章節 76: The Sunflower Orphanage

In the Suburbs of Country Z, a few blocks away from where Sato lived before, there was a run-down compound. In the compound were three wooden buildings, each two floors tall, built next to each other. The outside of each building once had bright paintings of sunflowers. As time passed, the weathering resulted in the gradual loss of the paintings. Now, they were barely visible.

A black Porsche car parked itself outside of the compound. There was a worn-out sign that looked like it was about to fall apart. The sign wrote 'Sunflower Orphanage'.

"I'll be here for a while, Butler Hank. You can leave first if there are things to do." Sato said to Hank before leaving the car.

Following along, Hank exited the vehicle and accompanied the young man from behind. "Young Master Gray instructed that I should obey your orders at all times. Unless, you instructed, it would be preferred to follow you around."

"Oh, that's fine then. Let us head in." Sato pushed open the wooden swinging doors. The door creaked as it opened. Accompanying it was the sound of chimes clinging with the movement of the door.

The front of the orphanage was grassless, with rough flooring covered all around. There were a few wornout playground sets in the corner, clearly it had been here for many years. As Sato and his butler walked closer, the sound of children shouting and laughing got louder. The atmosphere was boisterous and happy.

At the front door, Sato knocked on it as he awaited for someone to open up. The door eventually opened and revealed an older lady dressed in a nun outfit. When Sato saw the lady, he revealed an innocent smile that would've been able to melt anyone's heart.

"Mother Maria, how are you?" Sato reached out to give Mother Maria a hug.

When Mother Maria saw it was Sato, she too was happy. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Since you came to visit, I feel even better."

"Ah that's good." Sato came in with the Butler. "I'm sorry I didn't bring any gifts for the children this time."

"Oh, that is alright, silly. Your presence is more than enough. The children all miss you. Everyday they would ask when is Sato visiting again. When was he going to come play with them." Mother Maria reassured him before leaving the looking at the man beside Sato. "Excuse me, but this is...?"

"My name is Hank. I am a butler working under Mr. Sato." Hank greated her formally.

"A butler? Isn't Sato..."

"It's a long story, Mother Maria. I'll tell it to you later on." Sato said. They reached the end of the short hallway. At the end, a pair of wooden doors were closed, but it couldn't keep the sound of the children shouting down.

As he turned the door knob, the door creaked slightly and revealed the sight. There were two long tables in the simple dining room. Each table sat 10 children, who wore hand-down clothings. It was currently their meal time. The meal for today was fish congee and pickles, simple and healthy.

When the children saw who it was at the door, they immediately left their chairs and sprinted to the door.

"Big brother Sato!!!"

"Hello everyone!" Sato greeted with a bubbly expression. The children were so excited to see their big brother. Everyone fired questions at him without stop.

"Big bro Sato! I learnt how to do the 6 times table! You can test me later!"

"Big brother Sato, can you play with me later? Juno bullied me just now! I don't want to play with him anymore!"

"Big brother Sato, can we draw together later?"

"Big bro Sato, how long are you going to stay for today? I want you to read me a bed-time story!"

"Me too! Me too! I want you to read for me too!"

"That's not fair! I want big brother Sato to read for me!"

The conversation started to become more hostile. Hence, Sato quickly decided that he should appease to the little kids. "Alright, alright! I'll try to do everything that you all want! I'll even stay to read to everyone a bed-time story!"

"Yayyy!!!" The children cheered out loud. Mother Maria and her fellow Sisters all shook their heads. Sato sure knows how to draw the children's love and attention.

"But first, let us all finish our dinner. The Sisters and Mother Maria prepared such a delicious meal for everyone. So do not waste your food!"

"Okay, big brother Sato!" Everyone headed back to their seats obediently and swiftly finished their food. Sato stood at the entrace smiling at how well-behaved they were.

"Sato, have you eaten dinner?" Sister Sarah who was close with Sato asked him.

"No I have not."

"Let us eat together then. We still have some leftovers. Its enough for you and the mister beside you."

"Ah? Alright, then I won't stand on ceromony." Sato agreed to her invitation. He then looked at Butler Hank, asking him. "Hank, have you eaten dinner yet?"

"No I have not Mr Sato." Hank answered simply.

"Oh then that's perfect. You can have dinner here too." Sato gestured for Hank to sit beside him as Sister Sarah brought them the food to their table. "Thank you, Sister Sarah."

"No problem, Sato."

Mother Maria and Sister Sarah went ahead to sit in front of the pair of boys. The other sisters sat beside them. After saying their grace, they started to eat their meal.

Sato ate the food with bliss. The fish congee that Mother Maria made was one of his favourite meals of all time. It may not be up to par with michelin starred restaurants, but the food had it's own significance.

A year ago, when Sato rented the dingy old apartment in the suburbs, there would be times that he would lack the money to get food. Thus, sometimes Sato would live on two meals a day.

One time, he had his wallet stolen by a thief. Sato tried to chase after him, but to no avail, he failed to catch him. He had lost his remaining pocket money for a week.

Starving and lost from the chase, Sato eventually stopped moving outside Sunflower Orphanage. Sister Sarah , at that time, was playing with the children outside. She saw the exhausted Sato and decided to invite him in for a meal.

The first meal that was prepared for him was exactly the Fish Porridge made by Mother Maria. As the smooth congee flowed down him throat, it revitalise the starving young man. Within a minute, he had already finished up his meal and asked for seconds.

From that day on, Sato came to know of this orphanage and would visit the place every weekend. He would stay here for half a day to a whole day, just playing with the children. He would even help clean up the orphanage when the children are taking their afternoon nap.