'Be right Back'

Her grip around the cold metal of the gate tightened.

The path ahead of her was clear. There was nobody, there was nothing to wait for.

She turned around, speaking to herself.

It would be yet another night when the other kids would obnoxiously stare at her...

But as long as He was coming to take her the very next day, she'd gulp those looks down.

At night, she stayed wide awake, what if He came at night? She sure couldn't make him wait, could she?

Morning came, and she willed herself to fight the exhaustion her mind cringed under.

The cold water slapped hard against her skin and she winced...

She smoothed her soiled dress and braided her unruly hair all by herself...with him not around she could do it for just one more day, now couldn't she?

At breakfast she walked over to the farthest chair, which faced the window, which faced the gate...

The food plate went into the trash-bin as full as it was...

The wait continued into the day, a long harsh day...

She'd simply stand at the gate...looking out.

She could feel the other kids talking behind her back...

What did they know about waiting for someone who IS going to come and take her home afterall?

This was their home anyway, theirs, not hers.

Her heart never skipped a beat, her legs never gave way, her eyes never blinked.

Occasionally she rested her head against the rusting iron gate...

Occasionally she picked at the hem of her sleeve...

Occasionally she shut her eyes tight and his image flooded her mind...

And a teardrop appeared somewhere...

And then...

Yet another day passed in the same way...

Waiting for him...

Before she retired to bed, murmuring a silent prayer,

She thought of the day he had left her at the gate saying he would be back 'in a moment'...

And she had smiled and waved him back...the last time she ever smiled.

That was precisely 3 years, 9 months, 5 days back...

Would he EVER be back?

He, her Dad...

There are so many children who'v gone through this, where their parents have left them at orphanages saying they would come back some time soon...and that never really happens.

Such is Life. There are no full stops and happy endings for them...