The sign reads Saint Clair's Down's Syndrome Association. I am aware there are many types of organisations around, probably each city has one for different conditions but for some reason I didn't know exactly of any of those. I never cared to look for one, even if I thought of joining some good cause at some point, I never actually looked for one of these associations. And here it is, a big old house closer to the suburbs of the city where people like H's sister help other people with Down's syndrome. Why didn't I know of this particular place? It's not that far away and it doesn't look small as to go unnoticed. H said I'm supposed to play with kids so that means all the patients here are children.

The thought already squeezes my heart.

I know Down's syndrome is a genetic mutation that affects the mental development and it's something terrible for the family and the sufferer, but I find something beautiful in these people, a purity and innocence that's lost in almost everyone else. I've never seen a kid with this syndrome whose smile didn't light up the whole room.

I'm very eager to meet these kids H talked about in his letter so I ring the bell and wait until a woman opens the door. She's probably mid-twenties with long wavy brown hair that falls graciously, her eyes are green and she has a big and warm smile with a set of dimples at each side, like me. Her features are very feminine and sweet, her complexion is fair and silky. She's beautiful, slim and taller than me, and I feel like a potato standing here in front of her. I have no self-confidence and I've never thought of myself as pretty, but when I see girls like this one in front of me, all my insecurities get magnified. And she wears her beauty with confidence and charisma, things I lack.

Maybe I should turn around and leave.

"Hello, are you by any chance Maca?" she asks before I have the chance to run away. I look down, wondering how she can make a pair of jeans and a long jumper look so cool and fashionable when I'm wearing kind of the same but it looks so different on me.

"Y-yes," I say, hoping I don't have to stay next to her for too long. It's not good to stand next to too bright things, they'll outshine you, and when you're plain like me, they'll make you invisible.

"Fantastic! I've been waiting for you. My brother has told me so much about you," she says grabbing my hands in a friendly way and holding them close to her chest. "I'm Grace," she adds, confirming that she's indeed H's sister.

Oh boy, my strangers' sister is a goddess.

"You're so lovely!" she exclaims next and I blink in confusion. Is she really seeing me? "Totally that idiot's type," she mumbles as an afterthought, but I can hear it and I blush furiously. "Come in, come in! We've all been expecting you."

She doesn't give me time to reply, she just drags me inside what looks like a normal waiting room.   It's painted in bright colours and with cheerful furniture, ideal for kids. The walls are decorated with artwork that's probably provided by the kids that are part of this organisation.

"St Clair's is ten years old and it started with just three kids, but today we have twenty," she explains as she guides me thought the place, away from the waiting room and towards, maybe, the yard. "We like to keep a manageable number of kids so they can all get the attention they need. It’s never the twenty kids at once. We run with donations and government subsidy, and projects we apply to. We don't usually work on Sundays but today's an exception," she winks at me knowingly and I blush again. "Our purpose is to offer stimulating recreation for the kids, developing social and learning skills through fun activities."

I nod as I keep listening to her explanation, smiling at the concept and happy that there are places like this. All along I follow her through the house until we finally reach the yard. It's kind of chilly but the five kids outside are wearing many layers of clothing and are running, so I doubt they are cold. I notice there's another adult, a man near thirty who keeps the dogs at bay. Yes, dogs, emphasis on the plural form.

Playing with the kids, there are seven golden retrievers and three corgis. Ten extremely happy and bouncing and hyperactive dogs that can't stop waving the tails as they jump and play around the kids. I think I've just seen heaven

"Oh my God," I breathe out still amazed at the amount of happy dogs.

"That's the normal reaction when they see the dogs. Wait until you meet the kids," Grace tells me and puts her hand on my back to lead me to where the kids are playing with the dogs. "Hey kids, Maca has finally arrived!" Grace sings and all the kids turn to look at me, their smiles big and so happy, just like the dogs, and the sight fills my heart. "They've been eagerly waiting for you," she tells me trying to be secretive but still loud for them to listen. "Let me introduce you to them. From left to right, Donald," a kid with chubby and rosy cheeks, short black hair and bright smile. "Lillian," a girl with pigtails and sparkly eyes that steps forward to grab my hand. "Rosie," another girl with a long plat falling down her back and a running nose she keeps wiping. "Ricky," a boy with dark brown hair and playful smile. "And Tony," a kid that waves energetically at me with a prince haircut. They all smile at me with such happiness and honesty.

"Hello, nice to meet you all," I say bending down a bit to reach their height, Lillian still holding my hand. "A friend told me you like to play a lot."

"Playing! Are you going to play with us?" Donald asks and I nod. "The dogs like to play, too!"

"I love dogs! Can you introduce me to them?" I ask and notice from the corner of my eye how Grace goes to the man, looping her arm around his.

Lillian leads me closer to the dogs that start sniffing me and demanding attention and love. The kids hug them and kiss them, which the dogs seem to love.

"They are Kelly, Joan, Momo, Lulu, Rex, Tommy, Park, Tod, Snow and Bubble," they introduce the dogs, taking turns as they go hugging them. They are all so adorable and smiley and I feel filled with happiness.

"And what do you want to play?" I ask. "I'm not very good with games, so you have to go nice on me," I request kneeling to hug one of the golden retrievers, Tod. Oddie will definitely kill me when I go back home today.

They look at each other before they burst out exclaiming: "hide and seek!"

