Time is the beholder of life; it holds all things back to the present and into the future. It is like life and death. You cannot choose the beginning or the end. For if you wish the end to never come, you will fall to the hatred of time. Be it as it may, it will all end just the same way it begins.
...
The three were now more than a few blocks from the orphanage, so they began biking once more. Ash rode alone while Jordan and Aurora decided to race again.
Ash took in the scenery before him—the crescent moon still brightening the streets. Time passed. He was no more than a block away.
He saw the usual parked cars, neighbors he knew, and some new faces he didn't. When he reached the orphanage, he noticed a yellow taxi parked at the front.
He wondered who it could be. His first guess was Bill. Bill was one of the scouts for the orphanage; usually, when you saw him, it meant some family had chosen to adopt someone.
Ash locked his bike at the back of the orphanage and soon his feet reached the front entrance. When he opened the door, the room was bathed in a golden-yellow light.
Ash was on the first floor. It was large, with the kitchen to the right of the main hall and the gaming boardroom to the left. The main hall, where everyone walked through, connected directly to the front entrance.
He saw the usual: orphan kids and the two main caregivers, Ms. Emaily and Ms. Natalie.
In the center of the hall, a crowd had formed around someone. Ash wanted a better look at what was causing so much attention, but before he could...
"Hey, Ash," one of the orphan boys said while walking past him.
"Hi," Ash replied.
"What's up, Ash… dude," another boy said, fist-bumping him on the back.
"Hi," Ash said back, almost forgetting who the kid was.
"There you are," a short girl with brunette hair and brown eyes said.
"Hi… Nave," Ash said.
Nave was one of his friends. She was in the same class as him during school hours at the orphanage.
"Hey Ash, can you—"
"Wait, wait. I'm not helping with homework right now; it's getting late."
"That's not it, I was wanting to say… but whatever," Nave said, already disappointed by Ash's answer.
Before she started walking away, moping and feeling rejected, Ash stopped her.
"Wait, why are there so many people in the main hall?"
"So you just got here. Well, I heard that Aurora is… well, leaving."
"What? What are you talking about?!" Ash exclaimed, eyes wide. A tornado of emotions crossed his face—sadness, happiness, discomfort, and withdrawal all at once.
"She talked with Bill. I heard that one of her far relatives called the orphanage and… "