Secrets

by Shannon Pemrick

  I smiled. Their manners were impressive, and they were both really cute. I guessed them both to be around four or five. “You can pet him.”

  They two girls smiled wide and then mauled Raid with love, who was all too eager to eat it up. More children started poking their heads out the door, but they looked for Matron Lyra’s permission first. She looked at me and I unclipped Raid from the leash in response. Matron Lyra nodded at the children and they happily ran out to meet Raid. I kept an eye on them while going to the porch to officially meet with Matron Lyra.

  I was expecting her to be rather formal and shake my hand in greeting but instead she pulled me into an affectionate hug.

  “I’m very glad you’ve come. It’s been a long time since we’ve had volunteers,” she admitted. “But I must ask, what are your friends grabbing out of that car?”

  “Supplies,” I said.

  Matron Lyra gasped. “You didn’t need to do that!”

  I looked around the porch and then gave her a long look. “Want to tell me that again?”

  Matron Lyra laughed. “You have quite the attitude. You remind me of me when I was younger. You must have all to boys wrapped around your finger.”

  I snorted. “No.”

  Raikidan walked up on to porch and looked around before showing signs of wanting to enter the building. “She likes to scare them away. We think she secretly gets enjoyment out it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Coming from the guy who has never been on a date in his life?”

  “Not interested.” He looked at Matron Lyra. “May I go in to look around? I’d like to get a good idea of the projects I’ll need to do today.”

  Matron Lyra gasped. “No, please don’t. You’re here for the children, not to work.”

  “They need a safe place to live,” Raikidan said. “That’s how I help them.”

  She blinked and then nodded. Raikidan nodded his thanks, and disappeared into the house. Matron Lyra looked at me. “He’s a bit aloof around children, I can assume?”

  I nodded. “He’s always been a bit weird around them. He doesn’t like to talk about it, and I don’t like to press, but he did want to come and help out. Him doing physical labor is his way of helping. It’s best to just let him do his thing. Not even I can change his mind, and I’m exceptionally stubborn myself.”

  Matron Lyra giggled. “I sense a great deal of fondness toward him from you.”

  I shrugged. “He’s a good friend.”

  There was a twinkle in her eye as she giggled again. “Right.”

  We looked out at the children, and Matron Lyra shook her head when the children started to get a little out of control and started spreading out everywhere. I watched as she attempted to round them up. I would have helped, but I wanted to see how she worked, and I was thinking about Raikidan. What I had said was made up on the spot, but as I thought about it, I wondered if his irritation earlier was because of this whole “dealing with children” thing. I had never talked to him about it before we had decided to do this. I never thought to find out if he liked being around kids.

  He was pleasant with Matron Lyra, but that was to be expected. I never had to worry about him being nice to women, unless they were some sort of threat. And he was showing a desire to fix the building up on his own accord, so I wondered if he thought children were important but just didn’t particularly enjoy being around them.

  I nearly rubbed my temples. I should just ask him later about it. It was better than speculating and stopped the headaches.

  “Hey, can you give us a hand?” Ryoko called. “There’s a lot of stuff here and with Ray off doing whatever it is he’s doing, we could use you.”

  I nodded. “Sure thing.”

  I jogged over to the car and helped unload, while Rylan brought things into the house to “put them anywhere there was room,” per Matron Lyra’s words. Come to find out after Rylan’s first trip into the house, the inside looked worse than the outside. I ended up telling him to go help Raikidan figure out what needed to be done so we could get the supplies in and get working on the projects sooner rather than later. When I brought supplies into the house and was able to get a good look at the mess myself, I had a feeling we’d break the bank with the costs for repairs, but I didn’t care. None of us did. These children deserved better. It was a shame they were orphaned or abandoned in the first place, but for them to have to live in a home like this, they might as well live on the street. It might have been safer. No, I was certain it was safer.

  As I put a box of food down in the kitchen, I noticed a little girl peeking around a doorway. She ducked away when I looked at her, and when she peeked around again, she pulled back when she saw I was still looking her way. I found this rather strange—I would have thought Matron Lyra would have wanted all the children together, outside playing with Raid.

  I walked outside to find her on the porch, watching the rest of the children. “Did you know there’s still a child inside?”

  Matron Lyra smiled. “That’s Myra. She’s shy and typically hides when we have visitors. It makes it hard to get potential parents to think about adopting her. She’s the youngest here, and as much as I care for her, I don’t want to see her growing up in this place.”

  “I doubt you want to see any of the children here for long.”

  She nodded. “I’d prefer this place to not have to exist.”

  I chuckled when Raid walked up the steps and plopped down by my feet with his tongue lolling out. He looked exhausted, but the children who were running up to us definitely didn’t.

  “Look at what you guys did,” I teased. “You actually managed to tire Raid out. It usually takes five of us and a whole hour of play time to do that.”

  The children giggled and one of the older girls came over to Matron Lyra. “Lyra, can we keep him?”

  Matron Lyra smiled at her. “No, Elara, we can’t. He belongs to Eira.”

