Lucky Duck

"I say this to everybody, 'Adoption is not for the faint of heart.'"

~ Mariska Hargitay

A/N: These events are accounted to the best of my memory, and to protect the names of others, I am giving them pseudonyms.

The plastic comb smoothed through my hair, each stroke ended promptly at my neck. Again and again, it slicked down my silky short mane. I stood silently, not happy, sad, excited, worried, angry, bored, just normal. My eyes caught the kids playing with the dollies and dress up clothes. My friends were pushing the strollers with fake babies or driving around each other. Others were at the table colouring... scribbling to their hearts content, with one crayon each, on the pictures ingrained on paper. I wanted to be there too, alas, I was being prepped. For what, I didn't know.

Laughter filled the air mixed with the humid temperature of summer. No one complained though because summers were always extremely warm. It was as normal as the same meals we were fed day in and day out. There was a bit more commotion that day, as I was being especially taken care of. Like, more than the normal bath and clothing change. I was dressed in a romper with little flowers embroidered on the front, but I insisted on wearing a shirt underneath.

A cheer rang out, and a woman and a man with one of the nannies appeared in the doorway. My hand was grabbed by the kind caretaker who brushed my hair. The kids, most were near my age, gathered around me like I was a celebrity. In a way, I suppose I was. They danced around, skipping and sprinting, bounding and bouncing like energizer bunnies, all the while, they ushered me toward the female with gorgeous dirty blonde curls.

She was on her knee, squatting oddly with a little plush dolly that smiled back at me. Her words were a mangle of monkey jargon, so I payed no attention. Then she spoke something I understood as she held my hands. A grateful smile of relief crossed my face that she understood and returned with a smile. While I accepted the new toy, she stroked my hair. I didn't mind, the dolly was intriguing. The girl had black pigtails and a blue t-shirt with pink soft trousers and yellow flat-but-round shoes. The woman tilted my crown to place a kiss on it, and I didn't move away from the stranger's gentle affection. She may have looked totally different from the rest of my group, but if she was going to be a new nanny here, I'd happily accept her. Another woman to play with, the more the merrier as they say. My head rocked up to gaze at her in her eyes. They were pretty blue and green ones framed with golden lenses. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she grinned ear-to-ear at me.

I looked up further to see another foreigner with an odd clump thing in his hands. His arms must be tired, I thought. Apparently they weren't because he kept his arms where they were. His face was partially concealed behind the stick-out rectangle with the word SONY on the flap. Slowly, with the thing still in his palms, he walked closer. He was talking weird too, backwards-way maybe? Whatever it was, it was confusing.

My attention whipped back to the lady when Nanny came beside her. She was whispering in her ear, and the woman nodded as she spoke back with her native tongue. I wanted no part of this conversation, so I headed back inside where the excitement was dying down. With the initiation all done and over, I returned to my normal activities.

Gathering my friends, I pushed one in the stroller, and then we switched places back and forth until that game tired out. Next, I moved onto colouring while she went to play with the others. I wasn't offended, not at all. My fingers choose one crayon at random as I opened the colouring book. A photo of a fat doggy was there waiting for me to make him beautiful. So, I did. My hand swayed diagonally as I covered the dog in yellow. There! Ta-da! I smiled happily as I shot up from the kiddy chairs.

Proudly, I showed the newcomer my happy puppy picture, and she carefully pried it out from my chubby fingers to examine it further. Her smile was as wide as an alligator and her teeth were white as the clouds in the blue sky. If her eyes could, they sparkled as she leant down and embraced me. My chunky arms wrapped around her too. The woman said something to the man behind her, and he shifted around to face me. My nanny kept speaking, but she too was acting really odd. It's almost like she forgot how to speak!

My name was called from inside, so in I went skipping in my sandals. The other kids were setting up the puppet stage, so I joined them. We enacted out a scene and giggled while our clothed hands danced around the theatre.

Again, my name called, and my head whirled to the nanny who lost her speaking and then got it back again. What a silly woman! I thought as I stood up.

"This is your Mama," she said to me as she pointed toward the very tall blonde.

"Mama?" The lady teared up as she knelt beside me.

"Yes," she confirmed, "I'm your Mama."

"Don't cry, everything will be okay," I said meekly. She nodded as I wiped away the wet on her face. Her smile widened as her hands clasped over mine.

"They're happy tears," she explained.

"Good!" My friends were calling. "Can I go play now?" I asked her. She cocked her head to the side as she looked for help to my nanny. With a couple of words that I didn't say, Mama understood Nanny and nodded. Wasting no time, I hurdled to my girlfriends. They were asking what happened, so I told them.

~

I spent the whole day at the orphanage having fun, playing games, looking at photos, and more stuff. Suddenly, Uncle said it was time to leave as the woman and he held my hands. Leave for only a little bit, I promised myself. Waving goodbye to my friends, we left the compound and went out to eat.

But it wasn't a little bit. It was a long bit.

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A/N: It's a little sad in the end. I was very young at the time, so I didn't understand that adoption meant leaving not necessarily for forever, but at that age it truly does feel like it.

(2) I know parts could be confusing, so if you have any questions regarding the dialogue or anything else, please leave a comment here or PM me. Either way I'll see it! :)

Last but not least dedication! I am dedicating this to not only just my mother, but mothers and/or fathers who've adopted, and just any loving mother and/or father out there! XD it sounds cheesy, I know, but you ladies and gentlemen deserve a 'thank you' since motherhood or fatherhood often is a thankless job. So THANK YOU! =D