Continuation of "Where it's White and Cold"

            The trees have snow on the branches, the ground is icy, and our old playground is frozen. We all walk to the forest, passing the playground and other groups from the orphanage making a tall slide out of snow. I remember the time when I kissed the playground during a winter and my lips got stuck to it. I didn’t have mittens on, because I was just outside to get the clean clothes that were outside drying. My hands were already dry and they got red fast as I tried to pull my lips back. I remembered how I heard from ladies that when we are cold to use our warm breath, and so I tried to stick my tongue out thinking if I lick the playground it will melt.  My tongue ended up getting caught instead. I remember feeling scared. What if I stay here for a long time and nobody finds me? It was night-time, so what if they leave me here for the night?

            I stood with my tongue out like that for about an hour. At least it seemed like an hour. But things do go slower when you are waiting for something. I thought Tatiana (the cleaning lady) might come, but I guess she was too busy cleaning. The weather was cold and windy. I cried. I think they needed clothing for the babies because I finally heard a door open. I have never been so happy for that sound. I heard footsteps behind me and tried to turn my head, but it didn’t quite work well.

            “Who are you sticking your tongue at?” a boy’s voice said behind me. Great, they sent a guy for the clothes. How is he going to help me? I thought. I couldn’t really talk without sounding like something he might laugh at, so I just started crying. The boy stood there for some time. I pulled on the lip again, but it started bleeding. Only then, the boy ran back towards the door yelling,

            “Need a hot cloth!”

            Tatiana was with him when he came back. She brought a hot, wet cloth and that melted off the ice on the metal. She kept saying things like "Oh my, thank goodness we got to you, you will be okay soon", as she gently patted around my mouth.  I remember feeling free after she was done. The boy gave me his mittens and his jacket and we all walked back inside. I never forgot the boy. He got transfered to my group when I turned nine and I found out his name was Yura. He was the best friend. The one who stole apples with me and climbed apples trees. The one who had the best idea for making houses in bushes during summer. He would find the best kind of cardboard near the stores and we’d find a full bush and make a house there. He would also stand up for Lena. Now he can’t. He was sent to a hospital and never came back. Some say he died from an illness, some kids say he got kidnapped when he tried to run away from the hospital, some say his birth parents took him back home. I’ll never forget his last words to me. It was the day he got sent off. We climbed a really high tree and found branches to sit on. He got this far away look and said,

            “There’s a real life up there". Everyone said this at the orphanage, because we knew there was life other than the orphanage.

            So personally, I think he ran away from the hospital, his birth parents found him on the streets, and he died from the disease because his parents couldn’t pay for the medicine. Well, that's what I think anyway.  

           It’s been a year since then. I don’t have as good of a friend as he was, but my guy friends stand up for Lena.

            I put my hand on Lena’s shoulder and press harder to keep her from slipping. You’d think with the big coat Lena’s shoulder would feel big, but her shoulder felt really small. She’s tiny, how can I not be protective over her? She is seven and she weighs, like, 40 pounds. Of course, we’ve been in the orphanage for two years now, so she was even smaller when we first came. But, she eats so much. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s the whole, I-throw-up-after-eating-ten-plates-of-food thing. I don’t know.

            Twenty other kids ran/jumped/skipped/danced/whatever-that-one-person-was-doing (a dog walk?) around us. Some throwing snowballs at each other, some sledding on their rears or feet, some eating snow, and some just looking around and laughing at everybody. That would be me (except, I don’t laugh just smile).

            “Think fast!” I heard a deep, full of laughter voice. And the next thing I see is a snowball flying my way. Super. Just great. I don’t do anything; just move Lena to my side because the snowball was coming down in front of me, where she was walking. The snowball hits me on my thigh. Sasha runs up to Lena and me. He tickles Lena through her coat. She giggles even though it’s obvious that the coat is too thick for Sasha to get her ribs. Then, he pulls my brown hat down to my eyes playfully, and says, “You’re not a fast thinker” and runs off. I stick my tongue at his back. Luckily, this time, it didn't stick to anything.  

            There are kids in the orphanage that remind me just how hard life can be. But there are those like Sasha who remind me that there’s such a thing as hope. Sasha is a handsome, fourteen-year-old, with sky-blue eyes that spark with a smile, tan skin even during the winter, dimples even when not smiling, and already he had a nice muscles build (which all the girls can’t seem to stop talking about). On top of all that, he helps out with kids, and “loves, loves, loves” (as he puts it) little babies. We became friends after this one time when he washed baby pants for me. We had jobs and one of them was to wash the baby's tights, since there were no diapers for them.  The tights were their diaper. Joy. It was my job and I didn’t want to do it. I guess he did. I decided it would be a good idea to become his friend right then and there. Except later, I didn’t need him as a friend just to wash baby pants for me. I needed him to remind me that life is good. He’s good at reminding me about that. One of the examples was just a second ago.

            I free my hand from Lena’s (who grabbed it after Sasha left) to pull my hat back from my eyes. Lena was looking towards where Sasha ran.

            “I want to be as fast as him” she says and points.

            “You will, don’t worry” I respond and add, “Do you want to catch him? You can throw a snowball at him, I give you permission. In fact, I’ll hold him still for you. And you can…”

            “Yes, yes yes!” Lena grabs my hand again and pushes through the crowd of kids.

            I ran with her, trying hard not to slip. We pass the corner of the fence and I see him. He was teasing three girls, who were blushing at his teasings.