The Lost and Found

"How long were you there?" he asks

"Like 10 seconds"

"Well alright, you can leave the clothes on that chair under the TV. Then you can lay back in Germany."

I do as he asks and climbs back onto the large bed. I then pull the blankets and try to warm myself up.

"Okay let's see, I will run down what I have been reported, and what the young lady you have met has written down. So far most of your vision has returned. They said you had some issues visually when they got you in the paramedic vehicle. But most of your motor functions seem to be slowed down or unbalanced. But that is likely due to the fact you were in a very cold and wet environment. As well as you might also be lacking in food from my hunch of the weighing of you and your age. Slightly underweight. Have you eaten" he asks at the end of that lengthy explanation.

"Uuuuh...I have not eaten since yesterday"

He then begins writing down what I just said and continues where he left off.

"Alright so overall you are healthy and you just need to eat a meal, and warm up. You're a caiman so your a naturally more sensitive to the cold and the rain did not help. I am not sure which type of caiman you are, I would need to do a blood test or acquire it. But that means I need your guardian's permission."

I look away from him after that statement and grip my fingers on the blanket. He takes notice of it fast and leans forward a bit with the clipboard on his lap this tie.

"Do you have a guardian?"

"I...I don't know. I am an orphan now."

"Did you just lose your parents recently? You don't have to answer now but it helps you and me if you tell me now if you are willing to."

"My father is gone, and my mother lost custody of me."

"Did you get sent to an orphanage or do you have other relatives?"

"No, relatives. I was in an orphanage"

He breathes in and sighs a bit and gets up from his chair.

I look to where he is and pulls a phone off the side of the wall and begins to make a call on it.

"Yes? Yes, this is specialist Dr. Hjavar. I have a child that claims he is an orphan and from an orphanage. Look into any of them that has these descriptions."

*5-minute slater*

"Thank you, have a good day," he says placing the phone on the door.

"I will get these records and we will get this all sorted out. If you need anything pull and twist the lever of the back of the wall behind your head for emergencies, or just press the one next to it to notify us if you need something."

He says walking out of the room and closing it.

*Hours at 7 PM*

*Beeep*

the door lock unlocks and Ariel walks in and closes it behind her then removes her jacket within seconds tosses her purse on the shoe rack and simply walks over to her couch and slams her whole body into the couch in exhaustion.

She had been searching for Coda around the district for hours and even have to pay for more gas because of how long she drove around.

"Mhhhrph...." Ariel groans

I hope the kid is safe. Codaka is going through too much already. I am determined to find him and give him a home. But it just won't be today. Maybe I will relax and just watch something on the news. As if the news ever calms anyone. But it will distract me.

Ariel takes the remote from the coffee table and turns the TV on and just slumps over and looks at the wakes up. Then as it does the first thing that appears is the late-night news.

"This just in view hours ago a child was found unconscious in the rain shivering and left for minutes until a pedestrian finally called for emergency services. We have an exclusive interview with the person who reported it. That you Herald." the woman says

Ariel frowns immediately and leans forward listening intently

"That's exactly right Danielle, right here on this street which is just a soaked wasteland of water, and pedestrians walked here and this is the person who did what no one else bothered to do for minutes."

He gives his microphone to the man. An Orc man with short cut hair and a bit of a scruff of a beard wearing a service uniform.

"So what went through your mind when you walked by the kid on the ground?"

"I was shocked and pissed and hell. I have been deployed in 3 hours and I have seen situations like this and it is saddening. But to see it at home and the people here doing nothing just made me feel like slapping everyone's head. So I called emergency services, I gave them to the paramedics and they took him to the Providence Hospital."

"I see, and what did this kid remind of you specifically when you were in service?" the reporter asks.

"Well, he didn't remind me of anyone specifically. I have a kid, but he didn't look like mine. Especially since my kid is an orc and the kid on the ground was an ebony-skinned caiman. I think he had red feathers if I recall."

Ariel's eyes widen and she gets up land gets her jacket back on within 10 seconds and forgets her umbrella. She is already moving back to the parking lot within a timespan of 2 minutes and is already pulling out of the lot.

*Back to Providence Hospital*

Coda is sitting upright watching the TV hanging above a small table.

I have gotten to eat some hospital pizza so I guess it is not that bad. But I rather have a burger instead of 1 slice of pizza. I can have more but it doesn't seem special. No juicy meat on it except those tiny thin slices of pepperoni.

*Know to knock knock*

I jerk my head to my right and reach for the remote and pause it. I place it back on my lap and respond.

"Yeah?"

The door opens and the specialist from before walks in with another figure appearing right behind him. A red-haired woman appears behind him with both hands in her pockets.

Ahhh...What was her name? I completely forgot her name since I never thought I would see her face again. Unless she just looks like another lady I saw a while ago.

"Hey kid, surprised to get a call that you were missing, and then a call that you were here," she says with a small smile on the corner of her lips

"Who are you?" I ask

She takes a back for a moment but then bends over dramatically clenching her right hand over her chest while gasping.

*Gasp* "How could you forget me?!"

"I don't know."

"Well," she says adjusting her glasses and wiping her red hair behind her shoulders, " I am here because I was told you had gone missing from the orphanage. Then I was told you were in the Providence hospital. Would you like to explain why you are here?"

I stop for a moment and think of a good response. But I got nothing. Telling the truth always got me in trouble with my mother so I had to lie at times. A lot actually.

