to be adopted? Or was this something different from what Father announced earlier?
No… his stomach twisted, and he almost wanted to lean down just to push the pain away. That couldn’t have been the same thing, could it? Father said that someone was going to be adopted, and it didn’t sound like either he or Yuan was going to be adopted. Whatever the case was, he wasn’t going to stop listening. He didn’t want any misunderstandings.
“I agree they’re a bit young.” Father sighed. “But either one of them is perfect for it. In fact, I’m confident that Theodore is more suitable than Yuan.”
“Konrard, he’s a stick.”
Theo resisted the urge to smack the door, though he did frown. Gee, thanks a lot, Kuya Rui.
“Judgmental, are we?” Father said with a chuckle. “Well then. I don’t think anything is going to change my mind for the matter. We’re either picking Theodore or Yuan. If Theodore is the victor, then I might also include his sister. Just so he could have a family member with him.”
There was an echo of replies in the room, then a few shuffling. Before any of them could reach the door, Theo grabbed his sister’s book and tossed it to the floor. If Korri wanted to say something, she didn’t get the chance to. The door to the parlor opened, and the first one to step outside was Rui.
His eyes widened, though he immediately shook his head as his brows furrowed. “Kids? What are you doing here?”
Theo held his breath and waved his hand. He just wished that Rui wouldn’t notice it shivering. “Hey, Kuya Rui. Is your, uh, m- meeting thingy done?”
Rui nodded. His eyes flicked to the parlor, where Mei stepped out. Her brows furrowed as she saw them. Just like Rui, she shook her head and placed her hands on her hips. “Kids? What are you doing here?
“We were on our way to the library,” Korri replied as she picked her book up from the floor. “Kuya Theo just dropped my book.”
Aunt Felicia left the parlor next, but Theo didn’t even get the chance to sigh in relief. Father stepped out of the parlor. For a brief seconds, his eyes--his golden eyes--locked with Theo’s. He hitched his breath once again, and he placed his hand on his sister’s back.
Father’s eyes… there was something in it that he couldn’t describe. But it reminded him of the Golden Eyed Ghost he saw nights ago.
Before another thought entered his head, Father smiled and nodded. “It’s good to see you once again, Theodore.”
Theo gulped and nodded back. “G- Good to see you, too, Father.”
Father walked away without another word. Once he was finally out of Theo’s sight, he released his breath and fell to his knees. His hand reached for his chest, begging his heartbeat to calm down. Fortunately, Rui placed a hand on his back and gave it a pat.
“How much did you hear?”
Theo turned to Rui. It was hard to see his face, especially since most of his hair blocked it, but he still shook his head. “N- Not much. Why?”
Rui opened his mouth, but the younger kids already started running in the hallways, screaming and cheering as their game of what Theo assumed was either sakbang or tag started. He sighed and grabbed Theo’s hands, helping him up to his feet.
“I don’t think I can explain now, but here’s what I can say. Once everyone’s asleep, change your clothes in something light and easy to wear. When you’re done, check your sister’s hair.”
Korri furrowed her brows, and her hands reached for her bun. “What’s in my hair?”
But Rui didn’t reply. Instead, he placed his fingers over his lips and winked. He didn’t even have the opportunity to say much, too. Shen and Gin grabbed his wrist and lead them down the stairs, probably to help them start their game.
As Theo looked down, he placed a hand over his lips and narrowed his eyes. His stomach twisted once again, and a thought he never expected to think about entered his head.
Just how much did he know about the orphanage?
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