"Henry, what do you want most in the whole world?"Her hazel eyes shine brighter than the blinding sun. She beams as she keeps her gaze on me. Her blonde hair flowed lightly at every gust of wind, emitting the scent of strawberry and lime around her.

"I... I just want to be rich, Eline. To be able to buy anything that I want in the whole wide world."

She frowned at my answer, finding it far from the one she was looking for. Her face twisted and her eyes narrowed. "So, when you grow up you want to be making a lot of money?"

I nodded back at her. "Yes. I think money makes life easier."

My parents surely wouldn't have abandoned me at the orphanage doorstep, if they have enough money to raise me. At least that's what everyone said.

Though, part of me was glad that they left me. I wouldn't have met Eline if they didn't. Turning to her, I gaze into her hazel eyes, noticing a bright crimson shade coloured her cheeks. "What do you want most in the whole world, Eline?"

She cleared her throat, looked away and made a thinking gesture, tapping her finger on her chin as she look into the distance. Then a wide smile appears on her face. "I know what I want, Henry!" she announced with such excitement I'm sure the whole orphanage could hear her.

I stared and nodded, waiting for her to continue.

A small giggle emits from her before she stared right at me, with her big bright eyes. Her lashes fluttered gracefully. "I want to marry you in the future," she said finally with a soft shy smile.

Her confession caught me off guard, making me cough a few dry coughs. For a moment, I stared at her with widened eyes. But seeing how she seems giddier at my gaze, I turned and looked away in a hurry.

Eline is always like that.

I laughed at the memory. Eline had such a weird characteristic even as a child. Even if her love was genuine as we aged, I still wasn't sure if her love for me did start to bloom at the age of nine. I can't believe she asked me to marry her when we were that young.

Pushing my thoughts of Eline back to the farthest chest of thoughts in my head, I took in my current surrounding instead. Smoke can be seen from every chimney. Even when i'm not near it, I can still smell the scent of coal floating in the air.

Jo had gone back inside, to help the kids and told me specifically to wait outside, afraid that I would make a bigger mess if I follow her in. I wasn't going to argue with that. All the more ways to avoid doing low-class work.

She told me to wait here. Not sure why, but I obeyed nonetheless. Sounds of clicking and clacking could be heard from inside the house. Chatters and laughter of children can also be heard in every room. It almost reminded me of a cleaning day in the orphanage. Coincidentally, this is an orphanage. Jo must have been heavily attached to the past considering how she chose to manage an orphanage when she was a grown lady.

After waiting for so long, I got up from the steps and contemplate going into the house. I'm sure helping in there would do my time more worthwhile than waiting out here doing nothing other than getting stared at intensely by a grown man.

He still hasn't left. Despite how I've been ignoring him, he still stays. I should maybe ask Jo if I can borrow her money at this point. I'm flattered that I'm getting this intense attention, but it's too much. Even for me.

So I make my way to the front door, in hope of asking Jo for some money. Pride is too much of a luxury for me at this moment. Before I could make my way in, a few short moments later, two other kids started running to the house, bringing along with them, a boy dragged by their arms.

The little boy seems familiar, even the man who was standing by my side seemed to recognise him. Narrowing my eyes a bit to look at him closely, a smile appears on my face as I took in the sight.

It's the blue-eyed boy.

They actually caught him. He had no choice but to follow them without any room for argument as the two other boys seem much older and bigger than him. They walked into the house, pushing the door open and I feel the need to follow. So I did. I stepped in and followed them, not missing the warm interior of the house.

The boys stopped when they reach a room with Jo complaining as she went to wipe a flour-covered floor. I imagined this was the kitchen. What a mess. Flour, veggies, scattering socks, and green slime are what I see upon peeking my head into the kitchen.

She turned towards the boys and her action completely stop. Without a word, she marched towards them and after appearing right in front of them, she huffed before giving the little boy a mop. "You rotten boy. You make that mess. You clean it."

He nodded hastily and hurriedly went into the kitchen to start cleaning. But before he could do anything, Jo reached her hand forward and gesture for him to give her something.

The boy looked up at Jo with questioning eyes. He backed away and looked down. He's cowering in his spot, at her gesture, with his head down.

"Come on. You didn't use all the money, did you? That was all for us to use for this month." He didn't answer. "What about Henry's money? Did you use that?"

To that question, he shakes his head, still looking down to the ground.

"Then you might as well give it to me," she said, in a calm tone.

He makes no sudden movement for a while. After a few moments, he dug into his pocket and pulled out what appears to be my wallet. He timidly places the wallet in her hold; his hand shaking as he does.

Jo turned and look at me. Her eyes narrowed half their size, looking partly dead. "I told you to wait outside," she sighed before handing me my wallet. She then began to walk ahead down the hallway. "Follow me then, Henry," she said.

For a brief second, my eyes found their way looking at the young thief. Even after knowing what he was, I still feel sympathy for him. He just appears weak and small in my eyes. A truly pitiful sight.

Maybe I would be like that too if I never knew Evangeline back then. She was my voice of reason, stopping me from doing things that could have ended up getting me in trouble. And I was still grateful for that; truly glad that I met her.

I followed Jo quietly, watching her back as I walked. When we reached the front door of a room at the far end of the hallway, she stopped and turned the knob before walking into it. Then she went and started rummaging through her cabinets.

I merely raised an eyebrow as I watched her. "What are you doing?"

"She sends a picture of her in Edinburgh occasionally. Perhaps one of the pictures would be able to show us where Bloomsdale is."

"Oh."

"Don't just stand there. Help me with it too."

I walked over to her side, crouching down as I too began rummaging through her cabinets. "Why did you let him go so easily?"

"Who?"

"The boy. In the kitchen?"

"Owen?"

I nodded, still keeping my eyes on the inside of the cabinet.

"But I did punish him. You saw it yourself. I made him clean his mess."

"No. I mean, why didn't you scold him or at least pull his ears for being horrid?"

She seems to be quiet for a while. Her hands plucking and flicking the content of the drawer, and then she sighed. Though I wasn't looking at her, I could feel her gaze on me now. Directly on me.

"Didn't you hate it when we were punished back then? It made us hate the staff and the directors, along with every adult in that building." I heard her say. "Now If I know that we hate being scolded and punished, why would I pass it on and torment the next child in line?"

For a moment, my mind went numb. She does have a point. I used to hate the director, the staff, the chef and everyone in the orphanage back then. Whenever we got scolded, our hands would be smacked with a wooden ruler, our ears would be pulled, and we would be given extra chores, every time the grownup think we deserve it. I hated the orphanage, during those particular moments and each time, I wish to run away from it. From the orphanage. Whenever it happened.

Jo did the right thing.

"I found it." she finally said, breaking me out of my thoughts.