🎶Make a better place for you and for me ~ Michael Jackson

●Tara Afua Henrie●

"Allow me to officially welcome you to the El Cielo de los Niños Orphanage." Gael beamed.

The hallways were bright and cheerful, adorned with colorful murals which I guessed were painted by the children. We could hear their laughter and the sound of playful chatter echoing from a nearby room.

"As we walk through, let me tell you a bit about the history of this place," Gael began. "So as you already know, the orphanage was founded by Señora Grace Ancira-Perez in 2009. She commenced the initiative with just a handful of children, and as the years rolled by her compassion, dedication and resilience grew the orphanage into what it is today."

"How many children are you taking care of now?" Eden asked, scanning the environment wirh curiosity.

"Currently, we have around two hundred children here," Gael replied. "We provide them with not just shelter, but also education, medical care, and emotional support. We have qualified caretakers who live on the premises and look out for their wellbeing. We like to think of this place as a sanctuary for kids who have nowhere else to turn."

We strolled through the halls with Gael showing us the various facilities. "Here we have the classrooms," he said, pointing to a row of rooms where some children in their early teens sat, engaged in various educational activities. "We have qualified teachers who volunteer their time to ensure the kids get a good education."

A few of the kids spotted us and we waved. They waved back enthusiastically with smiles.

"And this is the pre-school for children from ages 3 to 6." Gael ushered us into the classroom filled with the babble of chatter.

The kids were all busy, working on some art projects. Crayons were scattered on several tables along with some papers and watercolours. Their teachers moved around, checking the progress of everyone's work and providing assistance.

I moved closer, drawn to a little girl with pigtails hunched over her work. "Hi sweetheart."

She looked up, her lips tipping into a small smile. "Hi."

"What's your name?"

"Merida."

"Well, Merida, what are you working on?"

"I'm making a poster for the charity fair." She held up her drawing of some stick figures.

"Wow, it's beautiful. Oh look you've even got a little you in it." I pointed at the figure with the wild pigtails. "Standing next to a..." I squinted at the drawing. "A penguin?"

Merida giggled, "That's not a penguin. That's Señor Shaun in his suit. Anytime he comes around, he brings us nice things and plays with us."

Hearing her say those things about Shaun warmed my heart. Guess he's far from the average rich guys you see nowadays.

"Tara, smile."

I turned to find Carlos holding up his phone. Smiling with Merida next to me, holding her artwork, Carlos took a few pictures before bringing the phone down. "Perfect."

"What are the pictures for anyway?"

"Promotional content for our social media platforms," Carlos responded. "This is the very first event we'll be headlining. The hype has to be crazy."

"Ok everyone." Gael clasped his hands. "On with the tour."

After waving Merida and the other kids goodbye, we moved back into the hallway as Gael steered us into another section of the orphanage.

"So," I began, falling in step with him. "How often does Shaun come here? I was speaking to one of the kids and she mentioned that he usually spends some time playing with them."

He chuckled with a nod of admiration. "Oh yeah, he does. Despite his busy schedule, he at least tries to spend time with them every weekend." As Gael paused, the smile on his face disappeared. "After his mother's passing, Shaun's dad, Romulo Perez, wanted to bring the orphanage down because to him it wasn't worth keeping now that his wife was gone. Shaun was the one who stood up to him. At the age of seventeen, he took over the management of the orphanage. Did whatever he could to ensure that his mother's legacy continued. I mean, without him, this place wouldn't be standing right now."

I was beyond surprised. Shaun's dedication and determination really impressed me. The fact that he had taken over such a huge responsibility at such a young age and fought to keep his mother's dream alive spoke volumes about the kind of person he is.

"And this," Gael said, gesturing around to a room partitioned in two. "is our recreation room. On one side we have a mini library. On the other is the TV room. The kids spend a lot of time here, especially during weekends and after school. We believe in the importance of play and relaxation for their overall development."

Gael then led us to the dining hall, a spacious area filled with long tables. "This is where the kids have their meals. We also use this space for gatherings and celebrations."

"What about medical care?" Eden asked.

"We have a small clinic on-site," Gael explained. "We work with local doctors and nurses who volunteer their time. Shaun also made sure we have access to necessary medications and medical supplies."

As we continued the tour, we reached the dormitories. "This is where the children sleep," Gael said. "We have separate wings for boys and girls. Each child has their own bed and personal space."

The rooms, though filled with bunk beds, wasn't as congested as I thought it would be. There was enough space for wardrobes, shoe racks and several nightstands beside each bed. Each bed was meticulously laid, the white bedsheets looked pristine clean under the florescent lightbulbs.

