A bright summer day in the month of June shines on the little village of New Hampton. Children and adults spent most of their day relaxing and playing outside enjoying the warm breeze. The children from the orphanage were allowed to play on the playground near the north entrance of the village. Every summer, the playground would be filled with kids playing on the swings, slides, and monkey bars. The caretakers from the orphanage would be watching from the nearby benches at the entrance of the playground by the sidewalk.

“Jonathan! Eric! don’t go too far from the playground, stay inside the bars!” yelled the old frail voice of Ms. Mary, the owner and mother figure of the children. All the children from the orphanage varied in age from little children to young teens.

The youngest group would be playing innocently on the playground, the oldest group would spend their time talking and sitting around the sand and grass near the edge of the playground. “Kids, please stay in the playground.” said a caretaker with a calm voice. Apart from the kids and the teens around the playground, stood a boy around the same age as the young group, with dark, black, unkempt hair, and a thin figure. He sat under a lone tree within the boundaries of the playground fiddling with the leaves and the rocks, away from the rest of the children.

“I hope you guys are comfortable here.” said the boy holding a baby bird in his palms bringing it to a makeshift nest he made inside the trunk of the tree. “You’ll be safe here.” the boy said as he placed the baby bird in the nest. “Th-thank y-you..” the bird said with a high, breaking voice.

The boy smirked and sat back down under the tree. The boy sat and closed his eyes, feeling the warm breeze of the summer wind and breathed in the intoxicating smell of the leaves and flowers around the playground and park. “Hey, freak!” a voice yelled from nearby.

The boy opened his eyes and looked around and saw a big burly kid with spiky blonde hair in the middle of two, slightly taller kids. “Make friends with a ladybug this time? Eating nuts with a squirrel?” the big boy said.

The skinny boy did not speak and did not look at the big boy or either of his friends, he maintained his gaze on the ground or his shoes, feeling embarrassed. The three kids pushed the boy around and yelled insults and ridiculed him.

“That’s enough!” yelled another voice away from the group. A tall slim woman with long brown hair, jeans, and a long-sleeved shirt stood behind the three boys looking at them with a strict and stern look. “That’s no way to treat your brother is it?” said the woman.

“He’s not our brother.” said the big boy in a resentful tone. “You, him, and all the other children are family,” said the woman. “All of you grew up, ate, and slept under the same roof. And family should care and respect one another because you’ve only got each other.” said the woman, her voice changing from strict to gentle and understanding. “Alright Miss Jean.” said the big boy. The skinny boy did not look at either party and kept his gaze to the ground. “Good, now go and remember what we talked about.” she gestured to the boys to leave.

“Are you alright, Kassius?” Ms. Jean asked in a gentle tone. Kassius nodded looking down on the ground. “You know I can’t keep telling them off right?” “But I did nothing wrong,” he said, raising his voice a little bit. “They always pick on me, I don’t see why. I see a lot of kids talking to dogs and cats, I even see adults do it.” he said, raising his voice a bit more and his eyes watering.

Kassius looked towards the tree and avoided looking up at Miss Jean to avoid letting her see him cry. She walked up from behind Kassius and knelt down, leveling herself with him. “Everyone is different, Kassius. That’s what makes all of us special,” said Miss Jean putting a hand on Kassius’s shoulder but he immediately pulled his shoulder.

“All of you are still young, and still have things to understand about the world.” “You have a gift Kassius, others might not understand it, but it is a gift.” Miss Jean said. Kassius kept his gaze towards the tree avoiding Miss Jean, then he felt a hand hold his and felt a pull. He found himself in a warm embrace. In the embrace, his heart became lighter and his tears started to fade. Without thinking about it, he hugged her back as tightly as he could.

Kassius never enjoyed his eight years in the orphanage. From the moment he can talk and understand he was ridiculed for being able to talk to animals. He always thought of himself as a freak ever since. Every time he passed the halls of the orphanage, he would feel the glare from the other kids. Every summer they go out to play, none of the kids would approach him or play, casting looks of disgust and fear. Each time he was seen talking to animals, bullies from the older group of kids would pick on him and ridicule him for talking to them, calling him names like freak and Kassy.

