In a small orphanage located in the woods, there are nearly fifty children being cared for before getting adopted. During their time being protected and cared for in the facility, they only had four activities in their daily schedule. Drawing with color pencils onto paper, go to a small classroom to teach them basic skills that will be needed in life, receiving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the cafeteria and the other side of the orphanage, and sometimes make promotional videos online for each child to express themselves and their previous families who either passed away or were lost in more dubious or tragic circumstances.
However out of all the children in the village, they didn’t go through as much pain and suffering than what Oliver had been through. As three eight year olds headed outside of their local apartment, one child stopped himself and turned around.
“Oliver, come on!” Joseph called, looking at Oliver laying his head on his pillow, not giving a response.
“We’re gonna draw a colorful rainbow!” Emily added. However this didn’t make Oliver thrilled, not even a little bit.
“Oliver, you can’t just stay in here all day.” Tim added. When Oliver looked slightly at his friends, he didn’t bother to move a muscle. In fact, he’s too depressed and exhausted to get up.
“I don’t want to go outside today.” He spoke with a quiet tone.
This caused Joseph to step back into the room. “Look, I know you have been going through the worst luck imaginable, but we’re just trying to help.”
“I’ve been drawing and made three adoption videos and all it did for me is get me back here over and over again.”
“Come on Oliver. That happens sometimes to us.”
“But do your legal guardians remember to keep the whole house clean, while also not being abusive?”
The three kids had nothing to help Oliver’s situation. They’ve remembered nearly two months ago where they saw him back at the orphanage after his last set of parents got arrested for child abuse and neglect.
“Maybe you're right.” Emily said, lowering her head.
“You really smell some serious toxicity behind closed doors, you never like anything that smells good anymore.” Tim placed his hand on the back of his head. “Or taste anything good anymore.”
This caused both Joseph and Emily to glare at Tim, causing him to back away. Oliver felt a little devastated from hearing what his friends mentioned. Everytime he heads back, his emotions get the better of him, even worse than before.
“I want to be alone! Please leave me be!” He shouted which caused them to rush out of the room with Joseph closing the door behind him. All of his friends sighed in disappointment. They’ve been hearing the same recent news about him to the point that there’s nothing to cheer him up.
In the next hour, Joseph and the others began eating sandwiches in the cafeteria. Other than most of the children being in their classroom or the cafeteria, Oliver is still in his room, not even hungry enough to take his time to take a sandwich for himself.
“You three feeling alright?” One of the adults spoke to Joseph and the others.
“Not much, Oliver won’t leave our apartment to play with us.” Emily replied. “He’s feeling worse and worse every day.”
“Yes I’m aware of what he’s dealing with.” She placed her hands on her hips. “Those adults who adopted him have no respect for their surroundings.”
“Yeah.” Tim took a bite of his sandwich. “He has the worst luck out of any child in this orphanage.”
“Look we’re doing everything we can to make sure that he’s safe to get adopted the right way. It’s not easy to have every child leave the orphanage.”
The kids remember their first day at arriving at the orphanage nearly nine months ago, compared to Oliver, he had been here for three straight years, longer than any other child here. “Do you think he’s ever going to leave here for real?” Emily wondered.
“Highly likely, but not anytime soon I’m afraid.” As the adult left the cafeteria, she went to the main office where her boss is working. She was told this morning that four visitors are coming over to cheer up every child in the orphanage. They’re also one of the most recognized people in the state thanks to their talented qualities.
The speakers all over the orphanage soon turned on, allowing every child to listen to the announcement. “Dear children, in about five minutes, two young teenagers are gonna arrive here to play with all of you. In addition, they told me two more people are coming over to help since they’re very respectful towards children. Please go to the parking lot and wait patiently.”
As the speakers turned off, everyone ran to the parking lot, thrilled to have visitors who can keep them occupied. Unfortunately Oliver didn’t bother to leave his room even after listening to the announcement. He only had two or three surprise visitors during his years here and it wasn’t enough for him due to his depression.
