Taren and I have become accustomed to playing with anything and everything. It's a kind of carefree attitude that only those with enough ability not to be worried about possible dangers can have. Nevertheless, no matter how strong we are, there are things we cannot fight.
« Where have you been again? » asked Father, obviously irritated by our repeated reckless actions. « Don't you know how much danger you are exposing yourself to by wandering the streets carelessly? »
« But father, even if we are in danger, we can always run away. »
« Because you think kidnappers would let you escape? Don't be naive, children, there are always unforeseen circumstances. » he said with a serious look. It seemed that we might have gone too far, we didn't want to worry him... « Otherwise, what are you holding in your right hand Nora? »
« Ha! That? I don't know, I took it from some bad guys, I think it's called "whiskey". » I replied, carefree.
« Excuse me? Whiskey? Is this a joke? Where did you get that? » He asked with a puzzled look.
I said, « Well, from the bad guys. » I replied again, still unaware of the consequences of my words. « They had knives and looked like thugs. But don't worry we got away after beating them up. »
« ... » There was a long silence as Taren slowly turned back to me with a dejected look on his face, as if he wanted to shout something at me but couldn't. But what disturbed me the most was the look on Father's face.
"Why is he looking at us like we've done something really stupid?" I thought.
______________________________________
20 minutes of sermons later, in the orphanage dormitory
A silence had settled over the dormitory in which Taren and I were dismissed. I don't understand what was wrong. I mean, okay it was a little dangerous, but it's not the first time it's happened to us, we're plenty strong enough to defend ourselves, so why get so worked up about it? There was no need to worry.
I turned to Taren, who was sitting against a wall, staring at me with a discomfited look. I could read in his eyes a certain contempt.
« Why are you looking at me like that? I remind you that you were with me when we went to play in the lawless district. » I threw at him, breaking the silence, to remind him that he had no right to judge me.
« Except that I had no intention of getting Father in a tizzy by telling him the truth. You should know that no matter how strong we are, he's always against that kind of risk-taking, silly. » He gave me an even more disdainful look, as if to put all the blame on my shoulders. I can't believe he would dare say that. A feeling of sadness mixed with my anger, he had never looked at me with such eyes before.
« Say that again?! » My tone immediately became much more fierce as I stood up approaching Taren still sitting against the wall. « I never wanted this! And yet you... you act as if I were a dirty scoundrel and you, the poor victim of my relentlessness! » I shouted at him while grabbing his rag that served as a tunic, before tackling him against the wall severely. « You don't have to teach me anything, you and your big head. »
Taren's face seemed to blacken with rage as he violently grabbed my arm that was gripping his tunic, in order to dissipate his anger, while he seemed to hold back from hitting me.
« Lessons? You never listen to them! » Taren being of a calm nature, it surprised me greatly to see him yell for the first time. « You are so oblivious that I have to restrain you all the time! » — my grip was beginning to lighten due to the strength with which Taren was gripping me — « Of course I approved of your ideas! Because otherwise you'd be getting into dangerous trouble all by yourself! Everything I do, I do for you, father and our house! Not to worry them more than you already do! And yet you spend your time making their fears worse! Like now! » — the tears were starting to well up as I listened to these words that have everything to put me in the wrong —
« You know what? I understand why your mother abandoned you! »
His words affected me greatly, I could not contain the emotions that were bubbling up inside me. And yet there was only one thing that I absolutely could not let go.
« My mother did not abandon me, and you know it! Don't ever talk about her like that again!!! » I cried out in defense of what I cared about. An avalanche of emotions inside me seemed to take control of my words and actions. I didn't seem to be myself anymore, so much so that I could have gone so far as to commit an act that I would later regret.
Suddenly, the door opened, letting in a little girl, 5 years old.
« Elsa? » I said, disconcerted by her sudden appearance at a time that did not put me at my best.
« I brought you some buns. » she said in a shy voice. « Father told me to bring you some, before he left. »
I couldn't help but break down in tears at such a merciful angel coming to the aid of poor lost sheep. Taren and I calmed down before grabbing a bun each. Nevertheless, if the situation seemed to have calmed down, Taren and I were only holding back in front of Elsa. In fact, the atmosphere was so heavy that I'm pretty sure even 5-year-old Elsa could feel it.
