Fiona beckoned him towards the living room. A couch lay beside the sparkling flames of the fireplace. He sat down,still not averting his gaze. Fiona attempted at speaking but stopped midway. It was as though the silence could only be broken by the man himself. He turned to her and spoke,
"Nice place you've got here."
"It was my great grandfather's.",she replied while pouring some tea. "Would you like to see around?",she continued.
"Most definitely."
Fiona took him around the manor. Their tour took quite a bit of time. They returned to the living room,and the man sat on the same couch. She dragged a chair beside him and say down. Now, all the sweet talks and poking around were over. It was business time.
"Which one do you want?",she asked openly and unashamedly.
"Well,give me some time to think. It's me who's taking all the risk,right."
He stared into the flames. His face told a different story in contrast to what he had said. It had bold conviction and decision. He had already made up his mind. The time was just an excuse to linger and unrest Fiona's mind.
"I'll take number 26.",he said after a long pause.
"That brat? There's a whole bunch of nice ones here and you chose him.What a shame?",she barked, disappointment and fury in her voice.
"You don't seem impressed Ms.Fiona",he replied,putting a bundle of notes in front of her.It was way more than enough to sweep the disappointment off of her face.
"It's your choice after all,who am I to argue."
Fiona pocketed the money and called number 26. It was our boy. In the orphanage names weren't given to the children. Instead they were identified by numbers. It was like the numbering of inmates in a prison,one could say. He heard Fiona calling him and rushed to the living room,dreading what would come next. He wouldn't have even dreamt of what would happen and how it would change his life.