“What’s the point of meeting teenagers when all they do is to cheer me up? It’s not enough for me!” He slammed his head on his pillow.
For the next five minutes, the children and adults saw a pink car with different kinds of flowers painted on both sides. When the car drove through the front gate of the orphanage, they parked with the driver removing the keys from the ignition. She along with her three friends came out of the vehicle with every child in disbelief.
They saw two young girls, one with the light pink hair while the other has black hair, but also intelligent in mathematics. But what caught the kids attention was on the other two people who came out from the back of the vehicle. They saw a very tall gem who helped so many citizens in the city along with a while bear who’s from the arctic.
“Is that...a Crystal Gem?” A young black girl pointed.
“And a bear?” A white girl also pointed.
“You’re right kids.” Connie smiled. “You didn’t expect just humans to come over huh?”
“Well, they thought that the Crystal Gems and three bears from the population are only available in the city.” One of the adults replied.
“Well, today is your lucky day!” Fluttershy moved her hair. “I’m Fluttershy, these are my friends Connie, Garnet, and Ice Bear.” She introduced her friends.
“We’ve been hearing that there’s children who need support from other people.” Garnet spoke while adjusting her orange shades. “Been a long time since I played with a child.”
“Ice Bear wants orphans to be happy forever.” Ice Bear commented.
The kids are more than thrilled to play with Fluttershy and the others in the next two hours. They know how much they’re respectful towards kids whenever they are feeling good or feeling down. They all cheered as Fluttershy and the others followed them to where they normally spend their recess.
For the next hour and fifty minutes, Fluttershy and her friends played games with the orphans. Fluttershy used a jump rope for the kids to jump in, Connie teached one of the kids simple math equations and Garnet has one child sitting on her shoulders as she runs, keeping the kid on her shoulders at all times.
Ice Bear allowed three kids to ride on his back, taking pictures from the adults who will post them on their website. However he was shaking after drinking a bottle of water on the way here.
“Ice Bear needs to use the bathroom.” He spoke as he prevented the next child from getting on his back.
“The bathroom is in the hallway to your right.” One of the adults pointed to the door where one of the hallways in the orphanage is located. Ice Bear headed inside to use the bathroom while Fluttershy walked up to the kids who Ice Bear took pictures with.
“I think he took enough pictures for all of you. We’re gonna be leaving soon.” She smiled.
“Yeah, I can only imagine how it felt if this orphanage was bigger than I thought.” Connie chimed in.
“And after giving those children rides on my shoulders, two hours is enough for me.” Garnet added. “But it’s still nice that we give these children some support.”
“Tell me about it. These poor children really miss their parents so much. Do you ever consider how life could have been if we were those children?” Connie turned to Fluttershy.
“I would definitely lose all of my kindness if that ever happened to me.” Fluttershy responded. “These people deserve so much better than what happened to their parents. Life just isn’t fair for everyone.”
She then looked at the ground in fear. She may not have seen any child in a miserable way in the village, but the image of seeing one far worse is something she wished wasn’t real.
“We should go to the main office so we can thank the boss before we leave.” She turned to her friends while trying to keep an open mind.
Back in one of the hallways, Ice Bear exited out of the bathroom. He then saw that most of the children are heading back inside, satisfied after two hours of playing with his friends. He’s also aware that Fluttershy told him about meeting the boss before they left here. Without saying a single word, he walks down the hallway which is completely empty. He already knows it’s gonna be filled with kids after they do their final class of the day so he wasted little time and walked a little faster.
Back in one of the apartment rooms, Oliver got off his bed as he’s hungry now. Even with his total depression always getting into his mind, he still needs food to survive at the very least. He opened the door and finally got out of his room for the day but out in the hallways, he was in the presence of Ice Bear who just stopped before he bumped into him.
