The story of an orphan: when hope is taken away twice

How is it, Daniel? Are they in their right mind? The child just got used to it. Everything got better...

Mr. Ethan hung up and frowned. He worked as the director of this orphanage in a small provincial town for almost 20 years and managed to see everyone. Among his students were those who were returned by foster parents. But usually these are children with severe pathologies, and even then it is extremely rare. When people did not calculate their own strength and faced a problem that turned out to be unsolvable for them. Mr. Ethan did not condemn, even pitied such couples. In the end, they wanted the best.

But Daniel... The boy came to him at the age of 10. A confused, defenseless look, several household toys, including a pet soft kitten with button eyes, and two death certificates. Mom and Dad. A car accident ended three lives at once. Daniel didn't seem to be living for the first time, either. He sat petrified on his bed, clutching a kitten with button eyes. This toy was sewn by Mom. The kitten became the only thin thread that still connected the boy with his past happy life.

It was very hard and long for Daniel to get used to the orphanage. The Director immediately submitted his questionnaire to the database for acceptance. But no one was in a hurry to take home a healthy, but already ten-year-old boy.

"Take..." is the right word." Mr. Ethan was suddenly lost in thought. "It's like I'm giving a kitten or a puppy for renewal."

Daniel spent three years in their house. Polite, neat boy, but sad beyond his years. He didn't shy away from guys, but he didn't make friends either. He was more attracted to adults. I especially became friends with Alexander.

Alexander worked for many years as a caretaker and part-time caretaker. He had no family, and he rightfully considered the orphanage under his jurisdiction to be his home, too. And although he had an apartment in the city, he preferred to live in the gatehouse assigned to him, working almost without vacations and weekends.

Daniel often spent time not in the company of the children, but helping Alexander with the housework. They repaired furniture together and made a playground for children in the yard. The quick-witted boy quickly found common language with the caretaker. Yes, and he became attached to the boy.

But a year ago, Mr. Ethan received a call from the guardianship authorities and was informed that there were potential foster parents for Daniel. The couple is elderly, established, with a good income, positive. The man is a retired sea captain. His wife is a medic by education, now a housewife. The couple has a small business, their own house. The boy will be fine with them.

The director, of course, was delighted. God grant that everything will turn out as it should. Only Alexander was upset. He became too attached to the boy. He wanted to adopt him himself, but was refused.

The pair really turned out to be strong and reliable. The captain dreamt of an heir. But they did not work out with the children. His wife accepted this state of affairs, but he did not. He really wanted a son. When he saw Daniel in the database, he immediately said: here he is, son. The boy really looked like his adoptive father: brown hair, expressive eyes, even chins seemed to have the same shape.

Daniel at first did not want to go to the family. He settled in an orphanage for three years. But Mr. Ethan persuaded him to try, to visit first, and then, they say, decide for yourself. Everything is better in the family than in a public institution. And Daniel agreed.

After two guest trips, his mood improved. An important role was played by the fact that there was a dog in the house. And the boy loved dogs! And he read books about them, and he knew all the breeds like a real dog handler. One day he told Alexander that his parents had promised to have a puppy, but that's how it turned out.

And the foster parents already had a dog, though not a puppy, but a well-known breed: a border collie. Chang immediately became friends with the boy and fell in love with him. Obviously, he felt that Daniel loved him too. Returning after the weekend, the boy enthusiastically told Alexander about how smart and obedient Chang was. He and the dog even managed to learn a few new commands, and Daniel was just glowing with happiness.

Actually, this was the decisive argument for Daniel, who played a role in the boy's consent to live in a foster family. But even the dog couldn't help him get used to his new parents quickly. If the captain sincerely tried to become a real father to the boy, then his wife behaved distantly, no matter how much Daniel tried to be a good son. He studied well. Teachers at the new school praised the boy, noting his accuracy and diligence. The boy did his homework without help, trying to do all the tasks correctly the first time so that there was time to play and take a walk with Chang. Sometimes the boy, along with a four-legged friend, resorted to Alexander, showing off how many new tricks Chang had learned. Mr. Ethan also knew about these visits. He did not swear. On the contrary, he was interested in how Daniel was doing.

The boy was willing to talk about his adoptive father, but when it came to his mother, he tried to hush up the subject. Mr. Ethan even called the captain to see if they were all right, and the captain assured him that everything was fine, and if there were any difficulties, they overcame them quite successfully.

He knew that his wife was a woman with a complex character, but he hoped that her heart would thaw. The boy was wonderful. And when she complained that Daniel was taking the dog somewhere for a long time, he told her not to find fault with the boy. But, on the contrary, tried to find a common language with him. And so they lived. Over time, both the captain's wife and Daniel came to terms with the current state of affairs and concluded an unspoken peace treaty.

And here, like a bolt from the blue: the guardians want to return the child. "Bring Daniel back?" Alexander even whistled. "Mr. Ethan, seriously, what happened? What did he do?"

"Yes, that's the thing, Alexander, that he didn't do anything. Studies well, does not bully. Yes, his wife made a condition for our captain: either me or him. She couldn't get used to it, nor could she love him. She says that she was tired of breaking herself, mental problems began. She, a medic, knows how to explain everything from a scientific point of view. Oh, poor boy!"

"And he, what kind of person is this!" Alexander was indignant. "He can't insist on his own!"

"Well, Alexander, it's not for you and me to judge here. Someone else's family, like someone else's soul, is dark. So we're taking our Daniel back to us."

"And that's right! Hey, Mr. Ethan, maybe they'll let me adopt a boy after all? Since these refused. Try again?"

"No, Alexander, dear, I doubt it. You have no family, no wife. Of course, you have an apartment, but we have a salary, you know what. And according to the law, there are many conventions. You've been working for a long time, you know everything better than me."

