Chapter 3
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.
Chapter 2– Alone Again.
Edited: 02/03/2023
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"Something serious, huh? Just what exactly is this about?" I ask, concerned, never having heard this tone of voice from Mummy Mee in my entire life, having only heard kindness and sometimes her stern voice, but right now, she is all business. There is no emotion to be seen on her face, Daddy Dee is trying to emulate her but can't quite manage it as he looks a little sad but resigned next to her, and they both look at one another as if to confirm something before they turn their gazes back to me.
"I am sorry, Detoro, but you can no longer live in the orphanage. There are too many issues caused by your continued presence here, the other children are afraid of you, and they are scared to leave their rooms in fear of running into you, so for the sake of all the other children within this building, we have to remove you from it." I remain absolutely motionless, shocked and in disbelief at the words that leave her mouth, and I don't know how to react in this situation. this is just so unbelievably unfair.
First of all, those other kids started picking on me and beating me up, and when the situation changed, I was beating them up in return, but I only ever fought with people who started the fight with me. Otherwise, I would just ignore them. of course, I became a bit antagonistic to goad them into fights as I got a little battle manic, but they could have easily restrained themselves and not acted as they already knew they would be beaten up. Still, they decided to do so and then started coming at me with even more significant numbers, so they can only blame themselves.
"B-But I- Where, where am I going to go? You can't just kick me out. how will I feed and clothe myself?" I nearly voice my frustration at the situation and the unfairness of it all. Still, I am mature enough to know that they already know the ins and outs of the case and what is actually going on, but even so, they have to think about the majority and me being the problem in an issue that can't be solved.
The easiest solution is to just remove the problematic piece from the equation to get things working again. I understand that, and so I don't complain, knowing it would be a waste of breath. I will be leaving this place for sure, but all I need to do now is find out precisely what happens after that and how I am expected to survive.
"We are an orphanage that is funded by the World Government Detoro. for every child that resides here, we are given a certain amount of berries to provide that child with everything they need, such as food, water, clothes and any other sort of expenses that they need to survive and live healthy lives. So while you may be leaving the building, we will still regard you as one of the children that live at the orphanage." I nod my head, not voicing my dissatisfaction with the situation.
"When the World Government delivers the funds every month, we will take the amount of one child and give it to you as a stipend, this should be enough to buy yourself anything you may need, but unfortunately, we can't have you living at anybody else's house in the village as that would make your orphan status null which would stop your stipend and everybody in the village only has enough for themselves until the harvest comes. So they won't be able to accept another person in their home." Mummy Mee says with a stoic expression.
Daddy Dee then cuts in. "Of course, we would not leave you without a place to sleep or a roof over your head. Myself and Daddy Dee are both technically employed by the World Government, so we are paid a good amount for our work, and with a portion of our money, we have managed to procure a small home for you, which is next to the beach. So with that, you should have everything you need." Daddy Dee finishes, and I once again find myself speechless, but this time it is due to the kindness shown by both Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee.
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Shokuyasi Village is a coastal village that resides by the sea and is quite a while away from the other towns that are in close contact with each other, and that is because between Shokuyasi Village. The other village is a massive rice field which is the main harvest on the island. This means we are pretty cut off from the other towns due to the significant difference, but that also means that everyone in the village is pretty familiar with each other. Not a lot of people are moving into the town, and so there are exactly the amount of houses in the town for the population of the village.
However, right here on the beach is my new house which is basically just a small wooden shack (small for an adult, big enough for a child). There are actually no other houses on the beach near it for some reason, even though it seems like quite a good location, but I don't question my good luck as this will make for quite the private home where I can be myself and have fun.
"Okay, Detoro, this is now your new home. From here on, you are responsible for your own home and well-being, use your stipend wisely, and if you want any more furniture or luxuries or you have to make repairs to your home, you will have to take care of those yourself. So look after yourself, Detoro. if you ever need any help, just ask but keep in mind that we are not miracle makers, and we have a full orphanage of children to look after." Mummy Mee says with a professional tone and face with Daddy Dee by her side, who nods along with her words.