He didn’t make any eye contact on him when he sighed while dealing with the same schedule in the same place he keeps coming back to. Ice Bear thought that every child was outside during the activities he did with them, but upon seeing just the one boy all alone made him surprised.
“Ice Bear sees...a lonely orphan.” He thought. As Oliver made his way to the cafeteria, he realized there’s a shadow blocking the lights from behind. He noticed that it’s not a human, it’s a bear bigger than one of the adults in the building. When he turned around, he gasped until Ice Bear picked him up.
“Help! HELP!” He screamed until Ice Bear covered his mouth. Luckily for him, there was no one around to listen to Oliver’s voice. He tried to shush him, but the child is still freaking out, thinking that a wild animal sneaked into the orphanage. He then gave Oliver a hug to calm him down much like he gives hugs to Chloe every once in a while.
Oliver slowly, but surely calmed down despite being aware of a bear inside the hallways. He spent the whole time in his apartment, he didn’t care who the guests that were announced hours ago, nor looking out his window to see them. He took a few deep breaths as Ice Bear put him down, thus breaking the hug. Ice Bear looked Oliver straight in the eyes, he needed to head to the office right away, but from the look on the child’s face, he can tell he can’t get help here anymore.
“Follow Ice Bear.” He said as he grabbed his hand.
“Wait, what!?” Oliver reacted. “But I don’t want to leave, I keep getting worse and worse when I get adopted by terrible people!”
“Ice Bear and friends are never terrible people.” He gave the child a courageous look. “Never at all.”
Oliver refused to resist in case he could cause an unpleasant reaction from him like when all the other adults adopted him. But Ice Bear was telling the truth, he’s not like the other adults Oliver had dealt with. In order to make the first step in help Oliver is to show him how much he cares even if he just met him.
In the office, Connie was doing some paperwork while Fluttershy and Garnet were sitting on one of the couches in front of the boss’s desk. “Almost done.” Connie responded while writing her name down.
“At least you manage to make almost every child happy when you all visit.” The boss smiled.
“Wait, you mean there’s more kids who haven't been with us recently?” Fluttershy reacted.
“Well I could be incorrect. The orphans sometimes stay in their apartments when they're too depressed, due to the trauma.”
“That couldn’t be healthy for a kid’s experience in the real world.” Connie responded.
“Trust me, you don’t understand how hard it is for a child to fit in with adults who adopted him or her. It takes lots of time but other times, the children end coming back here after getting abused.”
Garnet reacted in disbelief upon hearing the information. “Wait, so you're aware the children still get abused even when they leave the orphanage?” She spoke.
“You should consider knowing who the adults are when it comes to their personal information.” Fluttershy added.
“Sorry to disagree, but this isn’t an investigation facility. If it were, we would be police officers keeping the kids isolated, rather than keeping them safe.”
Fluttershy now understands how complicated adoption can be. Even if she listens to the stories of the children’s caring, but deceased parents, she’ll do anything to make a child happy for a better life. Just when Connie finished the paperwork, the office door was pushed open, revealing Ice Bear.
“Ice Bear?” Garnet turned around. “What took you so long?”
“Yeah, we’re gonna be-” When Connie and Fluttershy turned around, they saw Oliver shaking in fear, still refusing to run away when he had the chance. “Oh my goodness!” She reacted.
“Look at his face!” Fluttershy said, placing her hands on her mouth.
When Ice Bear places Oliver in front of him, the child meets the other three guests. He can’t even feel any happiness in the presence of famous people, including by their looks. Fluttershy and the others can see how serious this is, not because of the eight year old orphan not making any eye contact with them, but also wondering if they met him during their visit.
“Who is this poor child?” Fluttershy asked, pointing at Oliver.
“That’s Oliver.” The boss answered. “He became an orphan three years ago and...let’s just say the Orphanage is essentially his permanent home now.”
“Permanent?” Connie blinked in concern. “Has he been adopted before?”
