“There was nothing I could do. One of the kids somehow managed to catch hold of Mrs. Bensen and tattled on you. The Bensen family had decided not to go forward with the adoption at all. It was all I could do to convince them to take Alex at least“
Anna said to a crestfallen Ivan.
The orphanage had informed the Bensens of Alex’s condition and received assurances that they could take care of him. He would be able to live a normal life in America. Or at least as close to normal as was possible for someone like him.
Getting separated from their siblings always caused problems for adopted children, and Anna regretted what she had been forced to do. But it’d have been even more unfortunate for Alex to lose perhaps his only opportunity of finding a loving family which was willing to take care of his special needs.
There was no future for him in the orphanage. Children like him would at best find apathy in Russian orphanages. At worst, well, Anna decided it better not to think about such things.
She glanced at Ivan who had been nodding solemnly, but not speaking, perhaps unsure of his ability to hold back tears if he spoke.
She continued. “But Alex is refusing to go without you. He is throwing a huge tantrum and refusing to speak to anyone. "
After some hesitation, she spoke "The Bensen family have a flight this evening. He would listen to you. Convince him. “
“Yes ma’am.”
Ivan's reply was as solemn as his nods, and he was hiding his pain behind a mask of stoicism. The expression seemed just wrong on a kids face.
In a fair world, kids would have parents to keep them insulated from the cruelties of the world.
But the world was not fair, and Anna had a reputation of her own to keep if she wanted the children of the orphanage to obey her. So, as she order Ivan to leave, there was no sympathy in her voice.
“What are you waiting for? Go find your brother!“
“Yes Miss Yakovlev”
Ivan said and immediately excused himself.
The whole time, not a single tear fell from his eyes.
Poor kid, Ms Yakovlev thought, as she watched him leave. She had known about the reputation Ivan had among the kids in the orphanage, and the moniker he had earned as a result. She had also known that he meant well, doing what he did so he could protect his brother. That didn’t mean she condoned the bullying and violence. She had herself punished him time and again for fighting other kids.
But never in her life had she expected that he would have to pay such a huge price for his actions.
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At least Alex would live a happy life with that kind family. They didn’t have a cure for autism even in America, but that nice Mormon family would certainly give him a safe home and and teach him how to cope with his condition.
As Anna thought about the two brothers, her thoughts inevitably drifted to the past.
Ivan and Alex had come to the orphanage last year after their parents died in a car crash and all their relatives refused to take the responsibility of raising a 'special' child. Ivan was 7 and Alex was 5, and they both had a really hard time during their first days in the orphanage.
The kids in the orphanages were always mean to each other, but towards someone different, they were vicious. The orphanage was short on both funds and staff, and there was only so much supervision they could afford. So, incidents happened.
And one day, the bullying had gone too far, and Ivan had gone even further.
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One morning Alex had gone to the bathroom and hadn’t returned for fifteen minutes.
Ivan was worried, and went to check. When he reached the bathroom, he saw 2 kids who had pinned Alex face down in the bathroom. A third guy was standing near Alex's face, holdig a marker.
He had scribbled abuses all over him. Ivan could read lokh written across his back. Simpleton.
Alex had been crying all over the dirty, grimy floor of the bathroom. As the third guy noticed the furious Ivan, he unzipped his pants and pissed all over the floor. Then his feet stomped on Alex’s face, rubbing it against the floor, staring into Ivan's face the whole time.
“I hope your brother likes the taste of my pi”.
He never got to finish the sentence as a fist crashed into his face.
That day, something snapped inside Ivan.
The three kids were carried out of the orphanage on stretchers, and for many months, no one bullied Alex. And whenever they did, Ivan was ready to put fear into their hearts again.
Belong long, Ivan had earned a morbid nickname - Ivan the terrible.
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Ivan woke up screaming.
Nightmare, same as usual.
He looked at his phone to check the time.
5:22 am
Realizing he wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight, Ivan freshened up and went for his morning jog.
The neighbourhood was quiet so early in the morning. As he ran through the streets of Santa Clara, his home for the last two years, he still felt out of place.
It hadn’t been easy, but Ivan had made it. He had studied, he had done odd jobs.
He had upskilled himself, he had got a real job.
Eventually, he saved enough money so he could afford to go to America.
But when he finally went to the address that the Bensen family had registered with the orphanage, he found nothing. Just like their contact details, their address was fake.
Ivan was discouraged, but didn’t give up. He worked harder, and finally secured a job in the silicon valley, moving to the US for good.
As he ran, he went through the myriad of social media applications on his phone and searched for his brother's name. That had been his daily routine since moving here.
No luck today either.
He finished his jog, took a shower, ate a light breakfast and watched Netflix while he waited for the office shuttle to arrive.
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Only 15 minutes after Ivan had started his work for the day, Daniel approached.
“Hey Daniel”
“Hey Ivan, a new SWE has joined our team. Come, let’s introduce ourselves. “
Daniel led Ivan to a conference room where most of the team was already seated, and the remaining soon joined.
Also seated was the newest member of the team, a very young and somewhat skinny looking guy. He seemed somewhat dazzled, and as Ivan recalled entering the office building for the first time, he could relate.
When everyone had come in, Daniel closed the conference room door, and he spoke
“Hi, I’m Rahul, and I’m very excited to work with all of you.”