Blood Doesn't Make a Family

Ruby was feeling incredibly homesick and decided to check up on her mama and papa to see what they were up to and if anything was new with them. She didn't expect anything new to come from them since she was away. She liked to think that she was their everything, that she was always in their thoughts. Since she didn't have a clue about her real parents, she just knew they died when she was young, they were her parents. Blood doesn't make a family, love does. But sometimes she wished her parents were alive and that she knew them. Was her mother's skin soft to touch? Did her father have a beard that she could hide her face into when she got scared? She would never know but she was almost okay with that.

This would be the second letter she had sent to her mama and papa and she expected a reply any day now. She stepped into the owlery and noticed her family's owl with the other school owls. Why hadn't he went to find her? He knew where her room was after all, she had sent plenty of letters home before. "Harold, silly owl." He flew over to her and landed on her shoulder. "I see they wrote." She untied the parchment from the owl's leg and began to read.

Dearest Ruby,

We miss you dearly, how are you? We're well, your mother is still baking away like always and my toys are just fine. The reason I'm writing is because it's time to be honest with you. We love you, just know that. Your parents, your real parents, they're alive. We were told to never tell you but you asked so many questions about them that we had to tell you the truth. We love you, you are our daughter.

Love, Papa Bear

Ruby didn't know how to react to the big news, she could hardly stand up straight so she leaned against the wall to support herself. Tears filled her eyes but she brushed them away with her sleeve before she let them fall. She sniffed and looked up to notice someone had entered the owlery when she had been reading. "Oh, excuse me." She cleared her throat before putting on a fake smile.

Malachi was used to weekly letters from his family, them knowing how shy he was and wanting to make sure he felt comfortable at school. It did help out lots that he wasn't alone when mail time came during Sunday meals and he at least received a letter. However, sometimes Malachi just liked walking out to the Owlrey to check if anything else had come for him.

He was used to seeing an assortment of students in the Owlrey, but never had he seen someone crying. Of course as soon as she spotted him, she tried to correct her crestfallen face. However, he had already seen the tears sliding down her face and, as good natured as he was, approached her to comfort her.

"Bitte nicht weinen," Malachi started, speaking in a soothing tone. He pulled out an embroidered handkerchief and handed it to the girl. "What is wrong, Fräulein?" He knew it wasn't really his business, but the girl seemed like a nice one and he couldn't stay in the Owlrey with a clean conscience if he knew she was going to cry.

translation: please do not cry...miss

"Ich weine nicht," Ruby lied, she took the handkerchief anyways because she didn't want to be rude and she was sure that her mascara was running. "Um, thanks." She sniffed and dabbed her eyes with the cloth. "You're German too?" Small world, huh? She looked at the letter in her hand and crumpled it. She didn't want to think about it anymore, she wanted to act as if it didn't happen at all. If there was no proof then it didn't happen. But it did and there was no way to get it out of her brain.

With the subject brought up, Ruby couldn't help the tears that formed in her eyes again. "Nothing," she sniffed. She held the handkerchief out to the boy, she didn't want it anymore. "Nothing's wrong." Her life was far from perfect but it almost was with her mama and papa. She couldn't be mad at them for keeping the secret from her. She remained silent for a moment while she thought. What was the chance that she'd see him again? She wanted to tell someone, telling a secret to a stranger seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Okay, fine." She sighed, she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm not one to tell my whole life story, but what's the chance that we'll ever meet again? Plus, you don't know me so if you tell someone, they won't know it's me. Not that I don't trust you to keep a secret," she rambled. "It's just that it's hard to trust people lately, okay?" She ran a hand through her hair and looked down. "Well, I was put up for adoption when I was a baby and I was told that my real parents were dead. But in this letter," she paused and opened her hand to show the crumpled ball. "My papa told me that they're alive. Now I'm not sure what to do or what to feel. I'm not mad at anyone, I know that. I guess I'm just curious and confused."

Translation: I'm not crying.

It was obvious in Malachi's voice that he was German for his accent was still strong and his French wasn't always so good, but he hardly thought the topic was relevant in the conversation. However, he passed it off as the older girl trying to change the topic. She must've felt embarrassed to be seen at such a vulnerable state, so he tried to be understanding. He nodded simply in response to her comment.

He frowned slightly when she claimed nothing was wrong. She certainly didn't look like someone who was alright. Maybe she was having a bad day? Either way, he was there to help, being naturally sympathetic to people, even strangers. She seemed like a nice person, too, which encouraged him to stay and help.

"Your secrets are safe with me, trust me," Malachi replied and nodded assuringly. "Who would I tell?" It's not like he knew anyone who wanted to hear about some older student he had a run in with at the Owlrey.

The red haired boy listened as the girl told him what was going on. His lips tugged into a frown at the details. How sad that she was put up for adoption! Though at least it was nice to hear that her adopted parents were decent. He approached the girl cautiously and then placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure they had their reasons," he said, unsure of what else to say. He didn't really have experience with that sort of stuff to be able to relate. "and I mean both your adoptive parents and your biological."

It was weird for Ruby to open up about her feelings to a complete stranger. She was never one to be shy, she was always saying hello to anybody and everybody However, there was a major difference between saying hello and letting your whole personal life out. She wasn't afraid of being judged, her weird behavior made it easy for others to judge her and call her weird. What she was afraid of was someone knowing exactly how she felt, she was afraid of what was going to happen when she got home for the summer. The subject was unavoidable, she didn't want to avoid it but then again she did. "I just don't know how to react, you know?" He wouldn't know about something like this, she was sure of it.

"I-" She drew in a breath and wiped her tears with her sleeve. "I know they had their reasons, I'm not mad. I'm just...scared." She wasn't entirely sure what she was scared about but she just was. "I don't blame anyone, I don't hate my biological parents. I just want to know who they are and why they gave up on me." She loved her adoptive parents and wouldn't trade them for the world, but questions needed to be answered. "Maybe I should write them a letter."

Malachi was trying his best, though thankfully it appeared that he wasn't making the situation worse by talking. He listened as she spoke and then took a few moments before responding. He felt that the most help he could offer would be in just listening.

"It's okay to be scared," Malachi noted and watched as the older girl wiped tears from her eyes. "And it's okay to be curious. If your parents mentioned it now, it might mean your biological parents want to meet you. Maybe they think it's finally time for you to know where you came from?" Malachi offered. "I don't think this is something you should just ignore. The door has been opened, so know is the time to ask all those questions you have," Malachi finished. He felt sort of weird giving advice to a perfect stranger, especially one who was older than him. Why would she want to listen to a first year like him? He didn't know and if she decided to throw his advice away, he was okay with that. "But that's just my opinion. You should do what is best for you."

Some people thought showing emotions meant they were being weak, but Ruby didn't think that at all. If you kept all your feelings locked up, they would eventually explode everywhere. And you couldn't just explode on a person who did nothing to you. Who cared if someone saw you cry? It was okay to cry. She let out a slow sigh and gave the boy a weak smile. "You don't know me yet you give me advice. Most people would jut ignore me or laugh at me for crying." Just the fact that he was even listening to her was enough.

"I'm not sure if I want to know anything right now, you know? It's a little too much to handle." She played with the button on the inside of jacket. Her best friend had given it to her and it was sort of calming. "I don't even know your name, how rude of me not to introduce myself." She held out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Ruby Thomas and it is very nice to meet you."