“More than once actually. Trust me when I’m saying this, no other child in the orphanage has been through worse when it comes to adoptive parents.”
Upon hearing that, Fluttershy and the others looked at Oliver. The child had barely showered nor eaten much every day due to what’s been happening with him recently. Almost like he never revisited the last time he had a smile in his life.
“Do you have the forms of this child?” Garnet asked.
“I do, give me a second.” The boss took out his key, inserted it to the lock on the file cabinet where most of the forms are located, opened it and took out Oliver’s form. She gives it to Fluttershy as she begins to read it with Connie, Garnet, and Ice Bear looking at the forum behind her.
They see the information on Oliver’s parents from before they died which causes Fluttershy to become more curious. When she looked at the next paper in the collection of forms, she saw several photos of Oliver and his parents. They’ve lived in a small house in a neighborhood where there’s some trees and little else.
But when she turns to the next piece of paper, it reveals some small bits of information about the death of his parents. “Oh my goodness…” Fluttershy beginning to tear up.
“It gets even worse.” The boss responded.
“What do you mean by that?” Connie added.
“Check his old adoption forms.”
When Fluttershy and the others read the information about the child abuse and child neglect towards Oliver, their jaws dropped. The amount of times Oliver went through the same situation and ended up back to the orphanage is something they never thought would happen to an orphan. Not only that, it got to the point that the more Oliver stays, he will lose more faith in himself.
“We need to do something about this.” Garnet commented.
“We’re probably gonna do some more paperwork than we expected.” Connie added.
“What?” Oliver lifted his head up until he saw Fluttershy’s face covered in tears.
“We’re gonna adopt you.” She responded.
Outside in the parking lot, nearly everyone including Oliver’s roommates were outside witnessing Oliver being adopted, only this time, it wasn’t the same strangers from before, it was Fluttershy, of all people. Her and Connie did the best to do the paperwork while bringing along Oliver’s information, so they can share it with their friends.
“Alright everyone.” Garnet called while coming out the door. “It’s a pleasure meeting you all, but this is an emergency for the kid we’re adopting.” The kids looked at each other, knowing that Oliver has far less experience with social communication after all the abuse he went through.
“You think he’s gonna change for real?” Joseph wondered.
“That’s gonna take a long time to process. You’re all wonderful people, but Oliver is not like you, even if he’s still an orphan.”
“I still found it difficult to believe that.” Emily added.
“And to think Fluttershy would adopt him is still mind blowing.” Tim added. “I didn’t think he would ever leave the orphanage.”
Garnet knew the kids weren’t lying, it’s one thing for a child to stay at an orphanage after their parents got killed, but after suffering so much neglect from several pairs of abusive parents is unreal. “No matter what happens, we have everything under control.”
Then Fluttershy, Connie, and Ice Bear walked out the front door with Connie holding onto Oliver’s hand. During the whole time, Oliver kept having panic attacks, fearing he could be dealing with the same situations from before. Just when they came up to their car, Fluttershy unlocked the door with her keys while settling into the driver’s seat. She didn’t make any eye contact with the kids whatsoever, with only a couple hours until nightfall, she’s focusing on her first step for her adopted child.
“Calm down, it’s gonna be alright.” Connie said to Oliver while he slowly headed into the vehicle. “This is obviously hard to accept, but believe me, your life is still worth living.” After Ice Bear sat next to the child after closing the door, she headed to the passenger’s seat in the front.
“We would thank all of you for trying to help Oliver, but it’s not like you had any other choice in the first place.” Garnet called as she opened the door from the other side. “He’s gonna be in good hands from now on.” She got inside, whilst waving goodbye to all the orphans. After closing the door, Fluttershy inserted her keys in the ignition, starting her vehicle, while heading out the orphanage’s parking lot.
