Her Name is Lea Picture^^
Alright, well this is my first attempt at writing stories ^^ Comments are definitely welcome and I appreciate all that took their time to read my story! I have to give props to BabyButt, Dr_J, and a couple other fellow authors who helped me with revising this story. Well, without further ado, here it is!
Her Name Is Lea
Chapter 1: The One & Only, Marshall Soel
The hallways were decorated in a very dull blue and yellow coat of paint. Not much was hung about, other than the pictures drawn by many children or random bulletins pinned up detailing about upcoming social events. The inevitable noise of children playing and shouting amongst themselves grew louder and louder with each step I took to the bright outdoors. Finally, we were outside.
“Well, here we are.” The caretaker began, with a smile.
Maybe I should explain. My name is Marshall Soel. You see, because of circumstances still unknown truly even to me, I would not really consider myself to be someone who would be stuck in the current predicament I’m in. A movie premier or maybe a film interview on the set of a major motion picture is what the public would generally see me in. Life for an international celebrity is something strived for by quite possibly, millions.
Yet, the side that the public eye is blinded from, there in lays the stress and difficulty I unfortunately have to face on a day to day basis. Sure, money, popularity on a global scale, having virtually anything you wish for with little or no difficulty seems to be the answer to any problem in life, right? Wrong.
Life, as far back as I can remember, was always difficult. No family or friends to turn to at such a young age, it’s surprising how far I’ve come, standing on my own two feet. Maybe, that in turn was what made me successful in life. Who knows? But, I digress; yes, life is very difficult, even to those that have it “made” supposedly.
A romantic relationship with a significant other, I recently have found out, is not my strongest field. Of course, the “Hi, how’s it going”, the physical attraction, and even initial dating aren’t usually the culprit for my past failures. The long term relationships; that ends up basically ruining everything.
After what seemed like countless emotional and economically painful break ups, I began thinking: “There has to be someone I could connect to, without it ruining me!”
The sheer thought of having someone to love and care for brought me an insurmountable amount of joy. But who? In this life, decent friends are rarity in their own right. Most of your supposed “friends” usually would end up screwing you over to save their own skin, or trick you into being more than generous to them, especially if you have the ability to. I couldn’t ever consider these types of friends to really be close to me.
My answer to this impressively annoying question came to me one day while on a serene walk around a park with an ex-girlfriend. (One of the few who actually ended the relationship on a peaceful note, so we still kept contact with one-another.) I saw a family of four; two joyous parents playing with their two children nearby. The father playfully chased his two energetic toddlers around while the mother sat close and watched, laughing right along with them. A child! It seemed so obvious now that the answer was right in front of me. From that day forward, I began to do all that I could to get a hold of adoption information, and under complete secrecy.
That was four months ago. At last, I was standing, staring out into the distance. The orphanage’s workers gave me a number of folders on many different children. To be honest, reading up on someone didn’t interest me much. Information by sight was much more rewarding, I believed.
“If you have any questions or need any help at all Mr. Soel, you know w-”
“Wait,” I interrupted.
I then quickly landed myself on the nearest bench and shuffled through a number of pictures before I thought to myself: “Huh, She isn’t here.” with surprise.
“I-Is something wrong sir?” The caretaker asked worriedly.
“Well, just that there’s a girl, playing out in the sandbox. I don’t know it’s odd… I guess someone did spark my interest.” I chuckled.
The woman looked out into the distance, and after a couple of seconds, she found her target.
“Ah, one sec Mr. Soel.” The caretaker ran quickly inside and brought back out an old, dusty folder.
“Here she is. Let’s see…” A pause ensued as the young woman quickly skimmed through all the info.
“Yup, that’s her, Little Lea.” She resumed, Still keeping her eyes on the folder: “Age four…mumble…blood type AB…mumble…oh…” She stopped for a moment.
“Mr. Soel, could we talk for a sec?”
I nodded while following her back inside.
“It’s very interesting that Lea caught your eye sir.” The caretaker said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
I was curious by what she meant by that.
“Well, you see Lea has been here practically her whole life Mr. Soel, and… When you’re around a person for that long, you end up catching on to some things. We who work with the kids regularly have noticed something about Lea.” The caretaker explained.
“What hopeful, future parents look for in an adoptee is at least a healthy, well rounded child. Not too long ago, doctors here diagnosed Lea with Autism.”
A heartbroken look swept the woman’s face.
“Lea is…Very special sir. More than you know. When people first meet her, they think she might be mentally impaired, but she isn’t! Her affliction does not warrant her to true emotions, especially under moments of social interaction. All these problems and stress added this poor little girl has been under have really had their effects. We noticed that after she turned two, she was still having immense trouble with speaking. If only those that didn’t take an interest in Lea knew just…Just how she touches your heart, sir.” She told me earnestly.
The caretaker slumped to the nearest bench, accompanied by a heavy sigh. A short silence filled the halls.
My fist clenched as the caretaker told me about Lea’s unjust life and how her fate was played out under such terrible conditions. A girl who was never given a chance to show people what she could do. Stricken with a problem that limited her in life from the get go. I truly felt for her. Everyone deserved a chance, and I was going to give her hers.
“Ok. She’s the one.” I said.
Almost as if on cue, the caretaker looked up at me in surprise; in wonder if what she heard was really what I said. I simply smiled and sat down next to her. I released a heavy sigh as well, but more of relief than anything else.
“So…” I curiously said while clasping my hands together. “I’m uh, kind of new to the whole adoption thing-”
“Oh! Of course, I’m sorry Mr. Soel, please right this way.” She gestured, glowing in suppressed excitement.
She led me to an office nearby and no sooner did she close the door, she pulled out what appeared to be an encyclopedia’s worth of paper.
“This is where the fun starts.” The caretaker said with a small chuckle.
“Grreaaat.” I muttered, in shock at the ridiculous amount of paperwork needed.
The initial papers that were needed right then and there took several hours to complete. Before I knew it, the sun had set, and sounds of kids shouting and yelling simultaneously were creeping into the office. We quickly went to go inspect what it was all about.
The caretaker gave a worried expression as we paced through the halls, coming closer and closer to the room. She apparently already knew the reason for it, unlike me. But it was later made very clear what was happening.
“Like I said, Lea doesn’t really have a solid placement for interacting with others. When a number of people talk while overlapping their voices or just speak too loudly, it will kind of mash up and distort; basically she can’t understand what a person says unless it is spoken clearly and quietly.” The caretaker explained with hand gestures.
“The kids pick on her a lot for it.” She continued. “We who work here, try to do our best, but we can only save her every so often from the bullies.” The room was only a turn away, and as the young caretaker entered, I stood back and watched the group of children around Lea.
“Oh man.” The caretaker hastily made her way into the group of kids.
“Hey, how come you don’t talk, huh?” An older kid in the group spitefully remarked towards Lea.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with her?” Another kid added.
“Alright, that’s enough! It’s Time to go back to your rooms!” The caretaker authoritatively yelled over the group’s talking.
The children quickly dispersed and Lea was once again left in peace.
“Lea, are you okay?” The woman asked softly, in a very paced and quiet demeanor.
The small girl gave an idle nod.
The caretaker looked at me, then back at Lea, and said
“Oh, um… Sweety, there’s someone that wants to meet you.”
Lea calmly looked about, from left to right. It only took her a second or two to find me near the entrance of the room the kids were in. Her eyes met mine, and I froze in anxiety. Should I wave? Or maybe smile? Man, do I already look like a fool? Oh crap, they’re heading this way![/img]