They both go to leave, but suddenly Mummy Mee stops taking me by surprise as she suddenly turns around and lunges to pull me into a quick, powerful hug. All I can do is stare at Daddy Dee, who just shrugs helplessly at me, and then she lets go and turns around before walking off back to the orphanage with Daddy Dee following her coattails.
I watch them go into the distance, and I keep observing as they move farther and farther away and slowly fade out of sight, and then they are gone. So I watch for a little longer just to make sure and affirm that they will not be coming back for me, I wait a good ten minutes, and they are not back, which means I am now officially on my own.
I pull out the key given to me by Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee and unlock the front door of my house and enter to lay sight on the inside, which is surprisingly sparse, having only a bed in the left corner with a bedside drawer, a small wardrobe near the end of the bed, a kitchen in the front right corner with a wooden stool placed in front of the counter which finishes of the meagre inside of my tiny house.
However, I suppose it is enough for a kid that lives on his own. With the door now unlocked, I go back outside to collect my luggage which Daddy Dee carried here for me. It is just a minor case which holds my clothes and a few of the items I was able to scramble together in my time at the orphanage.
Dragging the bag inside, I kick the door closed behind me with my foot and then lug the bag on top of the bed before unzipping it and beginning to place the contents in their new locations in the house. as I am doing so, I decided to look at the silver lining which is this nifty little house that is secluded and seems to be very well made. This house is actually a steal. It's a wonder why no one ever bought it before Mummy Mee did for me. I really lucked out, didn't I?
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Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water was leaking through the roof, and I had to place some of my cups, plates and bowls in strategic places to capture the water drops, which also meant that I had to move my bed into the very centre of the room where no water dropped. Also, it was freezing, and I only had one duvet for myself, which wasn't enough to keep me warm.
I am sure that when Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee looked at this property, they didn't see any problems with it, and that would be very true as it hadn't rained for nearly a week, which meant the signs of slight water damage were not that obvious. However, since we had hot sun all week, it was hot as well, so I can't blame them for accidentally buying a less-than-ideal house for me. I can't even complain since they had no obligation to do it and did so out of the kindness of their own hearts, which means that I am going to have to stick with this place.
Not being able to sleep, I get out of bed and light the lanterns in the room. As I pass by the front door while doing so, I reach out a hand and pull the handle just to check that it is locked. When it is, I give a sigh of relief, being scared that I had forgotten to lock it on the first night alone in a new place and afraid that someone might come in during the night, having lit up the room and having nothing better to do I begin to properly inspect my new home and discover all the other defects that have been hidden.
After a long inspection, I had found a lot of things about the room, all of which assured me that the former owner of this house was a dick. They must have gotten fortunate to have been blessed with good weather, and then when they heard that someone was looking for a home, they quickly went and hid all of the bad things in the house in a desperate bid to see it, and unluckily the orphanage owners fell for the ploy.
I had discovered that the entire floor had been painted to cover up the water damage, they had hung a mesh kind of material across the top of the room to hide the roof, under my mattress, most of the wooden supports were broken as well as the springs in the matters also being broken, and the worst thing I had discovered was that when I moved the wardrobe out of the way there was a big child-sized hole in the wall and that's why the room is so cold. The bastard former owner just covered it up with the wardrobe.
Even so, I can't call them out on it because if I do, then that means he will be exposed in front of the village, and while that is good. But ultimately, it won't mean that my housing situation will be resolved as the contracts are already signed, and the house has been sold. But, still, most importantly, if I do expose him, then Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee are going to find out, and they will be mortified they gave me such a decrepit and shoddy home, and I don't want them to experience the guilt they will feel as they are good decent people.
Resolving myself, I decide that I will deal with all of this stuff tomorrow and get set out on making a plan to fix this place and turn this house into a home, feeling that I should at least get some sleep in preparation for tomorrow I go and blow out all of the candles and walk back to the bed and- OH CRAP!! Who the hell left that pot on the floor, and why is my arm now so cold now, looking up I am face to face with a wooden wall, and when I look down, I can see my arm going through it, and it is getting incredibly wet and cold, so I pull it back in, but now I am left with the new problem.
Deciding to take a leaf out of the former owner's handbook, I walk over and drag the bedside table over in front of the new hole and then climb back into bed. I huddle up inside my duvet and curl in on myself, hoping that tomorrow will be a better day than today.