Alexander waved his hand in annoyance and went to his room.

Daniel even seemed glad to be back. She just really missed Chang. The children said: crying at night. He carried a picture of himself hugging a dog in his textbook, and after school he put it on the bedside table and looked at it sadly for a long time. And another misfortune happened to the boy. Somewhere in the guardians' house there lived a cat with button eyes, the only memory of the departed loved ones. The director wanted to ask the hapless parents to look for an expensive thing for the boy, but it turned out that they had gone to some resort. The captain took his other half to restore his mental balance. It is unclear where the dog was taken at that time.

And a couple of weeks later, Chang ran to the gate of the shelter. A little thinner, but just as active and restless. The children noticed him from the window, and a few minutes later Alexander had already let the dog into his house. Chang cheerfully waved his fluffy tail, clutching in his teeth a little drooling, but unharmed, Daniel's pet cat.

He met a boy who burst into the gatehouse with a squeal and high jumps. Dropping the toy, Chang licked the boy's eyes, nose, lips - without really seeing. And Daniel, not shy of rolling tears, hugged the shaggy dog by the neck, repeating "Chang, you are my good dog! You came. I've missed you so much! My good, my best! You didn't leave me!"

The kids who came running to the noise, quieted down, looked at Daniel and Chang, and Alexander, turning away, quickly and imperceptibly wiped his eyes ...

"Daniel, do you understand that we will have to return Chang to the owners?" "Yes, Mr. Ethan, I understand....

Daniel was sitting in the director's office, staring at the wall with dry, inflamed eyes. And there was such doom and hopelessness in this "I understand" that Mr. Ethan, who had seen a lot of things over the years, involuntarily fell silent, not knowing what to say to at least slightly reduce the pain of the little man sitting in front of him. Huddled into a ball, hugging a drooling, battered cat with button eyes, he suddenly turned back into that confused, heartbroken domestic child who was brought here four years ago by employees from custody. "Then am I calling?" "Call them. Can I go to Chang's? While ..." The boy hesitated for a second, and, swallowing, continued in a hoarse voice. "While he's here..."

"Go, Daniel."

Mr. Ethan sighed and dialed the number. The captain was glad that the dog was found. It turns out that they only returned the day before yesterday and took Chang from overexposure. But the dog behaved strangely. He was worried, rushing around the house and yard. Then he seemed to calm down. And when they returned, it turned out that there was no dog. They thought that Chang was offended for the overexposure, even regretted that they gave him there. They started searching. And now, thank God, he was found. Yes, he will come and get the dog. And the wife is very worried.

"You see, the dog was overexposed, so they gave it away in vain, and the boy was sent to an orphanage, it turns out, not in vain." The thought scratched painfully. "He didn't even ask about Daniel"

Daniel was crying, huddled in a corner of the playroom. He left Alexander's room on purpose. The owner was about to come for Chang. The dog rushed to the boy, but the caretaker resolutely ordered the dog to lie down and wait. Chang obediently lay down.

When he saw the owner arrive, he was delighted, wagged his tail, but, already taken on a leash, suddenly rested and froze, looking towards the main building. "Hey, foster parent, can I ask you something?" Alexander frowned at the man. "How did it happen that out of your whole family, only the dog turned out to be a human?"

The captain silently looked at the caretaker, and he continued, "Daniel is a golden boy. He lived with you for almost a year. And you didn't even remember a word about him. How did this happen? The dog's heart is broken, and you and your woman...? He has only an old toy left as a souvenir from his parents. And you didn't give it to anyone. The dog brought it. So, which one of you is human?"

The captain stood with his head down and did not try to justify himself. This calmed Alexander down a bit.

He touched the interlocutor by the sleeve and asked in a more peaceful tone, "Dude, sell me a dog. Chang. I know it's expensive with you. Daniel said he was pure-blooded and with documents. But I'll pay you any money. You see, the boy was orphaned for the second time, his hope died with the death of his parents, and he lost faith in people like you. If we also take away love now," Alexander nodded at the dog, "the guy will break."

"But how will the dog end up here? This shouldn't be happening. And the wife..."

The captain pulled Chang towards the gate almost imperceptibly.

"I think you can explain this to your wife. She doesn't live by feelings, she lives by reason. Then she'll understand. And we'll decide with Chang. If it's not possible here, I'll take it for myself. Daniel will be visiting him. I wanted to take this child right now, but they wouldn't let me. Although I'll try again anyway. Well, how is it?"

"But Chang got used to us, how will he be in another house?"

"And when Daniel got used to it, what was he like, didn't it seem to you? Oh, you..."

Alexander waved his hand wearily and headed to the playground, where the children noticed the loose board yesterday. He needs to deal with this.

The captain pulled Chang off the leash, "Come on. Home, Chang."

Lowering his head and looking around all the time, the dog trudged to the gate.

Suddenly, the door of the building opened, and a small figure rushed across the courtyard after the departing. Chang snatched the leash from the captain's hands and rushed to meet him. He barked, licked the boy's hands and face, and frantically wagged his tail in all directions.

Mr. Ethan saw from the window Alexander frozen on the playground, and the captain walking away at a brisk pace, and Daniel hugging Chang, who did not leave him. Yes, this is a problem. Okay, we'll figure something out.

Before the lights went out, the boy quietly slipped into the office:

"Mr. Ethan, did you really say that Chang can live in the gatehouse?"

"The truth, Daniel. But if there are any checks, Alexander will have to take him to his place in the city."

"But that's okay, right?", "good."

"Mr. Ethan," Daniel hesitated, "can I not be adopted anymore? I'll be waiting for Uncle Alexander. Chang and I will wait."

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