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Isla Castell read to the kids at her orphanage every day as part of her normal routine. She liked how their faces lit up and changed from interest to affection as the story went on. She also got lost in the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, which she liked to think of as her life’s tale, a story that was still favoured but not yet told.
Isla finished the book and decided to have a quick snack before dinner. She always had time to eat, even though she thought making food was a pain.
“Do you want some toast?” she asked. Her voice was soft and smooth, and it was hard to hear the kids’ talking. But the kids were used to how she spoke, so they all said “Yes” at once.
She went down to the kitchen, where her small body moved easily around the room. At 5’2″, she was barely able to reach the sliced ham on the top shelf of the fridge, but she made do. Her long, blonde hair danced around her shoulders and fell to the middle of her back as she set out seven plates.
She put mayonnaise, gammon, and lettuce on each slice of bread to finish the toast. Her grey eyes looked over each piece to make sure that all the ingredients were put on in the right order. She smiled a little and called the kids down to eat when she was happy.
“Isla!” Clarice yelled.
The forty-year-old woman came up the stairs and wiped her furrowed brows with the back of her hand, which looked like she was tired.
“Please make dinner tonight. I’m swamped with Toby’s paperwork. You know he’s getting adopted next week, so I would really appreciate the help.”
Clarice was the head of the orphanage, and the only mother Isla ever had. The older woman couldn’t help but get close to the sweet girl. Their bond was strong right away after they were left at the orphanage when they were only four years old.
“Of course. I just need to go to the store to get some things.”
Isla smiled, but her smile faded when she saw her caretaker frown.
“Oh, well in that case, dear, we can get by with the bread toast you made. I know you don’t want to go alone, especially since it’s getting dark.”
Isla felt small. It was true that she didn’t want to travel alone right now, but she was 18! She had just turned 18, but she wanted everyone to start acting like it.
“I’ll be fine; I just turned 18, you know. I need to learn how to do things on my own.”
Clarice looked on warily, worried for the pure soul she had raised all by herself.  She knew that Isla was too trusting and too innocent for her own good. She hasn’t talked to many people her own age because all the orphans in her town were homeschooled.
The schools around them were privatized, which made education too expensive. Clarice did everything she could to give the kids the basic skills they needed to learn more after they were adopted.
But Isla was never taken in.
People didn’t like how quiet and shy she was. They wanted a child who would talk a lot and play with other kids. Isla didn’t do any of these things.
Instead, she kept to herself and watched as kids were taken in by loving families, bubbling personalities overwhelming the lingering presence that Isla had at the orphanage.  And now that I’m basically an adult, nothing has changed.
Clarice sighed and looked down at Isla. She knew that Isla was correct. As much as she liked to coddle and shelter the girl, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was becoming her own woman.
“Okay, dear, you’re right. But please text me when you get there and call me if anything comes up. And I mean anything. Do you understand?”
Isla nodded with excitement. She was happy that Clarice was giving her a chance to show that she could do things on her own. She never went anywhere by herself; Clarice or one of the volunteers who came to the orphanage always went with her. She was happy to have some freedom, even if it was just a little bit.
“Words Isla,” Clarice asked.
Isla said, “Yes, of course.”
She quickly finished her toast and almost choked on a piece of crust as she raced against time. She ran up the stairs and turned left down the hall to access her bedroom so that she could change into something more appropriate for the public eye.
Isla slammed her door shut and looked out the window. She saw the sky turning an eerie orange as the sun went down. She opened the drawers next to her twin-sized bed and took out a white, oversized knitted sweater, some faded jeans, and white Converse high tops to complete the look.
She put her hair up in two pigtails at the front, letting them mix with the loose strands that were hanging down her back.
Isla thought she looked cute. She was probably too cute for a trip to the store, but she didn’t leave the orphanage very often, so she took every chance she got to dress up.
She looked out her window one last time and saw the sky full of oranges, reds, and yellows. It was getting dark, and she had to leave.
She quickly left her room, ran down the hall, and down the stairs to put her shoes on by the door. She said goodbye to Clarice and left the orphanage with a bounce in her step.
**********
Isla felt the cool breeze in her hair as she watched leaves of all colours fall to the ground. Isla’s favourite season was fall, which it was right now in Maplemoor. She started her 30-minute walk to the grocery store by humming a song. It was a little out of the way, but so was everything else in the small town.
When Isla got to the store, she took a deep breath and shivered as she walked from the cool air outside to the hot air inside.
The grocery store in Maplemoor, where she lived, was small. Isla could only make so many meals with the ingredients it gave her because it only had a few aisles and a limited food selection. Clarice often went out of town to get more complicated things, but for now, this would do.
She texted the older woman to let her know she was coming, then quickly grabbed the things she needed for her dish and went to the front of the store to pay.
As she waited in the queue to pay, she heard the soft lull of pop music. Her eyes wandered over the shelf to her left before they landed on a bright red bag full of Fruity Pearls, which are small treats. She couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t ask her favourite caretaker to buy her candy. It was her favourite.
But when she leaned forward to throw it in her cart, she saw that it was too far away for her to get to. A bigger person got in the way of her rainbow treat.
“Um…excuse me, sir,” Isla said quietly. She was shy, especially around people she didn’t know.
She had a soft pout on her lips as if no one was paying attention to her. She decided to politely poke the stranger in the back to get his attention.
“Um, Sir, could you please move over a bit? I want to—”
Isla hesitated when the man turned around, and her eyes blinked in surprise. There was a very good-looking man standing in front of her. Isla couldn’t help but swallow nervously as she looked at him because his height and build were the most masculine things about him.
Tattoos.