Oliver looks at the orphanage itself, knowing today will be the last day he’ll ever stay there, but refuses to believe his trauma would ever be fully healed. He didn’t want to cause a fight because of how weak he is. Getting dragged down constantly due to his past life is what prevents him from looking at Fluttershy, Connie, Garret, and Ice Bear.
“You still feel distressed from the way your arms are shaking.” Garnet said, looking at the child’s arms.
“It’s just, when I had a room with my past adopted parents, they never gave me a blanket, nor a bed. I had to sleep on the floor.” Oliver responded.
Little did he know, Fluttershy made a slight gasp of concern. “Don’t say anything about your past.” Connie spoke. “In case you don’t understand, you're staying at Fluttershy’s from now on. She has a spare room with a real bed.”
The orphan couldn’t be thankful for how less he knew about these people. His carelessness didn’t mean a lot after the past three years of his life. “Don’t take this the wrong way but...I don’t know all of you.” He slowly turned to Ice Bear, who took notice from the look on his face. “I thought you were a wild animal, how am I supposed to know you’re not a normal bear?”
Ice Bear didn’t respond from the way he heard Oliver’s tone, if anything for the time being, the less he learns about him and his friends, the better. “Ice Bear is a close friend of mine.” Fluttershy spoked while driving on the highway. “From where you live, none of us live there. I know it’s hard to believe, but if we ever lied, you would still come back to the orphanage.”
“And the thing is...you should be in school at one point, not spending the rest of your life in an empty room.” Garnet added. “Granted, we agreed to have you wait until you're ready to be in a school environment, but as long as we’re protecting you, this process won’t take long.”
Oliver never had anyone aside from his parents to talk some sense into him. Usually, he would be the one attempting to make a stand against his neglectful owners. His life was so small, he didn’t remember the planet being so humongous. “Okay so...what should we do tomorrow?” He asked.
“Maybe Garnet and Ice Bear will take you out for the day.” Connie answered. “We would be willing to help, but we also have jobs.”
Fluttershy wanted to help out Oliver, but she agreed with Connie. She’ll be working all day with the animals, only relying on the time she will have with Oliver once she gets home. But on the other hand, the wait will be worth it when she spends quality time with him, showing how much she’s against child abuse and neglect. But as for tonight, she’ll prove it to him, no matter how short a timeframe it is.
After nearly an hour of driving on the highway, Fluttershy drove to the tree tunnel where her house is located. It didn’t take long for her until she saw the cul de sac in sight. “We’re here.” She spoke to get Oliver’s attention.
When Oliver saw Fluttershy’s house itself, it wasn’t as big compared to the other houses he went to. But bigger doesn’t always mean better every time. As Fluttershy parked her car inside her garage, she along with her friends and Oliver, exited her vehicle and garage afterwards.
“Aren’t we supposed to drop you guys off?” Oliver wondered.
“We can walk back to our houses, it’s not that far away in this neighborhood.” Connie responded.
“We'll pick you up once Fluttershy leaves.” Garnet said, walking past Oliver. “Consider tomorrow a semi journey then me and Ice Bear babysitting you.”
“Ice Bear can’t do much for one day, but Ice Bear will show the orphan more friends.” Ice Bear commented while heading home. After Oliver had the same supper just before he finally got adopted, tomorrow is just the beginning of his new life.
Fluttershy unlocked her front door, allowing her adopted child inside. “I want to make one thing clear with you.” Fluttershy closing the door behind her. “I’m not your mother.” Oliver knew she would say that, but it didn’t make him feel better, knowing that his parents are gone.
“It’s not like I’m calling you a bad person.” Oliver responded.
Fluttershy felt a heartstring tug, even when she’s relieved that Oliver isn’t calling her out. “Why do you think I’m not someone who can help you? Is it because of the amount of times you kept getting pushed down brutally?”
“Well...mostly but...I never expected you to adopt me. What your friends told me earlier, I’m not sure if I can adapt to it. I haven’t stepped foot into an open neighborhood, nor a town that’s harmless.”
