“Uh - hiii.”

Tau scowled at us as if we had told him the worst joke in the entire world.

We had waited outside the school territory until he left the building and said goodbye to some other kids. As soon as he had recognized us, he stopped walking and tried the others not to notice us at the entry.

“Hi”, we greeted him in unison and grinned.

“Why are you here?” “To pick you up.” Tau put his hands in his pockets and glanced around us. Most of the children were already gone and only a few people were standing around.

When his eyes met with the school-guard standing a few meters away, the man nodded.

“Everything alright buddy?”

Tau sighed, nodded, and looked back at us.

“Just fine.”

“So, how was school?” “OK.” “Do you have homework?” “Mh” “Were the kids your friends?” “That’s none of your business, mister.” “ My name is-” “And I actually need to go now.” Tau interrupted me.

“You have therapy, right”, Kaami stepped in and made Tau look like a small fish that made an “o” with its mouth.

“Who-” “Cheryl told us. And she said it would be of help if we joined you.” “What? Like going to therapy with me?” Kaami nodded and tried to smile a little.

Tau shut his mouth and eyeballed Kaami and me from head to toe.

“No!”

“But-” 

“No! I don’t want another adult to mess with my past. No thanks.”

“We don’t want to intimidate you, Tau. We just want to help you.” While I talked, he started walking on the sidewalk without another word.

“Tau-” “Let him go, Nik! We just go with him, wait until therapy is over and take him back home. He will open to us.” Kaami reached out for my hand,  and we followed Tau to town.

“Hey Tau! Sup?”

“Sup.” Tau nodded at the man behind the front desk.

“The doc is waiting for you in two.” “ ‘kay.”

The therapy building was in the middle of the town, just another few minutes away from Tau’s school. While going there, nobody had spoken a word.

Kaami and I hadn’t been in town for some time, well I hadn’t been in town. The bakery Kaami worked in was some blocks away from the old building we had just entered.

“How can I help you, sirs?”

Tau passed the desk while the man - a very young-looking lemur - eyed us from where he was sitting. His dark orange eyes seemed very interested.

“Gay. Foster parents”, we could hear Tau shouting from where he went.

“Is that so”, the guy murmured and furrowed his brows while examining Kaami.

“Interesting.”

Eventually, he got up and walked around the counter.

He was small. Smaller than me. He hardly reached my collarbone with his furry ears.

“Miss Miller called us earlier to tell us you would bring him today, but she didn’t say anything about - uh - you” and he nodded at Kaami who just shrugged. “That was not our decision”, he replied quietly and looked down at the guy who was about two heads smaller than him.

“I figured. I am Ako, by the way”, he said and bowed.

“The doc wants to see you for a second.” “Tau doesn’t want us to join the session?”

When our eyes met, Ako shrugged and adjusted his already perfect-fitting jacket. “Tau won’t know you had a word with the doc. Follow me.” He waved at us and we followed him into a rather small corridor with five similar-looking doors.

He stopped right in front of the door with the number 1.

After he knocked three times we heard a short “Yes” and Ako opened the door.

“Doc! These are Tau’s new foster parents.” 

We entered a small office.

The first thing that caught my eyes was a sofa. It was standing in the middle of the room and seemed to glow in every single blue and green tone. Right in front of the sofa stood a rather small desk - dark chocolate brown - with no one sitting on its chair.

Bright sunlight glared through the window which was a few steps behind the chair. In midst of all the light, I could see a silhouette moving.

“Thanks, Ako.” The guy bowed again and left the room.

“Please, have a seat.” Warm and soft. The voice seemed nice, trustworthy. The only thing that confused me was how I couldn’t figure out if it was a woman’s or a man’s voice.

Kaami and I took a seat on the sofa. Warm, soft - hell! If I had to go to therapy I would pick the same one!

I took a look around me.

All of the walls were painted in warm caramel tones and made me feel I was sitting in a camp in the middle of a desert. Everything seemed warm and welcoming. On the right wall hung a few framed pictures. All in black and white. Photos of people in foreign culture clothes. Some of them were human and a few of them looked like-

“Welcome.”

The person turned from the window and came back to their desk.

White.

It was the first thing I could tell about them.

Everything was white. Not only the fur or the claws or the horns that grew out of the slender skull. But also the clothes.

I blinked.

Was this some illusion because of the bright sunlight that shone right into my eyes?

After taking a seat in front of us, bright, red eyes started examining us.

“Soooo”, the soft voice said and gave us a perfect view of sharp, white fangs.

I gulped.

“You - you are a… Where do you come from”, I stuttered.