Already having memorized the alphabet made putting the files in alphabetical order easy even if it did take me a while. When I was finished, I worked with Siele to enter the information into the system the agency used to keep track of all cases.

I hadn’t realized how much time had passed until we had almost finished. We’d spent a good few hours completing everything. My shoulders were a bit stiff. I wasn’t used to sitting hunched over for so long and my eyes were tired from reading the files.

Siele frowned and pursed her lips as she tapped a long fingernail against the last file I had passed to her.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, rolling my shoulders to relieve some tension.

“This is the third case against this woman. Granted, this recent report is a false alarm, but the others before weren’t. If she gets another case, she risks losing her three children. Even temporarily.”

“Is… Is she abusing them?” I asked softly.

“Hmm… It’s more of neglect. Her husband and father of her children died almost a year ago right after they moved to the city, so she’s become a single mother. She’s had a hard time adjusting to the life of a single mother, her relatives all live in other cities, and she has yet to make any friends here. The previous reports are from a concerned neighbour and a teacher who both witnessed mild to moderate neglect of the children.”

“Isn’t neglect when you abandon a child or ignore them? Shouldn’t she already have lost custody of her children if that was the case?”

“Neglect can come in many forms. Abandonment, educational neglect, lack of supervision, appropriate clothing, hygiene, and even emotional neglect are ranked by severity. The woman’s only daughter was seen in school by a teacher in this last report. The child’s hair was matted in the middle and hadn’t been washed in weeks. The child claimed to have tried washing her hair on her own, but she’s only six so she hadn’t done a very good job.”

My nails dug into my palms as I clenched my hands into fists. I could only imagine how hard being a single mother was, especially when it’s something that she had to get used to in the past year after losing her husband. Did she have time to grieve the loss of her husband, or were her neglected children signs that her husband’s death was affecting her on the inside?

“So, what’s going to happen to her and the children?” I asked nervously.

Siele turned to me with a sad smile and gently rubbed my shoulder. “We’re going to help her. She needs help – time to heal from her loss and time to adjust to her new situation. She can’t do it alone though. I’m going to leave a note on this file.” Siele moved her hands to the keyboard and after a few seconds, she began to type. “If another report comes in, regardless of the severity or whether or not it’s a false alarm, the mother needs to change their living situation.”

“But she’s all alone,” I reminded her.

“We have programs that help with pretty much everything. She needs to hire a live-in nanny, maybe a babysitter, have a friend or relative move in or maybe relocate closer to her family. It’s already here that she has sought psychiatric help after the death of her husband but I can only imagine how hard it must be to focus on herself and heal when she has three little ones depending on her.”

“Why wait though? What if the next time a report is made, it’s something worse than unwashed hair? What if she actually leaves them or starts completely ignoring them?”

“Then we will take appropriate action. The first time, she seemed very absentminded and confused that her son had worn sandals to school in the snow without her realizing it. She gave a similar reaction when her daughter’s hair was brought up. If we had noticed anything off about the way she was treating her children, then we would have taken immediate action. We won’t take her children away just like that. We’re giving her time to get on her feet.”

“But-”

“Zedikai,” Siele interrupted, taking both my hands in hers as she looked at me concerningly. “The children are properly fed, the house is stocked with nutritious meals, the mother cooks, and their teachers have reported balanced lunchbox meals. The home is safe and clean. Their clothes and shoes fit them well and they were happy, even when they were being interviewed one-on-one. They are all doing well in school with good grades and have made many friends. There are no reports or evidence of bruises or unexplained injuries. Interviews with friends and family found nothing wrong and the mother has a clean record.”

“The agents who had this case… they checked all of that?”

“Of course. Every case that comes in has to be thoroughly investigated before we can close it. What the children say, how they are dressed, the expressions of the parents and guardians, and the state of their living environment are noted. We even ask how the children are punished when they do something wrong or if the parents are affectionate with them. We look at everything.”

I didn’t know there was so much involved in a single report. As agents, that must be what Sang and Aubyn did every day. I hadn’t thought about the details of what they did for a living. They must be the ones who conduct the interviews with children in potentially unsafe environments and with their teachers and parents. There must be reports involving parents in similarly difficult situations.

“Are you alright? Do you need to take a break? Some of the circumstances depicted in cases can be very upsetting and sometimes triggering for agents. Even some who have worked in this field for a long time. How about you take a break and go get a bite to eat from the snack bar? Or you can have lunch now. You’ve been working for nearly four hours.”

I nodded and stood stretching my arms above my head. I couldn’t remember the last time I sat in one place for hours without a break. “Where’s the snack bar?”

“It’s at the opposite end of this floor though every floor has one. The main cafeteria is on the fourth floor. You’ll find it down the corridor on the right if you follow the signs that say ‘paval’ once you exit the elevator.”

“Thank you.”

“Before you go, did you read about how in-house lunch works?”

“Yes, I did.” I’d pretty much skimmed over it, but I had time to go over it again.

From what I understood, a menu was sent out weekly by email that showed which dishes were going to be made on which day for the following week. All employees needed to check the days for which they would like to have lunch and sign up in advance. It was so the cooks had an idea of how many people to prepare food for and it prevented food waste.

