Clara's POV
I passed a few homeless people on my walk home. A one-eyed dude had a primo spot under the bus stop bench.
I should probably scope out a space for myself. I'll be joining the gang soon.
No. There has to be a solution. I can't just be homeless.
I started making a mental list of things in my apartment I could sell.
· Grandma's vintage radio. She's dead. I never use it.
· Grandma's vintage fake teeth. Early nineties model. Has to be worth something to someone, right?
· My Nicki Minaj autographed bra. Now that is solid gold.
· A cute baby beside the dumpster.
Wait.
Hold up.
A BABY?!
I stopped dead in my tracks and backtracked a few steps. There, tucked beside a grimy dumpster in a dark alley, was a small, swaddled bundle. A baby.
I looked around, my heart hammering. The street was dead empty. No one had passed me. No frantic mother was running around.
The baby started to cry, a weak, hiccupping sound. It blinked, and I saw its eyes. They were… purple? No, that couldn't be right. The light was bad. But anyway, it was so small and its gaze seemed to latch directly onto me. My heart squeezed into a tight knot. I couldn't just leave it here.
But you can't take it home, a logical voice in my head argued. You can barely take care of yourself. Now you want to add a kid?
But leaving it here is inhumane, my heart fired back. The night was getting chilly; winter was coming. The poor thing could get sick and die. I couldn't let that happen.
Decision made, I hurried over and carefully picked up the bundle. My heart immediately melted. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. It had a head of soft, brown curly hair, just like mine. Chubby cheeks, a tiny button nose, a little rosebud mouth, and the tiniest fingers I'd ever seen. Oh, it was so tiny!
He was beyond cute. But there was something weird. I'd thought his eyes were purple, but now they looked… orange. Like the embers of a fire. It was abnormal. But hey, I have weird eyes too. Maybe it was a match made in heaven.
He had stopped crying and was just staring at me, his strange eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. I couldn't help myself; I gently booped his nose with my finger. I was rewarded with the cutest, gummy smile I'd ever seen.
There went my heart. Officially stolen.
A sharp gust of wind blew down the alley, and I shivered. The baby's cheeks were cold to the touch. That settled it. I tucked the blanket tightly around him and headed home.
---
"Peekaboo!"
I pulled my hands away from my face, my eyes wide and a silly grin on my lips. Talon—that was the name embroidered on the edge of his blanket, weird but unique, just like him—let out a gust of baby giggles that was the best sound I'd heard all day.
"Peekaboo!" I did it again, hiding and revealing my face.
Talon giggled so hard he lost his balance and rolled right into the pile of pillows at the corner of my bed.
I couldn't help but giggle with him. After getting home, I'd boiled some water and given him a warm bath. He was a boy, which I'd discovered during the bath. He was also bigger than I'd thought. He looked about ten months old, because he could sit up, crawl, and babble nonsense with impressive intensity.
Who leaves a baby out in the cold like that? I get that orphanages are closed at night, but one more night with him wouldn't have killed whoever it was. Besides, Talon was a darling. Who would give this up?
You will. Tomorrow.
I sighed as the practical thought intruded. My plan was to drop Talon off at the orphanage in the morning. I couldn't take care of a child. I had no experience, no money, and I was about to be homeless. I couldn't subject him to that.
A small, warm hand landed on my nose. I looked down to see Talon's worried face, his orange eyes searching mine. I picked him up and settled him on my chest. He immediately rested his head on my breasts, his new favorite spot, and let out a contented sigh. I stroked his soft, curly hair.
"I'm fine, Tal. Don't worry," I reassured him. I felt his little hands fist the fabric of my shirt tightly. A weird feeling crept over me. It was like he could sense I was lying.
No, that couldn't be right.
I sat up, holding him in front of me. My heart shattered into a million pieces when I saw the tears welling up in his beautiful, strange eyes.
"No, no, Tal, don't cry," I pleaded, wiping the tears away with my thumb. His amber eyes were now turning a deep, glowing red. Like red-hot flame red. Under any other circumstances, I should have been terrified. But all I felt was a crushing guilt. He knew. I don't know how, but he knew what I was planning to do.
"I'm sorry, Tal, I just… I can't keep you." The words felt like ash in my mouth.
The tears rolled down his cheeks faster. He shook his head, a firm, deliberate no.
"I can't," I whispered, my own eyes stinging. "I'm barely getting by on my own. I don't have the money or the… anything to give you what you need."
His eyes grew darker, the red intensifying. And then, out of nowhere, the paperback novel on my nightstand burst into flames.
"Holy shit!" I yelped.
I yanked Talon away from the sudden fire and grabbed the half-full glass of water from my nightstand, dumping it onto the book. It sizzled and smoked, leaving a charred, soggy mess.
I hugged Talon tight against my chest, my heart hammering. That had been scary. He could have gotten hurt.
I looked into his face. His eyes were back to their normal amber color, but they were filled with a deep sadness, not fear. He gave me the ultimate weapon: puppy-dog eyes. It was a brutal, unfair attack. I had to be practical. No money, no job. It would be an injustice to him.
But then the other thoughts came. The orphanage. He was cute, sure, but he had glowing orange eyes that sometimes turned red. He'd be considered a freak. Kids wouldn't play with him. Prospective parents would be weirded out. What if the workers at the orphanage were mean to him? What if they did experiments on him? Or worse, sold him to some circus?
I couldn't do it. I couldn't take him there. I would make it work. Someway. Somehow.
I checked Talon over for any injuries, but he was perfectly fine, just watching me with curious, amber eyes. The sudden color change… the spontaneous combustion… Could he have…?
Nah. That's crazy. He's just a baby. Right?
I took a deep breath and looked at the sweet, mysterious child in my arms.
"Well, Talon," I said, a real smile finally breaking through my anxiety. "It looks like you're staying with me."
He giggled, his entire face lighting up with pure, unadulterated joy.
Having a kid couldn't be that bad. Right?