Chapter 4

She looked at the couple that was here today and prayed silently that they would choose to adopt one of the kids and provide the child with a good home. The couple had contacted her for a while now saying that they were interested in adopting a girl to help them get over the recent loss of their own daughter.

The couple were immaculately dressed in fine clothing that were not commonly seen in this small town. It was clear that they were wealthy and came from the city. The man in the suit had a serious expression on his face while his wife seemed kind and responsible.

“No worries at all. Now, about the girl that I was inquiring about over the phone...” the woman said before smiling politely.

“Oh, yes. Please follow me this way. I will take you to her,” Miss Gwen quickly said before gesturing for the couple to follow her.

She led them to the smaller building that had survived the fire before leading them inside. The building was small and very cramped compared to the number of children that it currently housed. The decoration was sparse and only basic furnishing were available. Since the fire destroyed everything in the main building, there were not enough beds and the children had to share.

Miss Gwen was well prepared for the visit. She had asked the caretakers to shower and dress the girl up so that at least she looked presentable. It was clear that for the orphanage to survive, they had to get as many kips adopted as soon as possible to free up space and lower the financial burden.

“Is that her?” the man said as his eyes fell on a small and thin girl dressed in a flowery pink dress.

.....

“Yes. Isn’t she lovely?” Miss Gwen said before smiling proudly at the couple.

Internally, she prayed that they liked what they were seeing. She prayed that the little girl would get adopted so that she would live a good life in the city with her new and wealthy parents.

“Come over here dear,” Miss Gwen called out to the girl.

The girl turned around and came as she was beckoned. The woman bent down a little to examine the girl’s face. The man watched his wife silently while Miss Gwen held her breath and prayed for the best. The woman reached out a hand and held the girl’s chin in between her fingers before tipping her face upwards and then turning it to the left and then to the right. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the girl’s face, taking in her features.

“She has very fine skin. Beautiful hair. Nice round eyes with long lashes and a cute little mouth. Girl, show me your hands,” the woman ordered.

Shyly, the girl slowly lifted her hands and placed them in the open palms of the woman’s hand. The woman inspected the girl’s hands and fingers before nodding.

“Her nails shape is pretty, and her fingers are not crooked. She should be fine...” the woman said as she turned around to report to her husband.

The girl eyes darted between the man and woman that she had seen today for the first time. She wasn’t scared but she felt slightly intimidated. The girl wasn’t curious or confused because she knew exactly what these two people were here for. She knew that they were looking to adopt a child and perhaps today she would be adopted. These two may be her new parents.

“Does she know how to read and write?” the man asked.

“Yes, she does. We make sure to educate the children here,” Miss Gwen answered reassuringly.

“I leave it up to you to decide if she’s good enough...” the man said to his wife.

“Can we get her to say a few words? I want to hear her voice,” the woman said.

“Of course. Samantha dear, why don’t you introduce yourself?” Miss Gwen said with an encouraging smile.

“Hello. My name is Samantha. I’m 10 years old. Nice to meet you,” the girl said in her flawlessly sweet voice.

“Great. From now on your name is Elena Townswell, my dear,” the woman said before smiling down at the girl.

“One last question, just to confirm again, this girl doesn’t have any living family members, is that correct?” the man asked his tone serious.

“Yes, Sir. Her parents passed away already, and they do not have any living relatives,” Miss Gwen replied truthfully.

“I guess it’s done then,” the man said as if he had just closed a successful business deal.

Miss Gwen led the couple back to their car as she explained to them the next steps for the adoption along the way. Some documents needed to be sorted out for the formal adoption to go through.

“You can pick her up in a few days or whenever it is convenient for you,” Miss Gwen said before smiling warmly at the couple.

“We’ll pick her up in two days. Please get her ready,” the woman replied as she got into the car.

“Of course. Thank you so much for adopting one of ours,” Miss Gwen said.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The couple did not reply before driving off. Miss Gwen sighed in relief. At least one girl had been adopted and that meant one less mouth to feed. She headed back into the building where another caretaker was waiting for her.

“We’re so lucky that the girl didn’t suffer any visible injuries during the fire...” the caretaker said.

“Yes. They only checked her face and hands so thankfully they didn’t see the wound on her back. It’s nothing big or scary but some people can be so picky you know...” Miss Gwen said before rolling her eyes upwards.

“Let’s hope they don’t make a fuss when they find out about it later. I hope the wound doesn’t leave a scar though...” the other woman replied.

“It’s unfortunate that the boy that saved her is still unconscious,” Miss Gwen said before biting her lower lip.

“Yes. That’s true. I wished they had a chance to say goodbye to each other. After she gets adopted, they probably won’t ever get to see each other again,” the other woman replied sadly.

“That’s just how things are. Hopefully he will get better soon. He’s been in the hospital for around a week already...” Miss Gwen said before a frown creased her brows.

–To be continued...