Aside from the in-house cafeteria, there were snack bars on almost every floor where I could buy drinks, sweets, and snacks. If I didn’t want to be snacking all the time, I needed to pay attention to the cafeteria menus or learn how to cook and bring my own meals.

“There are other options around if you’re willing to venture outside. Cafes, convenience stores and small restaurants are all within walking distance of here. I recommend Balela, a restaurant just down the street. They have the best soups and stews that are great in Karys’ chilly weather.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. How long of a lunch break do I have?” I asked.

Siele looked at me strangely. “I’m not going to give you a time limit to eat. What kind of boss do you think I am?”

It was calming that she spoke to me casually. “I’ll be back.”

I got my water bottle out of my bag and left Siele’s office to go find the cafeteria. I wanted to see Aubyn, Sang, or Don. Mostly Aubyn. I wanted to see a familiar face since I’d been in Siele’s office all morning. I stepped onto the empty elevator and adjusted my uniform when I saw myself in the doors’ reflection.

I wasn’t particularly hungry, but since I wouldn’t be able to get a meal from the cafeteria for a few more days, I figured I’d familiarize myself with what the snack bar had to offer. If I ran into a friendly face on the way, that would be a plus. I wasn’t sure where Aubyn’s desk was, so I was hoping I’d look lost and pathetic enough for someone to help me out or I’d luckily stumble across his desk.

“Et’ta, kaohano…”

A man I’d never seen before who was dressed in a similar uniform to my own stopped in front of the elevator when the door opened and looked at me curiously. I had no idea what he’d said, but since I was the only one on the elevator, he had to have been speaking to me. However, I could only stare. I hadn’t even gotten off the elevator yet and I’d run into a stranger already.

“Ii suisela ni buo…”

“Uhm… I’m sorry. I’m not very good at Alunai yet,” I said guiltily, stepping out of the elevator before the doors could close. I crossed my fingers, hoping he would understand what I was saying and he wasn’t a Chinese speaker roaming around the English speakers’ department.

“Oh, it is okay. I speak some English too,” he said giving me a wide smile that made his pudgy cheeks seem even pudgier. “Ah! You are the one who was dancing at the party.”

“Excuse me?”

“No? You look like the pretty boy who was dancing with Ionadi-sumeo at the party.”

Pretty? I clutched my water bottle tightly. I hadn’t managed to forget the alcohol-infused, unconventional first impression I’d made on my coworkers. “Yes. That was me,” I admitted. “I’m Z-… Haida Zedikai.” I introduced myself with a brief bow of my head. It would be too much to hope everyone else had gotten too drunk to recognise me.

“Matis Rigal,” he replied with a bow of his own. “You started working here when?”

“Today,” I answered. Maybe it was just his round face and friendly smile, but he looked young. Considering Sang was over two hundred years old and looked to be in his early thirties at most, this man could be just as old if not older.

“This floor?”

“No. I’m Siele-sumeo’s assistant.”

“I am assistant to the investigators. Oh, I am sorry if I stopped you from working.”

“No, no, I was looking for Aubyn.”

“Aubyn?”

“Really tall, long black hair, blue eyes… is from the Daun’ton Empire?”

“That sounds like Ges’sel Au Yin-soh.”

“Right,” I said, feeling a bit silly. I was so used to calling him that, that it slipped my mind that ‘Aubyn’ wasn’t his real name. “That’s who I’m looking for.”

“Come. I take you.”

I followed him through the maze of mostly empty cubicles. What was once silence grew to the hum of chatter as we neared the occupied desks. People were chatting away with snacks in their hands and nodded to us as we passed. Others were typing away at their computers. I stayed close to Matis when we came upon a busier area with people walking around.

“He is right over here,” Matis said, gesturing with a nod to where a small group of agents were gathered.

Aubyn was standing and talking to Sang, Don, and a woman I didn’t know. I paused to watch him for a few seconds, unable to help smiling when he started to laugh at something that had been said.

“Thank you, Matis-soh,” I said gratefully. When he nodded and left, I made my way over to the group slowly, not really wanting to interrupt with an unfamiliar face present. As I neared, it seemed as if Aubyn could sense my presence with the way he stopped laughing to look around until his eyes landed on mine the second I got within fifteen feet of him.

Aubyn left the group to meet me, opening his arms as he got closer. I moved faster and dove into his embrace, squeezing him tightly.

“Did you miss me?” he asked.

“Yes, I did. Did you miss me?”

“Of course I did. Are you done with work?”

“Not yet. I’m on a break so I thought I’d come to see you.”

“Yin-ah, soi aes ho?” came the female voice from the group behind him.

“Amei,” he answered with a brief glance over his shoulder at her. “I know you are not so great with new people, but do you want to meet my friend Af’fy?”

“Sure. She calls you ‘Yin-ah’?”

“Unfortunately,” he muttered.

Aubyn took my hand and led me over to the group. Don held his hand out for a low five – which I hit – and Sang acknowledged me with a nod. Af’fy was a couple of inches shorter than me with dark brown downturned eyes and a mole on her chin.

“Zedikai, meet Af’fy.”

“Ah, so we finally meet,” Af’fy said in perfect North American English. She looked at me from head to toe and back. “He’s the pet, right?”