Chapter 2: Leaving The Orphanage Home
Inside his room, Leo could be seen packing his things. It took him a couple of minutes, but he was finally done with it.
"This is it." He smiled as he looked at his luggage beside the bed.
He walked to his bed and sat down to wait for Ms. Ves. While he waited, he decided to check the content of the envelope he received from Mrs. Anna.
He took out the envelope from his pocket and tore it open, revealing what was inside: a folded piece of paper—a letter. He took out the letter and dropped the now torn and empty envelope on the bed.
Leo was very curious to know what was written in the letter. He unfolded it and started reading.
"Hello Son."
Leo frowned slightly when he saw this. It seems that the envelope was left behind by his parents.
He has been curious about his identity and about his parents; it seems like the letter might provide some of the answers he seeks.
Curious to know what the letter entails, he continued reading.
"If you're reading this, it means that you're already old enough. I know that there are a lot of things that you don't understand. Things that your mom and I are unable to explain to you.
We just want you to know that we are deeply sorry for everything. If it were within our power, we wouldn't have sent you away, but we had no choice.
Sending you away was the best option we had, and it was the only way for you to survive and have a normal life.
We don't know what the future holds for you, and we are not putting any expectations on you, as we have no right to. What we only want from you, son, is to grow up and become your own person, your own man, and make your own decisions.
We love you, son. Mom and Dad love you very much and wish you all the best."
Leo didn't know how to react to what he just read. The truth was that he hasn't thought much about his parents. Why should he bother about them when they dropped him off at the orphanage?
Though he has always fleeting thoughts about them, and that was all there was to it—just fleeting thoughts. But why does he feel so much emotion from the letter? Why is it making him cry?
Leo forced himself to clean the tears streaming down his face as he folded the letter, putting it back in his pocket.
He forced himself to calm down and get his emotions under control. It took him a few minutes, but he was finally able to stop the tears streaming down his face.
After that, Leo felt like he had lost all the strength in his body. He fell back on the bed and sighed.
"What was all that about? Why did I feel so much emotion just from a letter?" He didn't understand why he felt such deep sadness and sorrow from the letter, but he knew that it was probably related to his parents. How that was possible, he has no idea.
His dad, his mom... Leo has barely thought of them in his sixteen years of growing up in the orphanage. It wasn't that he wasn't curious about them; it's more like there was something preventing him from doing that.
Leo would be lying if he said that he wasn't curious about his identity, about his family, and everything about himself, but he knew that there was no way he would be able to get answers to his questions.
"I will just have to do as the letter says; live a good life and become my own man. Whatever that means." Leo said and sighed.
He thought that the letter would have provided some of the answers he needed, but it left him with even more questions.
Why did his parents drop him off at the orphanage? From what's written in the letter, he knew that there was some sort of problem. What type of problem it was—he had no idea.
He sighed as he knew he might never get the answers to his questions.
"Well, I'm finally going to leave the orphanage today. A place that I have called my home for the past sixteen years.
I wonder what the real world has to offer. I want to succeed quickly and pay back the orphanage for everything they have done for me, to start supporting them as soon as possible." Leo smiled as he thought of what the future holds in store for him.
Knock, knock, knock.
Leo quickly stood up when he heard the knock on the door. He knew that the only person that could be knocking on the door would be Ms. Ves.
As if to confirm his thought, he heard her voice from behind the door.
"Leo, it's time to go."
With a smile, he grabbed his bag from the ground and walked to the door. Before he opened the door, he took one last look at the room that has been his own for many years, and smiled.
Leo was very happy to be leaving the orphanage after so many years. It wasn't that he hated the orphanage; it was quite the opposite, as he loved and felt loved by everyone here.
The reason why he wants to leave the orphanage badly is because of the tugging feeling in his heart. It was a feeling that he couldn't put into words, and he couldn't quite understand it himself, but he knew that he could only find the answers to it outside.
He sighed once more before opening the door.
"Come, let's go," Ves said and started walking ahead.
Leo smiled and followed behind her. They walked through the hallway again, and Leo couldn't help but gaze at each doors they passed.
He wanted to say goodbye to them but he didn't know what to say and besides, he also plans to visit once in a while.
He smiled as he remembered all of the plays they used to play together and he thought of how much he was going to miss them. He hopes they meet once again in the future.
If only Leo knew what the world has in store for him, he might had thought differently about everything.