She's My Sleeping Pill

The mountainous village was quite far from where they came from but it was worth the travel because the place was breathtakingly beautiful. The vast expanse of rice fields which she thought must have supplied the rice of all citizens of the country was green with rice stalks. There were many farming animals, too.

“It feels like we came to a different world.” Faith commented while looking outside the window and taking in the fresh air which was blowing her face. “How did you get in touch with the people here?”

“Remember the fan who left the message? I DM’ed her and ask about the place as well as the details. Apparently, she was one of the kids who were raised in the said orphanage but she’s currently working as a waitress in one of the restaurants in the city.”

“I see. It’s good that she still thinks of the place. Is she going to meet us?”

“Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave her work. The village chief will come and meet us.”

Stefan was silently driving beside her with his other hand holding Cayenne’s. Since they were in an unfamiliar place, he kept himself alert for anything. At the same, one of his bodyguards already scouted this place to see if they should guard themselves from anyone. After all, prevention is better than cure.

.....

“Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Dumrique,” a middle-aged woman greeted them when they parked their cars on the roadside because there was no parking space available for vehicles. “We are glad to have you here.”

“It’s our honor to be acquainted with your benevolent subjects. I believe that Zia explained everything to you already?”

“Yes, she did. Come this way.” Without wasting another second, the woman led them to where the orphanage was. “I’m Jojie, the village chief. Over the years, we have gathered abandoned children here and provide help as much as we could since we could no longer trust the government. So far, they’ve been doing really well even though we lack to provide them some of the basic needs.”

“How many children do you have right now?” Stefan asked since it has been several years since this village started taking care of abandoned children.

“Currently, we have 35 children of all ages. Those who can work have started working for different households by helping the farm or taking care of the animals. Those who are of legal age are now working in the city. Some have gotten married already at the very young age.”

“Does anyone teach them to read and write?”

“Although our village is small, we have a primary school here and the children were allowed to join the class. Sometimes, the teachers who come from the city will give them papers and pen but most of the time, they only borrow from the other children. Those who wanted to continue their studies went to the city to attend high school and work at night.”

Noah knew that there are many less fortunate people in the world, that many children have been abandoned and he thought that those who are in orphanages were taken care of. This situation has proven him wrong.

After few minutes of walking, they finally reached the place that the villagers built for the children. The house was made of wood and there were two rooms inside, respectively for boys and girls. There was a small kitchen with bare utensils and there was no other furniture except for the table in the middle of it.

“Hi.” Cayenne’s classmate greeted the little girl who was peeking from one of the rooms.

Instead of greeting back, the little girl hid from them.

The door to the male’s room opened and a little boy came out who probably just woke up because he was walking unsteadily with eyes closed. He didn’t even notice them as he walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for himself.

He was so skinny that Cayenne thought he’d be blown away if there’s a strong gust of wind.

“Good morning, Ari.” Jojie greeted which jolted the child awake and made him turn to look at them. It was only until this moment that he realized there were so many people in their house.

Looking at them one by one, Ari finally bowed a little and greeted them meekly while still holding the chipped mug.

“I hope you don’t mind their behavior. The kids are always shy when visitors come around.”

“How often do you get visitors here?” Faith inquired because she has little doubts in her heart. It’s not because she didn’t want to help but because she didn’t want her help to be wasted.

In her mind, since this orphanage wasn’t registered as a legit place for children to stay under any foundation, the villagers might be using them to gain something from the help of other people. She knew that she was being judgmental but she couldn’t help thinking that way after all, why didn’t they bring the children to the legit orphanages in the city where social workers could look after them?

“We don’t often receive visitors here.” Jojie answered Faith. “Usually, visitors would come around Christmas to donate some toys that they no longer like. Other times, people would come and donate food to the children.”

“Have you ever thought of sending the children to the orphanages in the city?” one of Cayenne’s classmates asked.

“We did but we will need money for travel expenses and going to the city is expensive. Instead of doing that, we would rather by food for them.”

Cayenne could understand why her classmates asked those questions because she also has the same concern. “Anyway, we came to give the children some of the things we no longer need. I hope this could help them even a little.”

Jojie’s eyes lit up and she smiled brightly at them. “That’s wonderful. They will be very happy. I will call the children out of their rooms first.”

Along the way, Stefan had been observing the woman as well as the people they have crossed paths earlier. He noted every little reaction coming from them without telling Cayenne anything. Right now, he only wanted her to do what she likes doing.

“Hon, I’ll just and look around.” Stefan said and kissed Cayenne’s forehead before leaving. “Always keep the bodyguards around you.”

“Okay. Don’t go too far and come back soon.”