Chapter 68 - Adoption [2]

Annie Sullivan has been alone since birth. Even though everyone says children receive unconditional love from their parents, Annie strongly disagreed with that. For her, love wasn't distributed equally, nor was it received equally. Naturally, you would love one more than the other, or be loved more than the other.

But Annie never knew what it was like to be loved. She was born into a lower-class family struggling to survive, but if it were just that, Annie wouldn't care. However, her parents thought differently. Her father was an alcoholic who beat her whenever he had the chance, while her mother treated her as if she were invisible, distracted by her clandestine meetings with a lover.

And it was on one of these outings by her mother that Annie was born, Ema Sullivan. Although they were half-sisters, Annie couldn't care less about that. She finally had someone who needed her, someone she truly wanted to take care of, and who, from birth, made her days brighter. That's why Annie ran away with her sister when she was 10 years old and her sister was only 7.

Her parents didn't even bother to look for her. For them, getting rid of the burden of feeding two extra mouths was all that mattered. Although Annie went through tough times, she still managed to get into that orphanage with her sister. Coincidentally, it was there that she met the owner of the place, who was having breakfast at the same diner as her.

Annie would do anything for her sister. To her, her sister was the most precious person in the world, the one she loved the most and wanted to see happy. That's why, upon hearing that someone would visit the orphanage with the intention of adoption, Annie desperately gathered as much information as possible. Although they were fragmented pieces, Annie managed to get some important information.

The person in question seemed to be wealthy and elegant, besides conveying a good nature. However, the biggest surprise for Annie was to see a girl about her age accompanying this man. From what she could observe, the girl seemed to be a typical young lady from a wealthy family.

Annie felt an inner urgency to make a good impression on that man, no matter what it took. She knew that if she succeeded, she and her sister would have a chance at a decent life. And even if she couldn't be adopted, she at least wanted to ensure that the man considered adopting her little sister.

***

"Apparently, everything is in order" commented the woman, quickly flipping through the documents Prime had provided.

Although Prime had already expected that the adoption process would not be simple, he was not prepared for all the detailed questions the woman asked. Questions like whether he had children, a girlfriend, or other relatives who could take care of the children in case of need were surprising.

Although Prime wasn't proud of it, he only managed to get through the questions thanks to a little cheat sheet he had prepared. As he talked with the woman, a red symbiote bird kept an eye on the computer screen, providing instructions on how to pass the adoption interview.

"Now, all that's left is for you to choose which of the children you want to adopt. After that, just wait a little longer while we prepare the paperwork, and then you can take the child to their new home" said the woman, keeping her gaze focused on Prime, explaining professionally.

"That sounds great to me. Let's do it" replied Prime with a friendly smile.

"Great, follow me. I'll take you to the children" said the woman as she stood up.

Just like the woman, Prime stood up and prepared to follow her, but his gaze quickly stopped at Sara, who continued to eat the cookies as if it were her last chance.

"Sara, let's go. I'll buy you more cookies when we leave" said Prime, throwing a playful look at Sara.

Although Sara initially seemed thoughtful about Prime's proposal, she quickly nodded and got up, starting to follow Prime. In the corridors, Prime looked around carefully. The place still seemed quite cozy, and Prime hardly noticed anything dirty or unkempt.

"Sorry if this seems very rude of me, but is there any 15-year-old or so child here?" Prime asked as he reached the woman's side.

Hearing Prime's words, the woman seemed thoughtful for a few seconds, but her eyes quickly opened wide, as if she had remembered something important.

"If you're looking for someone in that age range, we have a 17-year-old, but she's a bit..."

Prime noticed that the woman seemed unable to find words to describe the girl, which made him even more curious. However, it wasn't like Prime wasn't used to somewhat peculiar people around him.

"What's up?" Sara asked, noticing Prime's gaze on her.

"Oh, nothing much... Just thinking that maybe you'll make a new friend" Prime said, shrugging, with a confident smile on his face.

After saying that, Prime looked ahead again, ignoring Sara's gaze on him. Initially, he hadn't noticed when he was outside, but the orphanage was much larger than it seemed. Additionally, there was also a park in the center of the place, serving as a recreation area for the children.

Continuing down the hallway, Prime and Sara descended a flight of stairs, arriving at an area that resembled a foyer. From what Prime could observe during the journey, they circled the entire orphanage and ended up at the back. Prime supposed that this indicated that while the staff occupied the front, the children stayed in the back.

While the woman conversed with another who seemed to be one of the caregivers, Prime observed the surroundings. Unlike the other part of the orphanage, here there were a series of frames with children's drawings, conveying a cheerful and lively atmosphere.

"Now that the children will be arriving in a few minutes, would you like to ask more questions? I know practically all of them like the back of my hand, so if you're looking for something specific in a child, I can help" the woman said professionally.

"That won't be necessary. As long as the child is the age I mentioned earlier, I'll probably adopt them" Prime replied.

After this interval, Prime and Sara waited for about two minutes until loud noises began to be heard. Then, the space quickly filled with several children, their eyes shining with anticipation. It was evident that they all desired to be chosen.

"These are the children under my care. I can assure you that they are all well-behaved for their age and quite energetic" the woman said, her voice betraying a certain pride.

Prime couldn't disagree with the woman's words; all the children seemed extremely well cared for. Despite showing excitement, they maintained remarkable organization. In Prime's thoughts, he imagined that the children would run all over the place, making a mess, but there, reality was different.

"Would it be possible for us to spend some time alone with the children? I believe Sara and I could get to know them better if we had a moment exclusively with them" Prime asked, recalling the children's recreational area.

"Of course, no problem. Please, feel free" the woman said, turning to the children with a smile on her face. "Children, it's time to play. You can go to the park"

As soon as these words came out of the woman's mouth, the children began to run wildly toward the door that led outside. In the middle of the orphanage, this scene much more resembled the image of an orphanage that Prime had in mind.

"Sorry, they get a little excited when it comes to playing in the park" the woman explained with a smile as she watched the children getting excited.

Although the woman was apologizing, Prime could tell that she wasn't truly sorry, and in fact, the scene seemed to have left her quite pleased, which made Prime smile too.

"No problem, I particularly appreciate the children's enthusiasm"

With these words said, the woman bid farewell to Prime and Sara and returned to her office. With her departure, Prime and Sara turned in a specific direction: upstairs. With a discreet glance, they noticed two girls crouched down, watching the movement downstairs attentively.

"Why don't you come down? It must be tiring to stay up here for so long, isn't it?"

Both girls exchanged glances for a few seconds before starting to descend. Prime watched them closely: long black hair, eyes as dark as night. Furthermore, one was older than the other. Prime was genuinely interested in the older one, but the next words she said surprised him.

"Uncle, could you adopt me and my sister? If you promise to treat her well in the future, I can do anything you want. I know how to clean and cook, so I believe I can be a good maid" the girl said without even a centimeter of change in her stoic expression.