Fluttershy placed her hands on her hips, even if she had the whole day to herself tomorrow, she won’t be able to show Oliver everything about her friends, her job as an animal carer, and how her life is way different compared to others all over the world.
“You don’t even know how wonderful my life is. If I was in your position, I would’ve ended my life earlier. I’m too sensitive to fight back, but being a pacifist isn’t something to ignore.”
Oliver did remember what a pacifist was in one of the classes in the orphanage. “You know, ending your life when you're getting bullied or abused is never gonna work.”
“But Oliver...I knew my parents more than you knew your own. No matter how old I get, I will always have the same disabilities. But that’s never gonna stop me in life.” She went past Oliver while placing her purse on her couch in her living room. “I would go on about this, but it’s getting late and I need to get ready for tomorrow.”
The orphan really wanted to appreciate what Fluttershy is doing, but at the same time, he still couldn’t get used to what he’s dealing with. “Why should I believe you?” He spoke in a serious tone. “I used to trust people who adopted me but now, I can’t even feel what it’s like to have a parent now.”
After Fluttershy listened to Oliver’s tone, she walked up to him while getting on her knees. Giving him a motherly look while wrapping her arms around him. It was the first time Oliver received a hug from someone that actually cared about him. As a matter of fact, it made his heart warm right then and there, during the moment where he felt truly protected.
“I’m nowhere close to being your parent, but you shouldn’t judge me for what I’m doing right now. In a day or week after tonight, you won’t be in this position of trauma anymore. And if it comes back to you, I’ll work as hard as I can to try again.”
Oliver never believed anyone after the lies they made, but from the way Fluttershy spoke to him in the sweetest, most honest tone she could give, it wasn’t a lie. He didn’t remember the last time his mother made a tone that calmed him down or even took him to a place of sanctuary.
He closed his eyes while sinking into the hug from Fluttershy. After about ten seconds, Fluttershy broke the hug while Oliver opened his eyes. “On second thought, I shouldn’t want you to think I’m a judgemental person. It’s kind of unappreciative.”
This gave the shy girl a smile. “I give people the time they need, until they believe they’re ready. Friends don’t always do everything to make themselves better.” She then takes him to her spare bedroom. “And if there’s one thing I’ll always do for you is giving you my speciality, whenever you need it.”
“What’s your speciality?” Oliver turned to Fluttershy after he stepped foot into the room.
“Kindness. And believe me, I can do better.” She closed the door and headed to her bedroom for the night. When Oliver looked at the bedroom itself, it wasn’t decorated with the walls painted in pink even without a tv set up. But once he saw the bed itself, it was filled with stuffed animals with a huge Spinel plushie on the side.
“I never had this many stuffed animals when I was a baby.” He looked at the ground, not remembering the only stuffed animal he hugged at night. “She really does have a thing for kindness when she means it.” He slowly tucked into bed with the stuffed animals around him.
The only stuffed animal that he couldn’t keep his eyes off is the Spinel plushie. It didn’t scare him, but the way the plushie looked happy with shaped hearts as her hair, he thought to himself, she needs kindness just as much as he needs it. While covering himself up with the blankets, he wrapped his arms around the pushie. Even though he's smaller than Spinel, he hugged it tightly, with his cheek touching Spinel’s cheek.
“Maybe spreading kindness isn’t hard, when it’s appropriate.” While he held onto the plushie, he drove himself to sleep while feeling comfortable in the mattress he’s laying on. Then the door was pushed open, revealing Fluttershy again in her pajamas. Upon looking at Oliver, hugging her Spinel plushie she just bought last week, it made her impressed, but also adoring his choice.
If she didn’t give him a hug just minutes ago, he wouldn't do the same. It may be a long time for him to fit in in his new life, but she’ll always be there to keep him safe. And as for the rest of her friends, it would take a while for Oliver to meet them, but it will be better late than ever, to have him learn more of what she experienced.