  Elara gave me pleading eyes in hopes I’d say otherwise, but I shook my head. “He’s going to have to come home with me. Raid is on a special diet that you guys wouldn’t be able to afford.”

  Elara pouted, but stopped when Raid got back up on his feet and shook himself. He looked ready for another round.

  Just then, Ryoko came up to us with a box. “This is the last of it.”

  I nodded. “Good.”

  Matron Lyra unhooked a communicator from her belt loop of her pants and looked at the time. “It looks like it’s time for me to start making lunch. Eira, would you help me?”

  I nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll warn you though, I’m a pretty terrible cook.”

  She laughed. “That’s fine. I’ll make sure I give you tasks that are easy. And Ryoko, do you mind watching the children after you put that box down? I don’t need them getting into any trouble.”

  Ryoko nodded enthusiastically. “Of course!”

  Matron Lyra nodded and I followed her inside. When we made it to the kitchen, Raikidan and Rylan were just walking out.

  “We’re going to go out to get more supplies,” Rylan informed me. “We’ve figured out what needs the most work.”

  I nodded. “Great. If you need extra help, make some calls. The more hands, the better.”

  Rylan nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to agree with you on that. I’ll give you a call if we find some extra hands.”

  I chuckled. “Okay. And we should have lunch ready by the time you get back.”

  “Good, I’m starving.”

  I snorted and pushed him toward the door. “Get out of here.”

  Rylan chuckled and headed for the door. Raikidan looked at me and I looked at him back.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Not going to push me too?” he teased.

  “I will if you don’t get your butt moving,” I said.

  He
chuckled and headed for the door, but just as he passed me I kicked him in the rear. He shot me a warning look but I just stuck my tongue out at him.

  Matron Lyra giggled and then tugged on my arm. “C’mon, dear. We have a lot of mouths to feed. You can pick on your friend later.”

  “All right, all right.”

  Matron Lyra went about searching for ingredients but after watching her open bare cabinet after bare cabinet, I was glad we came when we did. I ended up opening one of the boxes next to me and found loaves of bread. “Matron Lyra, do any of the children have sensitivity to dairy or wheat?”

  “No, why?”

  I pulled out the loaves of bread, and then opened a cooler and pulled out some cheese and butter. “How about we make the children grilled cheese?”

  Matron Lyra smiled. “That’s a good idea. I’ll get out some soup as well.”

  I nodded and started setting up the bread and cheese while Matron Lyra got out the soup cans and cookware needed for us to get everything going. When we were all set up, I buttered the bread and handed her the slices and the cheese when she was ready.

  “I want to thank you for helping today,” Matron Lyra said. “It’s been some time since someone has come by to help, and while I’d like to say what you’re doing for us is overboard, I know this place needs to be fixed up, as much as I wish it didn’t. The funds I get every month are so low, I can’t focus on making this place better for the children.”

  I smiled. “You’re welcome. We’re glad to help. All of us believe you and the children deserve it. I really wish they didn’t have to be here, but we don’t live in a perfect world, so we have to make do with how the world is. So since we can’t keep them out of here, I want this place to be a nice home for them to live in, until a family finally comes by and takes them away to a place where they can be loved unconditionally.”

  Matron Lyra frowned. “Barely any of them will be adopted… I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s sad to know. Most will grow up here, and then when they’re eighteen they’ll struggle to make it in this city. People don’t want to adopt, and it’s sad. I was adopted. I was a blessing to my parents and I wish more people could see how much of a blessing these children would be to their lives.”

  “It’s hard to change the minds of people,” I said. “Zarda has the people of the city believing these children are worthless and a waste of space. He’s wrong, and they’re wrong to blindly believe him. But it’s not impossible to change their minds. Maybe we can help. Getting them into the eyes of the public may help their chances. Maybe we can work up some time to take them out into the city.”

  Matron Lyra smiled. “That’s a very kind thing for you to suggest. I don’t know if it’ll help, but it’s worth a shot. For the sake of the children, I’ll willing to give it a try.”

  I smiled and then looked toward the dining room when I noticed movement. It was Myra. Her wavy, ebony hair curtained her eyes as she peered around the doorframe. When she realized I’d noticed her, she ducked away.

  “Myra,” I called. “It’s okay. I’m not here to take you away.”

  I didn’t receive a response right away. It took a few moments, but she finally peered around the doorframe again. I motioned for her to come over, but she stayed where she was. I grabbed a slice of cheese and knelt down, holding it out to her in hopes she wanted it. She moved forward a little, but then moved back as if she were fighting herself.

  I looked away when I heard heavy panting behind me, and smiled at Raid as he stood in the doorway to the living room. I looked at Myra in hopes she’d find interest in Raid, but she was hiding again. She really is timid.

  “You want water?” I asked Raid.

  He barked and wagged his tail. I smiled and grabbed a bowl and filled it with water for him. As he lapped up the water, Myra became curious and peeked around the doorframe to watch him. He took great interest in her, and took a few steps closer to her. She ducked back, but that didn’t deter him. Matron Lyra and I watched as he sat against the wall and peeked around the doorframe. I smiled when Myra giggled, and Raid pulled his head back. She then peeked around the doorframe and giggled when she spied him.

