Chuckles walked to the kitchen, his stomach churning with hunger. He rubbed it, yearning for a satisfying snack from Mrs Starling–, who was stirring a bowl of batter, putting it in her mouth, and smiling sweetly because the taste was just right.
"Mrs. Starling..." Charlie whispered, his rumbling stomach becoming louder
"Charlie, did you not have any breakfast?" Mrs. Starling knelt down to his eye-level.
"I overslept again." Charlie sniffled, his eyes glistened while his cheeks had grown slightly pink.
"That's alright, would you like me to make you a cup of juice or warm milk?"
Charlie, however, was mesmerized by the bowl of batter, and he climbed onto the counter, trying to inspect what was inside.
"What is that?" he asked, pointing his tiny finger to the bowl.
She moved closer to the boy, and she whispered in his ear, "This is the cake for Sunny's birthday, today. I want you to make sure that she doesn't know about anything we're doing, alright?"
Charlie smiled, "What flavor is it?"
"It's vanilla, her favorite."
Hearing that, Charlie's smile faded, replaced with a pout with loads to his disgust of vanilla.
"Eww! I hate vanilla, I want chocolate!"
"Charlie, remember what I always tell you. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit."
"But Mrs. Starling—"
"Enough, Charlie." Mrs Starling said, sternly. "There are many people out there who have half the things we have right now. That's why we have to appreciate what we have, because maybe someday, we'll be like them."
Charlie gulped, "I don't want to lose my slice of cake!"
"Then you will eat what I bake, boy. Besides, it's Sunny's twelfth birthday. She's the center of attention–not you, not me, Sunny."
Charlie gasped with glee, "That means her daddy is coming!"
Mrs Starling paused, her face suddenly blank, . She paused, considering her words."Ah, There may be a bit more happening than that."
"What do you mean? She said her wish is for her daddy to come back!"
"That will happen, darling… However–"
"Good day, Mrs Starling!" Mr. Boomer walked over, the tapping of his cane abruptly grabbing her attention.
Mrs. Starling gasped, and she hurried towards Mr Boomer, putting her hand on his shoulder, "Yes, what is it, sir?"
Mr Boomer chuckled, wheezing a little, "I just want to say that your Sunny is a really nice girl! She's very diligent, always doing the chores like dealing with the dishes or laundry duties! She's also very sisterly too, she always looks after the little ones even if her patience turns very thin! I'm sure she'd be a very amazing granddaughter for me!"
Mrs Starling's smile faded, and her expression darkened, "But sir, she's not up for adoption. She has a father;, I've been looking after her until he returns"
Mr. Boomer chuckled again, "Nonsense, my dear! Any child I adore, they always come for me! After all, I have five wives, and each of them gives me five children, so I am quite experienced with fatherhood."
Charlie's jaw dropped, his face pale while Mrs. Starling replied, "Twenty five children…Your poor wives!, I never had any children, but they must have been in so much agony birthing five babies!."
"They can handle it!" Mr Boomer scoffed. "They're women, women are meant to be mothers and have children. Mrs Starling, what's the matter with you?"
Mrs Starling paused for a second, she was unable to make eye contact with Mr Boomer, who smirked at her speechlessness.
"Exactly, besides, someone ought to tell you that you can never make it in life, no matter how old you are. In fact, you've been living yourself into a lie your entire life!"
Mrs Starling remained speechless while the timid Charlie stayed behind her side, tugging her old sweater fearfully. Her eyes couldn't help but become blurry, her pupils, which were reduced to navy blue dots. Charlie pouted, and he patted Mrs Starling's waist since he couldn't reach her shoulder.
"This is none of your concern." she muttered, her hand on her heart. "Why are you here? What do you really want from us?"
"I want Sunny, Mrs Starling. I want Sunny and I won't go away until I have her. Don't worry, I'll give you lots of wealth like I promised. You can move away from this peasant land, get a better job than to look after these miserable brats, and you can even adopt a child of your own and actually be a mother figure!"
But the assertive Mrs Starling wiped her tears, abandoning her polite demeanor, and walked towards Mr Boomer, giving him a menacing glare. It didn't matter what Mr Boomer thought, she was already a motherly figure—Sunny's mother figure.
"You will never have her." she said, fiercely. "I don't give a damn if you're rich or not, you're not having her! And if you can't accept this, then you can get out right now and never come back! Forget the money you promise us, we don't want to accept wealth from a pompous snob like you!"
Mr Boomer growled, his fists clenched.
"How dare you!" he snarled, especially offended by the fact that a caretaker would stand up to him. "I-I can sue you! I can sue the entire orphanage and I'll put you in the court! There, I'll bribe the judge and have the girl all to myself!"
However, Mrs Starling did not back off. In fact, this made her even more angrier and assertive.
"Listen, you!" she said, pointing a finger to his chest. "You may have the money and think that you have more power, but to me, you are nothing more than a greedy rat
trying to get whatever he likes whenever he likes no matter what anybody says! Get out now or else I will call the cops! Do. You. Understand?"