He had never felt like he belonged in the orphanage, he tried to run away many times but he could never get a few yards past the entrance, mostly due to someone from the village or the orphanage catching up to him. He spent more time with the caretakers and Ms. Jean, much to his reluctance at first. Over time, he grew to like Miss Jean, she is the only one he considers his friend. Every time he was picked on, she would defend him, every time he found an animal that we wanted to help, she would help him, every time he cried, she was the only one who could comfort him. She never saw him as a freak, she never saw his ability as unnatural, she admired it.

Kassius pulled away from the embrace and wiped his face with his sleeve. “Every ability and talent are amazing Kassius, what you choose to do with it makes it extraordinary.” said Miss Jean with a warm and bright smile. “What you’ve been doing with yours Kassius, is wonderful and admirable, people who tell you otherwise are envious, so let them be.”

With these words, Kassius renewed his smile and beamed at Miss Jean. “It’s getting late, and Miss Mary and the rest of the caretakers should be gathering the kids.”

They both looked up towards the playground and saw the sunset giving the sky a bright orange glow, and the kids gathered near the entrance of the playground. “We better get going or we’ll miss dinner, I heard it’s going to be great this time.” Miss Jean said beaming. Kassius nodded and walked with Miss Jean back to the group.

Kassius stayed close to Miss Jean the entire way back to the orphanage, actively avoiding the three kids that approached him. The village has never been an extremely lively place, with the exception of the pub. Children would play and neighbors would get together and talk, but it’s always possible to hear the wind brush the leaves and birds whistle by as they fly over it. Each house was relatively small, enough for a family of three. Most who come to live in the village don’t come for the opportunities it offers, rather it is a place to live out the rest of their lives, away from the busy streets of the city and all the complications of the urban areas, a quiet life.

Kassius found himself looking at every house as he passed by, looking at the happy families. All the kids at the orphanage wanted a family but none of their families were as much of a mystery as Kassius’s. He always wondered who brought him to the orphanage and why. Neither the caretakers nor Miss Mary knew who brought him, not even Miss Jean knew who brought him to the orphanage.

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From what they could tell him, they received a letter expecting a child and to name him “Kassius”. During the night they were expecting the child a mist covered the streets and all was quiet. The few caretakers that were awake waiting for the visitor were tending to chores inside, and they claimed to have blacked out when one of them stood at the front door and was holding the baby.

With no letter or sign of anyone during that night, people could only guess and make rumors of what happened that night.

Some rumors say that Kassius is a conspiracy child and that a secret government branch abandoned me at the doorstep of the orphanage, some say that his family was so ashamed of him they didn’t want to be seen with him even as a baby. Whatever the truth may be, it has caused many people in the village to gaze upon him with both curiosities as well as anxiety. After hearing what he can do, nearly the entire village started to believe in these rumors. Kassius tried his best to keep from using his ability in front of other people to little success. He spends most of his time alone after all which would make him stick out.

“Alright children, go to your rooms and change for the night, then come down for dinner.” said Ms. Mary loudly and clearly. All the children yelled “Yes, Miss Mary” and quickly ran up the stairs to each of the rooms.

Kassius followed behind with Miss Jean proceeded to walk up to the third-floor rooms. The second floor had 4 rooms in total, with a very narrow hallway dividing the rooms. The older kids stayed on the second floor and it was the loudest by far. When Kassius reached the landing, he spotted a few starters but continued up. The third floor is where the younger kids were and it was where Kassius’s room was. It has a lot more rooms for children, six in total, however, the rooms were a lot smaller compared to those on the second floor. Kassius’s room was at the far end of the hall and the only one that had one occupant. He never minded the long trek or the lonely atmosphere of his room, on the contrary, he preferred the quiet of his room to the noise and rowdiness of the others.

He received fewer stares on the third floor though he knew that a lot of the kids were afraid of him, however, rather than pester and bully him, the younger kids decided to avoid him together. This hurt a little less for Kassius. “At least they’re not trying to hurt me.” he kept telling himself, compared to how he was treated by the older kids and the people from the village, this was a lot more tolerable.

He went into his room and was greeted with the same gloomy room he’s always been seeing since he arrived at the orphanage. A closet by the door full of clothes given to him by the caretakers, the side table with an old and rusty looking lamp along with a plain and hard looking bed with a dull color on the opposite side of the closet.