  Raid’s tongue lolled out when he looked at her. He then licked her in the face suddenly. Myra squealed, then Raid ran to the other side of the kitchen. He went down into a play bow and wagged his tail to encourage Myra. She giggled and ran after him. Matron Lyra and I laughed as the two played.

  “He’s so good with the children,” she observed.

  I nodded and went back to getting bread ready for her. “Yeah, he is.”

  “Eira, you’re part of the resistance, aren’t you,” she said boldly.

  I blinked. “What?”

  Matron Lyra smiled. “It’s okay. I support the resistance. If I didn’t have the children to worry about, I’d be actively supporting you.”

  I looked down at the piece of cheese I had in my hand. “Is it that obvious?”

  “Besides the fact that you blatantly insulted Zarda, it’s because you’re so willing to help,” she admitted. “Not even the soldiers are this willing. They come by when a street residence makes a complaint or concern, but they don’t help, if the state of this place wasn’t proof enough. Most of them show obvious sign of not caring about the children in the least. You four aren’t like that. You care for the children and the people of this city. That’s how I know. The resistance wants the people of this city to be free and happy.”

  “Matron Lyra, I want you to understand, this is by no means a ploy to recruit you or anything. The three of us made the choice to come and help because we wanted to. Many other members of our cause did help with donations, but this visit isn’t sanctioned by those who lead us.”

  “I know. I can tell you’re here because you want to be. But I also want you to be aware, I also knew where you stood in this city because you also show signs of being a former soldier. It’s in the way you walk. And in your eyes. You’re very guarded, even when you try not to appear to be. You show signs of being afraid of hurting the children when they’re close to you, but you want to help them, so you try to be close without risking their safety.”

  I frowned and put a sandwich together to hand to her. I looked down when a small hand tugged on my pant leg. Standing next to me were Myra and Raid.

  “Cheese?” she asked.

  I smiled and handed her the slice of cheese I had set aside just in case. “Just be careful of Raid. He might take it from you.”

  She giggled and happily ate her snack. Raid looked at me and whined and I chuckled before breaking up a cheese slice and tossing the pieces to him. He caught them and scarfed them down. His enthusiasm made Myra giggle.

  “How is the soup coming?” I asked Matron Lyra in hopes to change the subject. I didn’t mind that she’d figured out we were rebels, but I didn’t like that she had mentioned how easy it was for her to see that I was a former soldier. I thought I was good at hiding that…

  “Almost done,” she said, taking the topic change in stride. “And this should be the last sandwich, so lunch should be ready very soon.”

  “Good, I’m hungry.” Rylan’s sudden appearance surprised me.

  “That was a quick run to the store,” I said.

  “The stores barely had anything we needed. We were lucky to get windows and tarps,” he said.

  I shook my head. “That would figure.”

  “Ray gave Elarinya a call and she said she’d get us some help, so that’s a plus.”

  I nodded. “She’ll probably give her family a call and they’ll get this place better than new.”

  “Now, none of you go overboard,” Matron Lyra chided. “We don’t need anything fancy.”

  I chuckled and started piling grilled cheese sandwiches on plates. “Our friend, Elarinya, is from a long line of craftsmen elves. They’ll be
the best to fix up this home. If they go overboard you can blame Elarinya. Simple isn’t good enough for her.”

  Matron Lyra laughed. “All right. Soup is now ready. I’ll go get the children inside so we can get lunch underway.”

  “They’re already inside,” Rylan said. “They’re playing with Ryoko on the couch.”

  Matron Lyra smiled. “Well that makes this that much easier.”

  She went out into the living room and told the children to wash up for lunch. They cheered, and moments later it sounded like a herd of elephants were stampeding to the bathroom. While Matron Lyra was dealing with the children, Rylan helped me get the soup set up on the table. Just as we were done and going for the sandwiches, the children rushed into the dining room and took their seats.

  Raikidan came into the dining room when I was giving the last child his sandwich and looked around.

  I jerked my head toward the kitchen as I walked over to him. “Your sandwich is on the count—hey, that one is mine!”

  He bit into the grilled cheese sandwich I had put on a plate for myself and headed for the living room. “Mine now.”

  “Rai!” I shouted.

  “You can have the one on the counter,” he called back.

  I sighed with aggravation and headed into the kitchen to grab the last grilled cheese. Matron Lyra followed me and I looked at her funny as I bit into my sandwich. She was smiling in a strange way; it was weird. “What?”

  She began scooping soup into a bowl. “The two of you are cute.”

  I rolled my eyes and continued eating. I knew where this was going.

  “What, don’t tell me you don’t like him at least a little,” she said. “He’s helpful and seems to know how to keep you on your toes. He comes off as the protective type and, even though he’s a bit aloof around the children, he could warm up to them in time. Not to mention he’s quite handsome. Many women would kill for a man like that.”