It was in the middle of the night—area 4 of Division 3.
Leo went to the orphanage his sisters where sisters reside. He stood before the large wooden door. Behind him was a man in a black suit observing his every action; he took a deep breath. He knocked three times with his hands still trembling.
Tak* Tak* Tak*
"Be right there."
His knocks were relatively loud, and the answer was also the same. He waited for a few seconds, checking his looks at the adjacent pane of glass. When the door finally opened, his indifferent and cold gaze turned to a warm and sweet smile.
"Good evening, may I help you?"
"Ah, my name is Leo Ashton, are Lily and Leah here?"
Leo had a sweet smile on his face that is mixed with embarrassment and fidgety movements. He seemed tense and expectant. The lady in front of him was wearing the black clothing reminiscent of a nun's.
"You must be the brothers of Leah and Lily; I was told you would come here, come inside."
He welcomed Leo inside before turning to the man in black who winced at the sight of Leo's performance. The nun-like lady stared at him and silently scoffed before closing ever so gently closing the door.
"Please, follow me, your sisters are waiting for you at my office."
Leo walked down the hall. He followed the nun, quietly and observed the children walking around the house.
The sounds of children laughing and enjoying themselves echoed in the ears of Leo. It was not unpleasant, but it was not desirable as well. It was too noisy for him. It had been a while since he encountered such a situation.
Back when he was in juvenile everyone was silent whenever he was around. It was quite lovely, and It was a beautiful place to be in.
Leo was feared even inside the juvenile prison. He was but a 13-year-old child at the time, but his crimes were enough to shake even the toughest of them all.
Being surrounded by laughter made him unable to calm down. But he remembered the words of his therapist and touched his left hand before applying enough pressure to his fingers until his arm almost got a wound.
But he stopped right after calming himself down. Pain, that was his way of calming himself. It was an unorthodox method but it was effective. The method he was taught was to rub his remember happy thoughts or rub his earlobes.
The only problem is that he has a tiny amount of happy thoughts and he feels irritable when he touch his earlobes. So, he secretly came up with this method while showing he was complying with the words of the therapist.
For all of Leo's life had been hurt, and when he is hurt, he tends to think more rationally because he needed to make decisions that will protect his sisters from his father.
Walking down the hallway, Leo calmed down and soon entered the room where his sisters were.
He saw his sisters inside; they were smiling while they held each other's hands as they sat on the sofa. When they heard the sound of the door opening, they flinched and turned towards it. They caught sight of Leo, and a smile blossomed on their faces.
"Big bro, Leo!" They both called out and run to his arms.
Leo's stiff and fake smile melted away as he showed a genuine display of affection towards his sisters. They both embrace one another, and he hugged them with all his heart.
He was happy, genuinely so. When he killed his father or when he was beaten up, he never shed a tear. He thought to cry are for the weak, but upon reuniting with his siblings, he shed a tear, and he cried.
The twins also broke down, and their emotions flooded out of their hearts.
"I thought you wouldn't come back to us! Big brother, you said you would be fast, you liar!"
"Please, don't leave us again, we'll be good!"
"I'm sorry, brother is sorry for worrying you. It's fine now. How have you been? Are you well? Do you still love me? Everything is fine now; everything is well."
The sibling's reunion was emotional, and they cried and sobbed. The twins were 12 years old this year; they are still young in the eyes of society. The three stopped after ten minutes.
When they broke away, the nun tapped one of the twins by the shoulder and told them to prepare.
"Lily, Leah, go and prepare now, pack your clothes."
"Pack our things?"
"Are we going to live with our big brother again?"
The nun nodded her head, and the twins celebrated before hugging the nun thanking her for everything she had done for them.
"Thank you, Head Mistress Jen."
"Do not worry about it; now go and pack your clothes."
"Okay!"
Only then did the twins went out of the office and into their room to prepare for their final farewells.
Then, Head Mistress Jen sat on one of the chairs and offered Leo to sit down which he very much appreciated.
She poured him some tea and cleared her mouth with it, and then she began to talk.
"That was the first time I have seen the twins act like that. They smile when they are with others, but they put up a strong front, I only saw them cry today. They are strong children."
"Unfortunately so."
The twins are young girls, and Leo wished for them to live differently than his unfeeling self. He had always felt that his way of living was wrong; he didn't want to let his sisters end up like him.
The nun noticed his words and the odd air around him. In front of him was a child of 14 years of age, he was a year older compared to the oldest child of this place, but he already sounded so old and tempered.
Leo cleared his throat with a sip of the tea and continued the flow of the conversation.
"I have been with them for a long time, and I can tell the difference between their current and previous selves, they are much softer and their tremblings are now less present. Thank you for taking care of them."
He thanked Jen, and she merely brushed it off with a laugh of her own.
"It is nothing, thou it is not so popular of teaching, the Lord did say to help one another. It is my duty to take care of the needy, and this time it is your time to take care of them..."
"I will try."
"...but quite frankly I am unsure of leaving them to you."
"What do you mean?"
He words triggered something within Leo. But he was still calm.
"The twins are young, and while young, their environment will hone them to become who they will become in the future. Living with someone who took someone's life, do you think that is a pretty sight?"
Leo was silent still. But he cupped his hands together to pinch his palms secretly. He again didn't speak a word.
"In our current times, it is hard to earn a proper job despite the number of offers. You can go and be a part-timer, but that is not enough for your family's expense, and that is me because there will be someone willing to take a murderer as an employee."
"What do you mean to say? Please, just tell me directly your intent rather than beating around the bush while mocking me."
"I don't think you are capable of raising your sisters. Please, reconsider letting them stay in this place rather than taking them away."
Taking in a deep breath, Leo shook his head.
"I shall follow the orders of the court. And I will only leave their side when I fail to provide for them, and I failed to protect them before, I will not fail again."
Head Mistress, Jen smiled at Leo's words.
"Then, I wish you the best on earning that amount of money."
Soon after, the twins came back to the room and said their farewells to the Head Mistress. The three stayed for suffering under the invitation of the Head Mistress before leaving with the people who escorted Leo into the orphanage.
Head Mistress Jen looked at the car and smiled, made a sign of the cross and prayed to the Lord.
"May God guide your soul."