"I uh, left something back at home so I left to go get it..."

"Uhuh...Yeah sorry honey, but those honey sweet innocent words won't work on me. So please tell me why so I can help you."

*Sigh*

"I wanted to leave that place. I am too lonely and there is nothing there for me! No friends, no family, nothing of familiarity! So I left to find it! Find...Someone who would care instead of putting me in a cage."

There is a moment of silence and Hersha begins to write some stuff down after a small sigh.

"Okay, I will also be writing these things down and reporting them to the organizations I can connect to. I don't want you to be sad, especially since children under conditions like you are vulnerable to situations of distress or issues later on in life. I intend to ensure that doesn't happen to the best of my ability."

"Okay?" I say with confusion in my voice. I have no understanding of that.

"I-" the Doctor gets cut off and a door kicks open with an abrupt swing

*BAM*

"Who are you?!" Dr. Hersha remarks with a sudden shock.

I jerk my head over and I see a feminine figure with blond hair, and also a jacket. Ariel?!

"Codaka?!" Ariel yells

"Huh?!"

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?!" Ariel screams running over to me and embracing me within seconds with Hersha confused.

"Mom! I want to go home!" I scream before beginning to sob

"I know I know we will go home. I promise. Wait, you called me mom?"

My eyes widen and I feel a bit ashamed since she isn't my mother and my actual mother hates me.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to call you that I-"

"No no, it doesn't matter. You can call me whatever you want. But I will promise you. You are coming home soon."

As she continues to hug me I begin to cry a bit but try to hold it in as much as possible.

After a couple of seconds, I hear some rough but loud footsteps and see over the shoulder of Ariel near the doorway a couple of dark blue officer uniforms arrive.

"Wha-" the Doctor raises her hand up to silence the officer and gestures for them to stay silent.

"Ma'am, you know the regulations and under code-" he gets cut off by the doctor who with a gesture over the lips signals him to zip it like my mother did to me when she wanted me to shut up.

"You also know I have, as a doctor in emergency situations an executive function. So I am using it right now."

Dr. Hersha leans towards the cop more out of my hearing and I am unable to read her lips.

"This child just ran away from an orphanage because of an abusive negligent parent who caused physical harm to him, and now he feels safe for once. Do. Not. Say. Anything." she says with almost a threatening posture.

The officer turns his head to his partner whose hand is on a taser, the officer shakes his head to his colleague to stand down. The officer nods his head and they both take their leave.

*Several days later*

Ariel is in her car taking a last left turn into the driveway into the parking lot. She finds herself back in the apartment's gated parking lot.

Once getting her assigned parking spot without much of a second thought steps out of her car, opens the back seat, and pulls out some groceries. Shutting the door, she proceeds to the elevator, and after a couple of minutes of waiting she is on the level of her apartment.

Exiting she makes her way not over to her apartment, but further to Alissa's apartment. She knocks on the door a couple of times and waits.

*Ca-click!*

The door opens all the way and Alissa with wide arms lunges at Ariel and gives her a tight hug.

"Babe! You came back sooner than I thought. I thought it would've been at least another hour!" Alissa says

"Well, then again, I do have someone in my care now." she looks past Alissa and sees Arla and Codaka speaking to one another.

Arla is holding a whiteboard that has a couple of words on it.

"Okay, this is an 'I' okay?" Arla says pointing to it.

"Uhuh...I say the long 'I' when it is alone." Codaka says with a nod in a crisscrossed sitting position while Arla is sitting on a pillow.

"Good, now say the statement confidently and out loud. You should know how to sound out words now a bit. Should be simple."

"Okay! I got this!"

Arla begins to write something down something on the whiteboard. Then turns it around and Codaka begins trying to sound out what he is trying to read.

"I..I...I ah...I am, der....duh. Yeah duh! The 'M' and the 'B' make a m sound. I don't know why." Codaka says feeling proud of himself.

"Good. Now finish the statement out loud and proudly." Arla says with a slight smile.

"I am du-Wait...Wait a minute! Hey, that is not nice" Codaka catches on to the fact Arla was trying to make him say something targeted towards himself.

"I don't know whatever you mean by that. I am simply teaching you how to say a phrase." Arla says erasing the whiteboard in her hands with her napkin.

"That's a lie! You tried to make me say 'I am dumb' you schemer!"

"I didn't try to make you say that. Such an accusation is without evidence now. Also, you technically said 'I am dumb' right now."

*Gasp* "You've tricked me!"

"That's on you."

"Okay okay kids, time for learning to end here now. Now please honey your mother is here for you now" Alissa says gesturing to Ariel behind her.

"Mom!" Codaka gets up running over to her lunging at her leg. Rubbing his face into her.

"Thank you again for giving my son some tutoring until I get him into a school. Helps a lot." Ariel says bowing forward.

Codaka lets go of his mother's leg and bows forward as well in thanks.

"Oh, it's nothing girl! Besides, my daughter doesn't show any emotion. She is too much like her father. But she is also thankful for being able to play with him as well. Right honey?" Alissa turns looking at her daughter standing in her white dress.

"I am too grateful to interact with you," Arla says in a vague monotone voice, "Please come again so we may do this."

"See! Your son has been a good influence on my daughter. She has never wanted to do something so enthusiastically before!" Alissa states

"Uhuh...Well are you ready to go to our apartment room now, Coda?"

"Yes, mommy!"