24. The life of a director

The wind blew through me, stinging my eyes, as I sludged along the narrow streets of the lower south-west quarters of Evergreen, or as it was commonly called, Woodrick Mews. Despite being known for its narrow streets and high traffic, the surrounding houses and shops were not enough to shield me from the cold wind that felt like it reached my very bones. Between two difficult steps, I looked down at the list in my hand and let out an exhausted sigh.

Perhaps I should have listened to Felicia and become a Kinsmann after all.  Work at the orphanage was never-ending and left me spent on the best of days. Add to that errands, even with the help of the children and the occasional volunteer, it was almost too much… 

But those short times out and about also allowed me a moment of silence and respite from the cacophony of the orphanage. 

The hanging sign I’d been looking out for in the blizzard finally came into view.

“Last stop…” I mumbled to myself.

I gripped the door handle and pushed inward with my shoulder, doing my best not to drag in any snow.

Almost as soon as the bell hung on the doorframe rang, a booming voice welcomed me in.

“Welcome! Welcome! Jacob Calvian at your service…” The man behind the counter exclaimed enthusiastically.

“Oh my, is that you, Director Blaine?” The man followed up, adjusting the glasses floating on his nose and perking up his greased moustache.

I smiled warily. The man, like all merchants, had an awkward penchant for the pointless grandiose.

“The one and only. But please, Mr Calvian, call me Delian.”

“Of course, Delian. How can I help you today?” The man continued without missing a beat.

“Ah, yes, let me just...” I said as I dug through my coat's pocket.

I took out the list and began going through the content with the man.

Running a local orphanage was one thing, but running an orphanage in such a diverse place as Evergreen was another. People from all over the kingdom and beyond ended up in Evergreen, and so did their children… And when something happened to the parents, there wasn’t always anyone to take care of the kids… That’s when they would wind up in one of the many orphanages across the city run by the Septenary church.  That alone didn’t sound that different from any other city to most people, but that was certainly because they didn’t understand that the needs of these children varied widely depending on their bloodlines and religion. 

A typical family would never understand how complicated it was to meet the dietary restrictions of a Meiriemkin and a Seeirkin and a Solomonkin in the same kitchen… Or keeping a Feykin warm enough while not boiling a Gillskin alive… Don’t even get me started on the hygiene of a Diidkin or Urlotkin… Never had to take care of the latter, but the idea of having to deal with the requirement of a child whose bloodline comes from the god of diseases sounds like anyone’s worst nightmare…

Regardless, they were all children, and they all deserve their needs to be met, no matter how difficult it was for us to provide for them. And for that task, I had Mr Calvian to thank for. He was a merchant who specialised in the import of foreign goods at a reasonable price, which was a godsend when it came to providing for kids with foreign roots. 

He also often stumbled on interesting books or toys the children enjoyed, which was a bonus. A director from another orphanage had recommended it to me, and I never looked back. Making my way from the orphanage did take a long time, especially in winter, but it was always worth it. 

We went through my list. He provided the item I could carry back myself on the spot, and we made arrangements for a delivery of the rest in the upcoming days.

As we finished up our business, I remembered the other reason I had come all the way here.

“Ah! Before I leave.” 

I turned around with the bag slung on my back. I dug my hand through its content and finally found what I was looking for.

“Here, the children… Uh…. Silika was very pleased to receive your baptism gift.” I said as I handed him a handwritten card.

It was something I had come up with a couple of years back. The orphanage didn’t rely on donations to operate as we were sponsored by the church, but any toys, clothing and food donated to us freed up some precious budget for teaching materials and other necessities. Receiving letters and visiting the children always made people more generous, so it was worth getting the children to do this kind of things after the holiday.

Silika hadn’t written this one obviously, she could barely hold a charcoal, let alone write on paper with ink, the older kids took care of writing the thank you notes, while the younger ones only signed. But what the merchant didn’t know wouldn't hurt him.

“Oh my! How precious! Silika… Was that the little girl? Pink hair?”

“Yes, precisely.”

“My! My… Wasn’t she… Uhm… What was it again… A cripple of sorts, right?”

I did my best to continue smiling at his comment.

It wasn’t an unusual thing for people to say. Being an orphan was frowned upon at the best of times, but having a condition like Silika. Well… It was difficult.

“Just deaf, actually.”

“Oh, is that right? Oh right, right, right…” He seemed to be pensive as he said those words. 

He remained frozen for a moment before snapping his fingers as if remembering something.

“RIGHT! Deaf! Of course! Yes, of course! How silly of me! I had put something aside for you. Give me a moment… I’ll be right back!” He declated as he turned his back to me.

He went toward the back of the storage and began looking through the packed shelves. I looked on curiously. What could he possibly be looking for?

After a short moment, he came back toward the counter, a small book in hand. He slipped it into a small canvas pouch and handed it to me.

“Consider this a… Late baptism present for the girl!”

“I don’t know if I can accept this, Mr Calvian, we already owe so much to you. Silika is plenty happy with the bag you gifted her.” I said while pondering how I would justify to the other children giving Silika a third baptism gift when everyone else only received one or two.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! I don’t have anyone else to give this to. Consider it… Uh… Some learning material!” 