"One last stop," Gael said, leading us to a large outdoor area. It probably must've been recess because the children spilled out in their numbers.

"This is our playground and garden on the otherside." Gael pointed to the left. "The kids spend a lot of time here, playing and learning about the necessities of gardening and nature."

"Wow," I said, looking around the wide field of space. "I guess this place really is a children's heaven after all."

"Yeah." Jax nodded in agreement until he turned to Gael. "Although, I'm inclined to ask. You guys seem to have everything, so why the need to raise funds?"

"The funds generated during the fair won't just be for this orphanage alone," Gael explained. "They'll be distributed across all orphanages in Mexico. This is just our way of giving back to the community and helping other institutions like us. I know about sixty percent of orphanages in the country don't have most of the facilities we have and that's why we need to extend a helping hand. The children we see today are the future we're looking forward to. And in order to ensure that it's good enough, we have to do whatever we can to care of them."

Jax looked convinced by his answer. Hearing Gael say all those things made me feel really good about being apart of this initiative.

"Well said." Carlos nodded, shaking hands with Gael.

Just then Refugio joined us with about three men following with cameras. "Good, you're done with the tour," she smiled. "These gentlemen here are with the media and they're here to take a few pictures."

"Oh great." Gael turned to the children and called out, "Niños! ¡Reúnanse para tomar algunas fotos con nuestros invitados especiales!"

The children, in their numbers, excited and eager, ran over to us, filling the space with laughter and chatter. We arranged ourselves in various poses. Jax lifted a little boy, placing him on his shoulders while Carlos and I knelt down, surrounding ourselves with the shorter kids and Eden stood next to the others, simply hooking her arms over their shoulders.

"Say cheese."

"Cheese!" We all chorused and the photographers snapped away, capturing the joyous moment. Tomorrow by this time, they'll be all over social media and the papers.

"Got room for one more?" Shaun appeared behind Gael, eyes sparkling in mischief.

The kids erupted with cheers, shouting, "Yes!"

Shaun joined us, perching himself next to Carlos. Our eyes met briefly, and he gave me a warm smile that made my heart flutter in my chest.

With everyone in place, photographers took more photos and it wasn't long before we wrapped up the session.

As we all dispersed, Shaun's eyes met my again a second time and he moved closer. "Long time no see, GuiTara."

"That should be my line," I responded, crossing my hands and he chuckled.

"Come on, walk with me."

We strolled up a sloping pathway, leading up to a higher a platform that overlooked the playground and the garden.

"So how's the celebrity life?" Shaun asked. "I saw a number of your pictures from your recent photoshoots in Ellis magazine. You guys looked like bonefied rockstars."

"Thank you. Well I have to admit, it's been fun. With the shows and the interviews. Ever since we signed the contract with Glow Records we've had a lot more exposure, although it came with some downsides. I mean, I can't remember the last time I stepped out of Pam's house without finding a douchebag with a camera, hiding in the shrubs."

His laugh reminded me of the first time we met and it made me smile.

"It's like I signed a contract to throw my privacy out the window."

"Nah. You'll get use it, overtime. You just need to find a new place."

I scoffed, "Yeah well, with the activities Refugio has planned for us and our scheduled band rehearsals with our creative director, I doubt if I'll ever find the time to go apartment hunting."

A beat of silence occurred as we looked over the playground. The kids, jumping around in their own world of fun.

"What about you?" I asked, steering the conversation over to him. "How's work?"

"Meh." Shaun leaned against the metallic railing, his expression bland. "Same old boring stuff."

"Gael told us about this place and how you took over the management at seventeen after your mum's passing. That was really brave and admirable of you," I said, hoping to cheer him up.

However, all it did was make his eyebrows dipped into a pensive look. "Yeah well, as admirable as it was... I wish there some decisions I hadn't taken back then."

I hoped he'd say more, but the way his lips pressed into a thin, firm line told me he was done, making me wonder what the heck he was referring to. It wasn't the orphanage. From everything I'd seen today, I could tell that Shaun loved this place as much as his mother did.

But there was something else that was disturbing him. Something he was keeping to himself.

Out of nowhere, a frisbee zoomed past my head, causing me to duck. "Whoa!"

A little voice called out, "Lo siento!" and a boy with tousled hair came running over, looking embarrassed. "I didn't mean to throw it in your direction."

"No harm done, kiddo." Shaun picked up the frisbee, chuckling. Then his eyes turned to me wuth a playful glint that wasn't there before. "Wanna play?"

I raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at my lips. "Do you even know how to play?"

Shaun's confident grin widened. "Of course I do. Think you can keep up?"

I laughed, feeling a spark of excitement. "Challenge accepted."

*****