It was a nice day - bright and warm. The orphanage was going to put a new wash on the old peeling walls. We needed a fresh place for the children. All of us workers were discussing which colour

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It was a nice day – bright and warm. The orphanage was going to put a new wash on the old peeling walls. We needed a fresh place for the children. All of us workers were discussing which colour would suit the place best. It came down to white. Pure and simple – innocent like the children.
         I’ve worked at the orphanage for ten happy years. Seeing the children grow and becoming a part of new families became the highlight of my life. From Monday to Friday I would go to the college. I had one year left until I would become a high school teacher. On the weekends, I would drive to the orphanage early in the morning, and come home late at night, or sometimes I would even spend the night there. The orphanage was my second home. The children became a part of me. One day, I would adopt one, and raise them as one of my own.
        We finished painting all the walls at exactly eight in the evening. We planned to paint the last coat next morning. For now the staff was taking a rest, admiring our work. Bedtime was at eight-thirty, so our break was cut short. Anyways, bedtime was the best part of the day. My favourite kids were John, Mary, and David. John and David were both six and Mary was a year younger. They were the best of friends, and David and Mary were blood brother and sister.  They all slept in the same room, “Room Destiny”. All the rooms had names; Room Luck, Room Love, Room Eternity, and so on. Even if the three are separated later in life, I believed they were destined to meet again.

         However, that night changed all of our lives. The staff went home early. It was my night to clean the orphanage. I was busy washing dishes when I heard sounds coming from the foyer. I stopped what I was doing and slowly walked to the foyer. John was sitting on the ground laughing while David was screaming. John was holding a can of paint thinner. The paint thinner was all over David’s face. I ran toward David and wiped his face with my shirt. I took the thinner from John and slapped him out of pure anger. I left John crying and held David, telling him to look at me. Although I wished it wasn’t true, I knew; David had lost his sight.

         I had taken David to the emergency, and the doctor said that David would stay blind for the rest of his life. Those words stabbed me in the heart. I knew then that it was my responsibility to take care of him. After David finished healing at the hospital, I announced at the orphanage that I would adopt David and his sister Mary. After all the paper work, we were ready to leave town. I wanted us to be as far away from the awful memory as possible. But, before I left, I went back to say goodbye to John. I felt like I could never forgive him, but at the same time I knew he would never have blinded David on purpose. John was in his bed crying. When he saw me, his eyes lightened. I held him in my arms, and then took off my necklace and put it around his neck. It was a locket with a picture of John, Mary, and David. I told him that I was not angry with him, and that I had to go far away. He started crying again, so I comforted him by saying that I would meet him again. But I knew, not even destiny could bring us together.

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         It was the first day of school. In fact, it was Ms. Something’s ninth “first day of school”.  Ms. Something had started teaching at Something High nine years ago, two years after she moved to the city of Something. She had two children who also attended Something High. The eldest was in his senior year, and the youngest was in her sophomore year. Although money was a little short in the household, they lived a happy life. Teaching children brought her joy, and of course so did her children, David and ...

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