Kapitel 3: Chapter 3 — Leave it to me

"I hope she haven't moved too many books..."

I said as I walked up the stairs slowly, it can't be helped, I'm fragile.

I opened the door to the library and the first thing I saw was a stack of books on the desk facing the window they put in so I can have a view of the outside and not be locked in a dark room all day.

I looked around the room and could only see shelves full of books, a gray armchair with a simple and comfortable design next to a matching L-shaped sofa.

I walked in and headed over to the desk, she is probably hiding behind it trying to scare me. Sometimes she can be very childish and lose some intelligence, that's cute though.

"AHHH!"

I yelped with a little jump when I felt something cold pressing against my neck.

"Hahaha didn't you feel me approaching you, Leo? It was obvious I was behind the door."

That was what sister Irina said before withdrawing her hand and smiling beautifully.

"You know I can't hear you unless you speak loud enough much less I can notice your footsteps Irina."

A few days ago she asked me to call her only by her name when we are alone because calling her "sister Irina" sounds very old-fashioned, or so she said.

"Err... I'm sorry Leo, I got a little carried away, my hands were cold and I thought you could help me warm them up…"

"Haaaa…"

"Okay, let's sit on the couch. You should stop making jokes like that Irina, you're an adult already"

"It's okay no one is watching and it's not good to act like a boring old man all the time, I'm still very young and beautiful you know?"

After Irina sat on the corner of the L-shaped sofa, I laid down resting my head on her soft thighs. She liked to teach me this way. I took her hands and tried to warm them with the warmth of mine before class began.

"Well Leo, today we will review your Spanish pronunciation. You already know that it has a certain resemblance to Italian so you have to be careful with the intonations."

"You remember yesterday's reading, right? You can repeat it for me, the first time you will do it slowly and we will increase the speed with each repetition."

"Nn"

It is not surprising that I can remember some texts I have read before, as long as they are not too long or complicated. My memory is very good and my concentration improved thanks to my slight deafness which keeps me away from certain distractions, not everything is bad about being deaf I guess.

"Excellent, your pronunciation is very good, it is not much worse than mine. You certainly have talent learning languages. what language would you like to learn next?

"Hmmm, I'm not sure. French catches my eye, but Mandarin Chinese might be more helpful."

"Don't worry, I'll teach you the language of love so fast you'll have enough time to learn 5 more languages before you turn 10."

"Nn, let's get on with that" I nodded with slight anticipation.

After deciding on the next language, we continue the class with discussions in Spanish and quick questions to improve my vocabulary. Normally we discuss something we see in the news or something new I read in a book; however, I was not expecting this topic at all.

"This type of relationship will not have a happy ending for either of them, either because of health or compatibility. Over time, the older person will have problems of insecurity, jealousy and even her emotional state could accelerate the deterioration of her health. She will lose her beauty and make her partner lose interest in her."

"You are being very paranoid, why should you think about what will happen if I do this instead of doing it? If you are afraid to start something for fear of possible failure you will never have anything. Cowards do it and you are not Irina".

"I don't want to know if I'm a coward or not, I want to know your opinion on this Leo..."

"Haaaa..."

I'm not so dense that I don't realize why we're talking about this. Irina also sees me as a husband candidate and wants to know what I think of her indirectly.

The truth is that I don't really care much about her age, after all I'm a child. If she can take me seriously at this age, why can't I take her seriously when she's older? I'm not that despicable. Well let's calm her down for now.

"Of course I don't care how old she is, if I'm going to marry someone it won't be because of who she is, but because of who I am when I'm with her. Her beauty, her money, or her power are just complements and I will be happy if someone is able to love someone like me."

"Don't worry Leo! There will definitely be someone who is willing to love you and spend her whole life with you, you just need to grow up faster hehehe…"

Irina was back to her old self and even showed a new somewhat dangerous laugh that I had never seen before, I guess my words made her happy, I wonder if it is normal for a child to have to take care of the emotional state of an adult...

…

A week after that debate with Irina I was in the dining room eating with a new little girl, I had heard from Irina that mom Lorenza was not going to accept any more children but this time they were going to make an exception, I suppose there must be some secrets behind this since mom Lorenza is not someone who goes back on her words.

I was surprised when there was a girl sitting in my seat, I usually have breakfast alone since everyone has to get up early to go to school and my body needs more hours of rest than usual.

She has light purple hair and big green eyes full of life, which you would not expect to see in a child who moves to an orphanage, her hair barely reached her shoulders and bangs covered her forehead, she wore a black dress with white ruffles and a red bow at the neck.

I could tell she was stealing glances at me as we ate, we were silent as no one took the initiative to start a conversation. It could be because I'm not used to talking to someone my age, or maybe it's because she doesn't seem any different than the kids who live here, who I know very well.

"Leo aren't you going to introduce yourself with this cute girl?"

Irina came over and shook the hair of the girl, she ate and smiled happily at being called cute, I guess age doesn't matter for a woman's vanity.

"Sorry, I'm not used to it. Hi, my name is Leo and I am 6 years old.

I said as she pulled me up from my seat and walked over to hers so we could shake hands.

"He-hello my name is Mia and I'm also 6 years old"

Mia replied as she shook my hand a little nervously, she must not be used to greeting in this way but I'm not going to act like a child for her.

"Alright, finish eating so we can start class. You both don't go to school so I'll take care of your education, since you're much ahead of Mia, you will help her so she can keep up with you, right Leo?

Irina was trying to get me closer to Mia, or so I think. Well she seems to have manners and she's not that childish, I could try to help her a bit if she doesn't slow me down too much.

For her to have such good manners at the table she must have come from a good family that taught her the necessary manners according to her status, I wonder how she ended up here.

"Nn, leave it to me."

I nodded and responded with a small smile.