"Is this Li Hua?"
The woman's eyes were beautiful but sharp with arrogance. As if to look down on others around her. Her entire demeanor screamed rich, obnoxious, and entitled.
Mrs. Zhang, 35, the epitome of a rich heiress and someone who didn't know or ever experience the hardships of life. She most likely spent a lot of time making sure she looked perfect all the time.
Her presence on the old, ratted couch in the living room of the orphanage was so out of place. It seemed almost as if the scene in front of them was made up of fantasy.
Meanwhile, Auntie Mei looked so happy that a family was willing to adopt Hua.
Mrs. Zhang looked smiled softly at Hua who hid behind Sheng.
"Auntie Mei, can't Hua just live with us? I will take care of her. She is my only family."
Sheng didn't let Hua's hand go and looked sharply at Mrs. Zhang. He didn't like her and his gut instinct told him that this lady wasn't as "nice" as she appeared to be.
"Sheng, this is just a temporary home for all the kids here. If Hua can get a chance to be with a nice family with parents and siblings, she will gain more than staying here with us."
Auntie Mei came over and sat down and took Hua's hands in hers.
"Little Hua, Mrs. Zhang lives in the city with her husband and two kids. They have a daughter and a son. They always wanted to adopt a young child to give them more opportunities. Isn't that amazing?"
Hua looked at Mrs. Zhang and also got the same gut-wrenching horrible feeling that this lady wasn't a nice person. Hua shook her head as if to say she didn't want to go.
Auntie Mei frowned, "Hua, I know you're a good child and always listen to me. I know this is a big change for you after all these years of staying here but this is for your own good."
Hua looked at Sheng in tears and signed, "Can you come with me, Brother Sheng?"
Sheng looked at Mrs. Zhang, "I will accompany her too then. Today is two plus one orphan day at Sunflower House."
Auntie Mei lost her temper, "Sheng! Shut it."
She looked at Mrs. Zhang, "Sorry Mrs. Zhang, he's a rebellious child."
"I'm serious. I'm not letting my sister go anywhere without me."
Auntie Mei pulled Sheng away from Hua, "YOU! LISTEN TO ME! SHE IS NOT YOUR SISTER!"
She gestured to Mrs. Zhang, "Mrs. Zhang, you can take Hua with you now. I already put her luggage into your trunk. I also have all the documentation and paperwork you need."
Mrs. Zhang nodded politely and softly spoke to Hua, "Come on little one, we're going home."
Hua didn't want to go so she was about to run out but she was caught by a man who was just entering the house.
"Oh, Sumei, is this our daughter? She is so cute."
The man seemed to be holding on to Hua whose tears were flowing down her face. She looked at his face and immediately felt fear. Mr. Zhang, 38 but looked 10 years older. His appearance was very similar to a bullmastiff.
"Honey, this is Li Hua. She is 9 years old."
"Oh, how adorable she is. She is the same as Mingmei. I can already see them getting along like sisters."
Mrs. Zhang smiled softly with pride at the mention of her own daughter. She turned to Auntie Mei and said, "Our Mingmei is very polite and quiet. We wanted her to have a sister to play with and grow up together. Fang, our son is very busy with his studies so he has no time to play with his sister."
Auntie Mei nodded, "They sound like they are wonderful children."
Mr. Zhang glanced at Sheng who was trying to take Hua out of his arms. Hua kept wriggling and struggling to get out of the stronghold of the stranger.
"Sunmei, do you have all the paperwork?"
"Yes, honey. It's all completed and Hua's luggage is already in the car. She's just saying goodbye to everyone."
"Great. We'll call you once we reach home so that you know she has reached safely, Mrs. Mei."
Auntie Mei immediately bowed in gratitude at their gracious attitude.
"Thank you so much for your concern. We all would appreciate that. She has grown up with us all these years. With her hearing, I've always been so worried."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Mei. There's a school near our home for children with disabilities. Plus, Hua here seems so smart, I'm sure she'll love everything in no time at all. Kids easily adapt too."
"Yes, yes."
Sheng was trying to speak but kept getting silenced by Auntie Mei.
"Come on, let's go to your new home. You'll love it there."
Hua was stunned and didn't know what to do to escape this situation. In a matter of minutes, she already found herself in the car when it started driving away. She turned around to see her brother running after the car screaming and yelling her name.
Hua started to cry in the most distressing way that even the Zhangs were caught off-guard.
"HUA! HUA! I'LL COME TO FIND YOU! I'LL ALWAYS BE YOUR BROTHER!"
Sheng tripped and fell as the car disappeared around the bend at the end of the road. He stood up in tears and his throat burned from his screaming. Heaving and breathing heavily, he stood there and cried. He hadn't cried since that day Hua had given him the cream for his burn.
His mind took some time to clear up but he now had a new goal in mind. When he becomes an adult, he will find his sister and take care of her. He had 4 years before turning 18. He was going to work hard and bring her back. He walked back with a bleeding knee when a distraught Auntie Mei grabbed his arm.
"What did you do? You got hurt. Come here, I'll clean it up."
Sheng shrugged off her hand in anger.
"Auntie Mei, you've taken my only family away from me. First, my parents then my uncle and aunt's abuse and now you've taken away Hua too. I will never forgive you. You're worse than the people that left her on that bench."
"This is for Hua's good. She needs to be around a proper family."
"How do you know those people will be kind to her? She looked disgusted sitting on our old couch."
"What?"
"You gave Hua a home for all these years and you got rid of her just like that. She was almost like your daughter and you just sold her."
"Sheng…I…"
"Live with that guilt for the rest of your life."
Sheng walked away and from that day on, he started doing part-time jobs around the town to earn money as he studied more and read more. He was hardly ever home except to sleep. He barely spoke to Auntie Mei but helped her around the house with chores.
"Little Hua, your brother will without fail. Please wait for me."
Written by Uner90 (R.R.)