Chapter 4

Eight Years Ago

I keep a diary in which I write to Tim every day to tell him that I love him. First, I recount my day, and then I add a note so he knows.

They're really letters, but I can't send them to him. So, I write them all in a notebook. When I turn eighteen and leave the orphanage, I can give them all to him at once.

I hide the notebook in a crack between the cabinets and use a plastic ruler to retrieve it. I just got it out, but before I can hide it, Leya comes into the room. She's a normal girl and her butt isn't fat anymore; she's lost weight since we were ten.

Leya doesn't know about the diary though, so I shove it under the mattress by the headboard and cover it with a pillow. Lucky, my talisman, sits next to my pillow. I know I can trust him.

Today is my birthday. It's not the usual birthday celebration where there's a party once a month for everyone born that month. Specifically, it's my birthday, the one listed on my birth certificate. Today, I turned ten.

Not everyone here knows their age. People like Tim Frost, for example, don't know theirs. How could he, being a foundling?

Thinking about Tim makes me very sad. I haven't seen him since he was brought to the hospital. The teacher, Emma Smith, brought me oranges for a long time afterward, though.

Every day, she'd take me into her office, peel an orange, and make me eat it. She'd say that I was very sick and needed vitamins. If the other children saw, they'd take them away. She would buy oranges for everyone. She's kind; she just doesn't have enough money. Then I realized it wasn't her who bought them. She didn't have any money for me, either. Oranges are expensive. I saw this by chance when she reached into the closet for a folder. There's a mirror hanging across from her. In the mirror, I saw a whole bag of oranges hidden in the closet.

I immediately knew it was Tim. He doesn't come to the orphanage. I don't know why. Maybe he doesn't have time. But he always takes care of me; he never forgets. The most important thing is that we remember each other.

"Ava!" Leya ran up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the teachers' office. "Quick! They said to call you."

I straighten the bedspread, and we run down the hall together. The headmistress comes toward us.

"Hello, Anna Davis!"

"Hello, Anna Davis!"

We run on before she has time to nod. I burst into the office first and almost fall over. Tim is standing with his back to me, and Emma Smith is standing next to him. She has an angry expression and is scolding Frost for something. But when she sees me, she falls silent.

Tim turns around and I see that he's angry, too. But the wrinkles on his forehead smooth out when he sees me. Although he doesn't smile, his gaze noticeably warms.

"Well, hello, Ava. Happy birthday!"

He comes over and squats down in front of me. Eagerly, I examine his face, trying to memorize every detail because I know he's about to leave and we won't see each other for a while. He always leaves.

"Today is your anniversary. This is a gift from me."

He hands me a small velvet box. Emma Smith doesn't like this. She frowns and starts to say something. But I don't care what the teacher or Leya thinks.

I take the box with one hand and hug Tim around the neck with the other.

"Get me out of here, please!"