So that's what we play. They are so full of life and joy that you can only feel happy around them. And the dogs also are like that, which only intensifies the effect. And the dogs also play hide and seek, they actually know how.

As I'm the new one I have to count and I look at Grace before I start the countdown, wondering if there's some special instruction, but she only smiles at me. Maybe this is usual for them.

I count to thirty before I go looking for them and they are good because none is at sight. I really have to look and what helps me is the giggles, so I follow that lovely sound. And I discover they really know how to play this with the dogs because when I find Rosie, Kelly who's with her, jumps on me until I land on my bum just to be completely devoured in doggy kisses. She licks my whole face whilst Rosie runs for her life.

"That's cheating!" I call but Kelly keeps kissing me and I can't escape. It tickles me so I end up laughing and the Rosie is back, tickling me too and I'm dying. "Mercy!" I call but I only receive more tickles. "I have to find the others!"

And only then they release me, but Rosie joins me to look for the others. Hand in hand, we search around the yard. It's a big one with many games so hidings are abundant. Kelly is very helpful so we follow her and when we find Donald, it’s a run for real. Rosie and I scream as we try to defeat the boy but he's fast and I'm clumsy. I step on my shoelaces and fall, luckily I don't drag Rosie with me but she thinks I'm playing and jumps on top of me giving me a tight hug. Kelly, Tod, Lulu and Donald join us on the ground, laughing happily. Then it's the three of us and the three dogs looking for the others. We sing as we search and hop around like bunnies, giggling the whole time.

As we play, H's words come to me. Feeling like a kid, playing innocently is really revitalising. It's fun and sweet, happy and cheerful. I'm having a great time because I'm playing as I never did. As a kid I normally stayed in the classroom, too quiet, too diligent because I had to be a good girl. I played, but not as much as the other kids. It's refreshing to play like this again, it fills my heart and leaves me all warm inside.

After we find them all we just play around with the dogs, throwing things for them to catch, making them run and running with them. After a while I'm panting lying on the ground, looking at the cloudy sky, all the kids around me, both Lillian and Tony holding my hands. They talk to me all the time, asking me things, telling me their anecdotes. They are very curious and I like answering their queries. I don't even realise how time flies until Grace comes for us.

"Kids, there’s hot chocolate inside," she sings and they literally jump to their feet and run inside, the dogs following them. I'm left there, sitting slower just because I'm older. Grace sits now in front of me, her smile huge and honest. We are with our legs crossed in front of each other. "Did you have fun?" she asks me and I return the smile.

"They are all adorable," I reply. "I hadn't played in so long I don't think I'll be able to move tomorrow. Better workout ever!" I laugh and so does she.

"That's how I keep fit," she jokes and we keep the smiles. "I'm glad you like it here and the kids loved you. They can actually tell when it's a good person." Those words mean actually a lot and I truly believe them because they seem like the kind that can actually see people’s hearts. "At first I didn't understand why my brother insisted so much on bringing you here. Or why he was doing all this. Believe me, I judged him a lot," she confesses. "But I think just like the kids he could sense you're a good person and he wanted to do something nice for you. He's weird, you know? He's really good at reading people," she tells me.

"I've noticed. Through post-its he's figured out a lot about me," is what I share with her. "It is a bit scary, though," I laugh.

"But he's a good kid—don't tell him I said that, though,” she hurries to instruct, fake panic in her eyes and I chuckle. “He's always trying to do good," she shares with me and I smile. I've heard this before but it's different when I know his sister is telling me this. It's more real. "I hope you know that, he's trying to put you at ease."

"I know," I assure her. "I'm not scared or that nervous anymore. I'm anxious, I really want to meet him."

"It's almost over," she informs me and I feel my belly twisting. "He's waiting for you. He's been waiting for a longer time, not just today." I look down because this information makes me feel self-conscious. "You're already vey special to him. Treat him nicely, okay? He's my little brother and he's a dreamer, he always has his best intention at heart. He'll never hurt you and if he unintentionally does, he'll spend his life trying to make it up to you. Please, give him a fair chance."

"Will do," I promise. I feel in my heart that what she says is real, and as she says that I don't feel like she's telling me something about someone I don't know, I actually feel like we're talking about someone we both know, a friend in common. It's like someone else is talking about a close friend of yours, you nod at that person's words, agreeing or disagreeing because you know the person they are talking about.

"He's very special to me, too," I tell her and her smile is warmer now. "I'm very grateful to him, he's showed me so many things, taught me a lot already."

"That's great," says Grace. "Then I'll let you know him. If I didn't like you I wasn't gonna give you the letter," is her confession. "But you totally passed the test. You gotta promise to come back, though, the kids will ask for you."

"I will," I promise without hesitation.

She smiles and nods one more time before looking for something in her pocket. She hands me a new envelope. "I'll leave the two of you alone," she says standing up. "When you're done you can also have hot chocolate and we take the picture," she winks and I smile gratefully. “And I have to give you another thing he left for you.”

Grace turns on her heels and walks away, and in left with the new letter in my hands, a step closer to H.

-:-:-

Did you add Happenstance to your library already? It's out there! Also, do you like the matching covers? Every picture is from one of the experiences H has led Maca to :D I spent loads of time looking for them xD The idea is that they are the pictures Maca's been taking during the day.

Picture of Grace on the multimedia!

Anyhow, remeber when I said this was gonna have around 25 chapters? Yeah, it ain't gonna happen like that XD 

Bel, xx

PS: Remember best comments gets dedication! This goes to @21GissDankworth