Mr Boomer just stared at Mrs Starling with wide and unblinking eyes, he may be unable to see her, but her words deafened him. He scoffed, took his cane, and he stormed out of the room, grumbling to himself over his defeat. Mrs Starling just watched as he left, smiling in victory as she sat on the floor, her face buried in her knees. Charlie still remained by her side, patting her shoulder now that she was sitting down, his eyes never leaving her joyous yet tearful state.
***
Mr Boomer grumbled as he walked out of the orphanage, his nose wrinkled at the sight of its "poor" material. He was still thinking: How could Mrs Starling, a lowly caretaker, stand up to him, a wealthy businessman who could buy anything whenever people like it or not.
"Mr Boomer?" called Sunny, who was gardening the flowers with the hoes. "What's the matter, you look upset?"
Mr Boomer jumped, startled by Sunny's calling, and he immediately smiled kindly, "Nothing's wrong, my child—I mean, Sunny!" Mr Boomer giggled, though he failed miserably to hide his nervousness. "Oh, and ignore me, I was just recovering from…a stroke! Yes, a stroke!"
Sunny gasped, "A stroke?!"
"Uh…" Mr Boomer muttered. "Oh, don't you worry about that dear, I've had many strokes in my lifetime but I'm still alive and that's all that matters!"
Sunny sighed, shaking her head silently. She sat down on a bench, patting an empty spot.
"Wanna sit down with me, sir?" she insisted.
Mr Boomer chuckled and sat down with her, his gaze never leaving what she was doing. She picked up a book from her backpack, and she began to flip through the pages.
"I don't know why, but this feels like a fantasy book." Sunny spoke.
"Sunny, would you be a dear and read me a passage?"
Sunny's face turned pink, but she couldn't say no, so she flipped through the pages until she got to the first one.
"In the beginning, there was the Creator. He was the most powerful being in existence, and yet he had no father or mother, he was eternal." Sunny read, before commenting, "Huh…I feel like I know this 'Creator' before. It must be deja vu."
"Must be." Mr Boomer smiled. "Now this is starting to make your father look even more crazy."
Sunny grumbled, "My father is not…" However, she could only sigh, unable to say anything at all, she just couldn't fight back.
Mr Boomer remorselessly scoffed, but before he could say a word, Mrs Starling slammed open the door, her eyes widened with fury.
"What are you doing here!" she exclaimed, walking directly towards Mr Boomer. "I told you to get out and never come back!"
Sunny gasped, nearly falling off the bench, but she protested, "Mrs Starling, what are you doing! I was just reading my father's book to him!"
Mrs Starling looked momentarily at Sunny, before facing Mr Boomer, "Go, now."
Mr Boomer stood up, he wasn't ready to give up yet, not now. He turned away, and walked off, his bags already in the automobile which has always been waiting for him.
"What just happened?" Sunny asked, facing the furious Mrs Starling, who sighed, calming down.
"Nothing, my dear." she replied in a gentle yet firm voice, she still hadn't forgotten about Mr Boomer's threats and pompous nature. "Come on, let's go inside, evening's coming."
"When is daddy coming?"
"He will, my dear. He will."
***
It didn't take long for evening to arrive, Sunny just watched the sunset, her hands carrying the book. She took a small, sad sigh. Lately, nobody mentioned her birthday, nobody wished her a happy birthday, it was as if hers didn't matter anymore. Silently, she just sat on her bed, reading her father's book, her eyes glued to every word the text behold.
"The Creator was beheld all over the universe, his faceless illumination brought light to the sun and the glow of the moon." Sunny read with an ear-to-ear grin, her index finger pointing to the words she reads aloud. "He sat on a golden throne, where he awaited the prophecy of a maiden." But suddenly, she paused, her smile replaced with a look of bewilderment. "That was never in the text…There was no prophecy of a maiden…I don't understand, did I miss that part?" However, she shook her head, and she continued to read, as she assumed that such a new passage to experience is worth trying. "The maiden was unknown to two worlds, yet above her head were the stars that brought them warmth and light. She shall walk unknown in both worlds, and she will be discovered when the time is right." The blank Sunny shut the book, her expression quizzical. Her mind raced with questions about this maiden and who she was, yet it was almost like she was reunited with a long, lost friend. However, she shrugged, and she laid down, already exhausted by the whole day. It was still the evening, the moon hadn't come, and it wasn't even dinner time yet.
But out of nowhere, the light flickered on, and a group of children all together exclaimed,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Sunny gasped, jumping from her bed and nearly falling, but she smiled with glee, everyone had been actually planning on surprising her out of the blue. Mrs Starling was there too, and she spoke,
"Happy birthday, my darling! We are all so excited to celebrate."
Sunny couldn't help but smile ear to ear as everyone surrounded her. In front of her was a vanilla cake sprinkled with tasty rainbow stars appeared before her, 12 lit candles implanted in its pale cream. Everyone waited patiently, all of them eager to watch as she blew out all her candles. They all cheered when she struck all of their flames, not even missing one.
"What's your wish, dearie?" Mrs Starling asked.