Stranger’s Home: A Short Story

Samantha has been a smart girl since childhood. Maybe that’s what made her stand out in a group of 20 kids in the orphanage. However, this didn’t help her find a family of her own. Instead, it was something unusual that happened to her.

Samantha was just three months old when she came to the orphanage. Her parents had died in a car accident. Since then, she had been all alone, barring the warden who used to take extra care of her.

Samantha had a brilliant mind but mischievous eyes. Once, when she was just six years old, she replaced the sugar bottle with a salt one. That day the entire orphanage had salty tea for breakfast. Only the warden knew the truth, but she liked these little quirks of Samantha’s.

Another time, she turned off all the water stopcorks. Several kids in the orphanage sat in the bathroom for almost 30 minutes, with the soap on and no water to wash it off. The warden was pretty sure that this too wasn’t a coincidence since it was just Samantha and two other girls who were not affected by this incident in any way.

The warden knew that Samantha demanded attention, and she did her very best to cater to her needs. But she did not want to be biased. So, every Sunday, when the entire orphanage used to visit the nearby beach with the other staff, Samantha would go with the warden for an ice cream treat.

She used to dress her best whenever she knew that a family was going to come for adoption. She used to outdo herself every time. But, families came with their preset notions of what kind of child they wanted to adopt.

Consequently, she started resenting the other kids. Nobody knew exactly when Samantha turned into this envious person who was full of rage. She had lost hope of getting adopted. Not everyone is keen to adopt a preteen who may not have a mind-blowing history.

Then one day, she overheard the warden talking about a family visiting soon for another adoption. She knew she stood no chance. She soon forgot about it without thinking much about it. She busied herself with her schoolwork, bothering other kids, and making their lives a little difficult.

The day the family visited, she did not even bother meeting them. While she was sitting in her room, engrossed in one of the novels she had picked up from the library, she heard a lady slip in the hallway. She went running to her, smirking at the outlandish clothes the lady was wearing with very big sunglasses on her face. She helped the lady stand up and made her sit in the room. She didn’t mind asking the lady about her whereabouts and the things she was curious about.

They ended up talking about things Samantha didn’t know existed or were possible. They talked about travelling, fishing, skydiving, hiking, and all the outdoor sports that Samantha wanted to do someday.

What Samantha didn’t know was that the lady was visually impaired.

As they were talking, the warden came walking up with a man who too seemed a little peculiar. He wasn’t looking straight, but he was talking directly to the lady. The couple left with the warden, without saying anything to Samantha except for the promise that the lady would see her soon.

Later, the warden got a call from the family that had visited the orphanage. At first, the warden got a little emotional but then she ran up to Samantha to inform her that the lady she was talking to in her room was the one visiting for adoption and the couple was visually impaired. And, they had decided to give Samantha a home. They wanted her to be their eyes and see whatever they have missed seeing in this beautiful world.

She finally got the family she needed. The family got the child they wanted.