I toured the orphanage with Nadir as he meticulously checked for inadequacies and carefully went over management practices.
All the children from my time here had either been adopted or grown older and left. The absence of those familiar faces made me feel a pang of sadness, but that feeling dissipated quickly.
“I wanna play horsey!”
“No, let’s play house!”
“Racing’s more fun!”
“Play chess with me!”
“Why are your eyes all red and swollen? You look so bad!”
“Who said that?!” I demanded angrily, causing the children to squeal and scatter.
Kids truly were something. They pulled and jostled me from every direction. It was utterly exhausting. Mama had to deal with this every day? She was getting on in years—where did she find the energy?
“Thank you so much for playing with them,” she said.
“Mama...” I mumbled, completely worn out.
Nadir was off practicing a few swings with the boys.
“Ah,” Mama said, not looking up from her knitting, “I can’t believe how ladylike you’ve become. You were such a tomboy, Anna.”
I couldn’t help but laugh wryly at the memory of my past self. “I know what you mean...”
As a child, I’d been very boyish. I’d loved to climb trees and catch bugs, and I’d preferred running around to playing with dolls in my room. I’d been a fine, healthy child, with a nice tan. When the baron’s family adopted me, everyone was worried that I’d be sent back quickly for being too rambunctious.
A child suddenly ran at me from behind, interrupting my nostalgia session. “Hey! Play with me!”
“Ehhh...” I’d been playing nonstop since getting here, so I pushed the child away. “Nope! Break time!”
Ah, my old home. How familiar to me it was.
I ran the hell out of there.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Children have no restraint whatsoever...”
Playing with the children had made me acutely aware of how little stamina I actually had. They were relentless!
With a sigh, I sat down in the courtyard I used to love as a child.
Thinking back, this was also where I’d first experienced love.
“Here you are,” came a voice from above. I turned my gaze up, and there stood Nadir.
He took a seat next to me, and I asked, “Are you done playing with the kids?”
“I’m tired,” he explained. “I’m taking a break.”
Yep. Exhausting, right? I was relieved to know it wasn’t just me.
I watched as the grass swayed in the wind, thinking back on how often I used to play tag here.
“Do you remember your time here?” Nadir asked suddenly.
The question took me by surprise, and my head snapped toward him. “You knew?”
“Yes.”
Wow. Just how thorough had he been? It was a bit unsettling to know just how much he knew about me, but it wasn’t as though I could do anything about it.
“Well, I suppose I do remember some of it,” I mused. I couldn’t remember all the children I’d played with back then; only the ones that had left an impression on me. “Oh, but I remember the boy I had my first crush on!”
“Your first crush?” he echoed, giving me an intrigued look. “I didn’t take you for the sort who’d be prone to such delicate matters of the heart.”
“I’m seriously going to slap you if you don’t stop your nonsense,” I snapped, swiftly raising my hand. Nadir shook his head as if to indicate he’d been joking. I lowered my hand again.
“So, what was this first crush of yours like?” he asked.
Well, I’ll be. I hadn’t expected him to be so interested. What was my crush like...?
I was lost in thought for a bit as I thought back on my childhood. A girl’s first love is very special to her, after all.
“So you want to know, do you?” I said with a chuckle.
“That laugh was creepy,” he replied.
“I’m a maiden, you know. You should be more polite to me.” Not that his rudeness was anything new.
I decided to ignore it, and began to draw upon my memories.
“It was a bright and sunny day...”