---
Chapter 12 – The Girl Named Quin Lin
A week had passed at St. Haven's Orphanage.
To the staff, Wong Lu was just another quiet boy—polite, but not eager to blend in.
He stayed away from the noisy card games, the arguments over toys, and the endless chatter about who would get adopted next.
But there was one exception.
Her name was Quin Lin.
Thin as a reed, with sharp black eyes that seemed too knowing for her age, she spoke to him every day. Sometimes it was about what they had for lunch, sometimes about the way the rain sounded on the orphanage roof. She asked him questions most kids wouldn't—about what he thought of the stars, or whether he believed people had destinies.
Wong Lu never encouraged her, but he always replied.
Perhaps because she spoke to him as though she already knew him.
Two weeks later, the air in the orphanage shifted.
Mary Ann came.
She was in her early thirties, wearing a faded brown coat and shoes that had seen better days. Her smile was warm, but her eyes… they carried the exhaustion of someone who had been told "no" too many times. She had come looking for a boy.
The headmistress, Mrs. Clyne, went over the rules and requirements—
A stable home.
Safe environment.
Sufficient income to support schooling and health care.
Mary Ann listened, nodding, but Wong Lu could see the truth in her body language. She didn't meet those conditions. Not even close.
From the far end of the room, seated on the window ledge, he studied her carefully. His ability hummed beneath the surface, waiting.
He could change everything for her.
One thought, and she could walk out of here with any child she wanted.
But he didn't move.
Not yet.
Instead, he watched as she left with a polite bow, her steps heavy, her coat clutched against the wind.
In the corner, Quin Lin looked at him curiously.
"You were watching her the whole time," she said quietly.
Wong Lu's gaze returned to the grey clouds outside.
"Just wondering what she's looking for," he replied.
He didn't add the rest:
And whether I should give it to her.
---
Chapter 13 – The Uninvited Visit
Mary Ann came every day.
Once in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon.
Her smile grew smaller each time she was sent away.
By the fourth visit in a week, Mrs. Clyne stopped bothering with polite excuses.
On the seventh, she began to frown when she saw her walk through the gate.
By the tenth, she told the staff, "Mark her face. If she comes again, you know the answer."
That afternoon, Mary Ann's eyes glistened red as she stood on the porch of the orphanage, trembling. She had no anger left—only a quiet despair. And then she broke, tears streaming down her cheeks as she turned away.
From the dining hall window, Wong Lu watched her shoulders shake.
Later, he found Mrs. Clyne in her office.
"The woman who keeps coming… what's her name?" he asked.
Mrs. Clyne didn't bother looking up from her paperwork.
"Mary Ann. She's… persistent. But the rules are the rules. She doesn't meet them."
Wong Lu nodded slowly, storing the name away.
That evening, Quin Lin approached him by the stairwell.
"You want to get adopted by her?" she asked, her tone halfway between curiosity and challenge.
"Do you?" he replied.
Quin Lin hesitated. "Mrs. Clyne says someone else is coming for me tomorrow. I'm going to meet them."
He gave a single nod and walked away.
But Quin Lin didn't take the hint. She trailed behind him, tossing questions into the air like stones into a pond, watching for ripples.
When she finally gave up, Wong Lu was gone.
Vanished.
How did he do it? No one saw him slip past the gates. No one knew the route. But somehow, under the cover of night, he stood in front of a small, weather-worn house at the edge of town.
Mary Ann's house.
He didn't knock at first. He listened—to the quiet hum of the fridge, to the tired creak of the floorboards beyond the door. Then, three gentle taps.
No answer.
He turned the knob. Unlocked.
Inside, the place was barely kept together. The wallpaper was peeling, dishes stacked in the sink, and a faint scent of coffee and dust lingered. The air felt… heavy.
In the living room, Mary Ann was curled up on the couch, asleep under a thin blanket. She looked smaller like that, almost fragile.
Wong Lu stepped closer and tapped her shoulder.
She woke with a start.
Her eyes widened in confusion—then fear. "Who… who are you? How did you get in here?"
He met her gaze, calm. "I know what you're going through. That's why I want you to adopt me."
The shock on her face deepened. She didn't know this boy. Didn't know his name. And yet… he spoke as if he had read her life.
Her husband's betrayal. The divorce papers. The judgmental stares. The whispered "She's not fit to raise a child."
How could he know?
She sat frozen as he spoke—softly, steadily—then, just as suddenly, he was gone.
By the time he slipped back into the orphanage, the first hints of dawn were touching the sky. Quin Lin was waiting at the foot of the stairs, arms crossed.
"Where did you go?" she demanded. "You know we're not allowed to leave."
Wong Lu didn't answer.
He walked past her, silent, and lay down in his bed.
Sleep took him instantly.
---