A bit confused, I accepted the pouch and slid it inside my bag.

“Well, if you insist, Mr Calvian... I’ll make sure Silika knows it comes from you. Thank you.”

I said as I slung the bag on my back, as he laughed while waving dismissively.

“You really don’t have to. It was just gathering dust anyway.”

I nodded as I made my way out of the shop and began my long trek back towards the orphanage. The wind had died down compared to earlier, making my journey that much easier. Not to be confused with ‘easy’, considering the snow still reached almost up to my knees in some places. By the time I reached the orphanage, the sun had already begun its descent and the snow was tinted in a soft orange glow. Some of the kids were playing in the snow in the front yard. Making snowmen and forts. I’d even allowed some of the younger children to go out with supervision thanks to the spare winter coats we had received on baptism day. 

At first glance, it didn’t look like anyone was crying, which was a relief.

“Uncle Blaine–!!”

I heard a strident voice calling out to me.

I held back a sigh as I turned to the round, purple-haired boy.

“Yes, Lucian?” I said with a controlled tone.

It’s not to say that I didn’t love all the children in the orphanage equally, but sometimes, the kids went through ‘phases’ where they felt they couldn’t get my attention unless they complained.

And I, as their weak-willed substitute parent, had to bend to their caprice.

“Silika screamed at me again!” the boy whined.

I couldn’t hold back a sigh.

Of course, Silika had screamed at him. It’s not like she could tell him nicely to stop picking on her…

But if I started applying rules inconsistently, there would be no end to it.

“Okay, I understand. I’ll have a talk with her.”

“Will she be punished?” he asked, not even masking the expectation in his voice.

“I don’t know. It depends on how our talk goes.”

He sneered.

“She never listens.”

I let out another sigh.

“Silika is deaf, Lucian. It’s difficult for her to understand things.”

He mumbled to himself.

“She’s also dumb as a rock...”

“What did you say, Lucian?” I said, raising my tone.

“N–Nothin…”

“Don’t lie to me, Lucian. You’re not allowed to call your friends names. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Uncle Blaine.” He said, dropping his head pitifully.

It’s not that I thought Lucian was completely to blame in this situation. Silika WAS a difficult child. Beyond her condition, she would break rules constantly, act rudely to people and even get into fights. In some way, it was a relief that despite her condition… And her injuries… She still managed to be so spirited, but I had an orphanage to run, and I couldn’t spend my whole day caring for a single child.

“Look, Lucian, I’ll have a talk with Silika, but you have to stop getting into fights with her. Can you try to get along a little? For me?”

He hesitated for a bit, but eventually nodded. 

"I'll try to play with her and not fight…" He mumbled.

I knew this was a promise he would most likely break, but this much was enough to buy me a bit of peace of mind.

I ruffled the boy’s hair and continued making my way towards the door.

Once inside, the familiar sounds of children laughing, screaming and talking washed over me. I put down my bag on the bench while I removed my coat and boots. Just as I was putting on my slippers, I heard the familiar pitter-patter of feet coming down the hallway.

“H-Hel..” 

“ARr!!” 

Coleen began but was interrupted by Silika letting out a guttural noise and charging at me with a hug, nearly knocking me off balance.

Arr… That’s what she called me. Getting her to somehow call me ‘Uncle Blaine’ like the other children was one of the many rules I had given up trying to enforce on Silika.

“Oh, hello, girls! How are we doing? Good, I hope!”

Silika smiled widely, probably not even understanding that I had asked a question. Coleen, behind her, smiled shyly and nodded as an answer.

“That’s great!  I have some work to do right now, but… Uh…” Recalling what Lucian had told me outside, I turned to Coleen. “I heard Silika got into a fight with Lucian again. I’m assuming you already handled it?”

Coleen let out a sigh and nodded again with an exasperated expression.

Coleen was a very dependable girl despite being only 8 years old. She would even take care of some of the older children, making her appear years beyond her age… It was a blessing that she had taken so well to Silika. They were virtually inseparable, and not just because Silika had no one else. There was a real chemistry between the two, a stark contrast to the day they met.

“Great, can you remind Michael to gather his team and get started on dinner? It’s their turn tonight.” I asked Coleen, who nodded again with a nervous smile.

“O-Ok.” She mumbled.

She then took Silika by the hand and they headed back to the playroom.

I grabbed my bag from the chair and headed to my office to unpack everything. 

Soaps, brushes, scented balms, chalks, spices… A hundred things that would run out in the blink of an eye.

And then, by chance, my hand fell on the small canvas bag Mr Calvian had handed me just before I left.

Curious, I undid the rope and dug out the black handbook. The outside was unremarkable for sure, but I could tell from the side that the paper used was of thin but high quality. The same type you would see in books from Alvir or Olivion. Meaning that despite its small size, there could easily be several hundred pages.

My attention now truly caught, I turned the first page. I was immediately shocked by what I found. 

It was a far cry from any I would have expected to find. 

I kept flipping pages after pages, completely enthralled by the brand new world this book was opening up to me.

“Yes… That might just work!” I mumbled to myself as I heard yet another scream from outside my office.

I sighed and put it down. I’d have to get back to this another time…