Further in the room was a desk that had a letter on it and the window that had an almost perfect view of the sky, just about fitting the moon and the brightest stars of the night sky, shining light on the desk and a third of the room. He closed the door and started to change out of his clothes to his nightclothes. A light glimmered from the end of the room. Noticing the faint light, Kassius looked up and saw the letter that was left on the table. It was the letter that came before his arrival. The golden seal shines due to the moon’s light. He kept asking the caretakers, Ms. Mary, and Ms. Jean about his arrival and the letter, hoping to find out who he is or where he came from. Each time he asked, no matter how specific his questions were, no one knew what happened that night nor how he came to the orphanage.

He took the letter and fiddled with the golden seal. Each night, he would take the letter and read it. More to wonder rather than to understand, as it only contained a few words. “Miss Mary, a child will arrive at your doorstep on the 13th of October, this child will be special and when the time is right he will return. The child’s name will be Kassius, please raise the boy as part of your family.”

Cryptic and vague, the letter contained no address nor any initials or names on the letter. The only distinct marking was the golden seal of a bird surrounded by flames. He did not know why, but he felt drawn to the bird and at times, when he would look at the letter he could have sworn that the bird or the flames had a hint of movement, but he was never sure.

He always found himself re-reading the same line of the letter. “...when the time is right he will return.” What did that mean? Where will he return? Where could he possibly go? How could he go there? No kid has ever been more of a mystery than Kassius.

“Kassius? Are you there? Everyone is downstairs already and the food is nearly done. Come down.” Miss Jean said through the room door. Kassius snapped from his deep thought and noticed that he’s been staring at the letter again and forgot about dinner. He opened the door and went with Ms. Jean downstairs for dinner. On the ground floor, there was a hall just like those from the third and second floors, although this hall was wider and had a small chandelier in the middle. Four rooms filled the ground floor, the biggest room being the dining room, containing both the tables and the kitchen on the far end. Two made up most of the space of the dining room.

On one table were the younger kids, playing and laughing. On the other table were the older kids, the teens, playing and laughing as well, and a lot rowdier than the younger ones. Kassius quietly entered the dining room and sat at the far end of the kids’ table, the emptiest part of the room. One or two of the caretakers would usually manage the kitchen and they would bring the food straight to the table and join the kids and teens for dinner. For Kassius, his dinner, as well as his breakfast and lunch, are spent mostly alone at the end of the kids’ table.

He didn’t want to eat with the other kids after the numerous incidents with the teens and the bullies that almost always involved him. Nor did he want to eat with the caretakers because they would “encourage” him to join the others. He was content sitting alone and eating his food alone. He could feel the other kids, especially the teens, looking at him and talking about him but he ignored them. There was nothing he could do about it, anything he thought of doing would not make things better, nor did he think of avoiding it, they will always find a way to make sure that he knows he doesn’t belong here. Dinner was as unpleasant as most of his time in and out of the orphanage, although he thought to himself that it could not get any worse….could it?

After dinner, Kassius would be the last one at the dinner table. He brought his plate and helped clean the tables and the room. He found that helping with the late-night chores would make the day a little better as he would not have to spend his spare night hours listening to the other kids through the walls, talking about him, and having fun. This was also an excuse to feed the small animals that he took care of over the years out in the back every time he needed to throw the trash or any other chore. By the time he was finished with his chores, half the kids would be asleep and he’d sneak up the stairs then into his room without being noticed by anyone.

Late in the night, Kassius laid down in his bed and looked up at his bedroom ceiling. Unlike the other kids, he had almost no one to talk to. The animals would be roaming the streets or going out of the village, leaving him alone, like most people. Every night he’d get up and sit at his desk near the window and stare off into the starry night sky. This view always gave him a clear mind, whether to think, imagine, or just drift off away from the orphanage, the village, the whole world. He’s always had a wild imagination, even for a five-year-old kid.

He would imagine a vast forest where the mist and winds would shine like glitter with the sunshine pouring down. He imagined the ocean filled with color and the seabed full of life. He did not know what life was like outside the village, for all he knew his imaginations were real. He wanted them to be real, he wanted to see more than the brick confines of the orphanage or the plain lawns of the village. He wanted so desperately to know who he was, just so it could give him a chance to leave or to know what’s out there.

His mind would always return to the letter. “...when the time is right he will return.” “When will that be?” Kassius wondered, hoping that one day something might happen. One day, the ones who brought him will show themselves. One day, he’ll see a world beyond the village. One day, he’ll feel like he does belong, wherever it may be. After a few hours of contemplating, imagining, and wondering, he tucked himself to bed, turned off the lamp, and dreamt of that day.