« But where did Father go? » asked Taren of Elsa, breaking the ice in a clever way.
« He said he had to go to the nice guards to "correct your mistakes". » That dagger drove me deeper into guilt. Still, it was probably a good thing. After all, these bandits looked like they were causing a lot of trouble for the people here, so I'm glad I stumbled upon them while following some shady guys.
« Anyway, thanks for the bun! » said I, smiling graciously. Elsa is not an orphan from birth, she was abandoned when she was only 3 years old and then adopted by father. I heard that her family wanted to sell her. Frankly I feel a little sad for her. I never knew my parents so I don't know what it's like to be betrayed by your family, but she certainly didn't deserve it.
As I continued to eat my bun, I noticed Elsa looking hesitant. She most certainly wanted to ask us something but her face clearly said she was afraid of the answer.
« Waf da mader, Efha? » I asked her in a curious yet incomprehensible voice, stammering as I ate the bun.
« It's just... » she barely managed to whisper. She really seemed to have trouble expressing what she wanted to say. Being the "direct" type, I don't really know how to deal with this kind of case...
« Don't you love this place? » she said as we each abruptly swallowed our last piece of bun, a little surprised by this question. « Every time you leave to go play outside. Is it because you don't like us and prefer to be away from here? »
« ... » There was a slight silence in the air while we digested the question and the bun.
She looked like she was about to cry... but I understand better now. I looked at Taren for a second, and even after our argument, we seemed to agree to postpone our conversation so as not to scare Elsa. Nevertheless, facing this scene, I begin to understand a little more Taren's words. By dint of thinking only about myself, I had left this house where we were born to go and play outside and worry everyone. When I say it like that, it sounds a bit ungrateful. And it's true that Taren always tried to restrain me in my crazy ideas, so the fault lies with me for never having understood, in addition to having dragged Taren into all this. I don't think I could have changed what I thought without seeing the consequences of my actions firsthand, so now I have to make amends.
« Do you really think we don't like you? » I then said in a monotone but inwardly saddened.
Taren then stepped forward to speak to Elsa. « Of course we love this place, and we're sorry we could make you think otherwise... so please stop crying. »
« If it makes you feel any better, we promise that we will never abandon you or make you worry about us again, whether it is you, father or this house. » I added proudly, determined to keep my promise. « So be brave and hold back your tears. After all, I wouldn't like to be deprived of dessert for daring to make an angel cry... »
Taren suddenly smacked me on the head, chastising me for that line too much by adding : « Oi! Can't you think of anything but yourself and your belly? »
« But- but I like desserts! There's nothing criminal in that! » I replied, confused as to why he thought he had the right to hit me. Who does he think he is with his onion head!
« That's not the point! » he yelled at me, throwing a punch in the same place as the first one, while I couldn't help but yell: « Ouch! » But what is this way of treating a lady? On top of that, we had just finished a great speech from a real pro and he starts hitting me for no reason! He's getting a little too loose on me I think, since he yelled at me earlier!
Suddenly, a slight chuckle was heard in between insults, which made us stop our bickering before we turned to the only person still in the room — Elsa —
« Haha- hahaha~ » Taren and I stood in awe of this divine sight. We could never have imagined seeing an angel laughing in our lifetime.
« That's what I'm talkin' about... » I said, happy that I was able to bring a smile to Elsa's face. Maybe this way we could begin to redeem ourselves... even if it was by making fools of ourselves. « That's how it should be, you're much cuter when you laugh hehe. » I exclaimed, full of confidence, towards Elsa who seemed to be in full admiration. I guess we managed to regain some of her trust...
« Well, it's not all that, but we're being punished here, so go back to having fun with the others instead of making fun of us. » said Taren in a benevolent tone.
« Alright! » said Elsa after wiping her eyes, and then headed for the exit, closing the door gently with her little hands. "And to think some people think cats are cute..." I thought.
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