Forever Ride-Chapter of My Life

Back in 2001 I was seven years old girl nervously sitting at a bus station waiting for the bus.  The lady sitting with me was a teacher from my previous orphanage.  Quietly and calmly, she got up.
“I will be right back. Don’t move.” She said as she went to get something to eat for both of us, I just sat there watching people go by and feeling the emptiness of the world. By the time she returned the bus was just pulling up.
“Am I going home?” I asked in a timid soft voice.
“No, you are just going to a different orphanage. Orphanage for bigger kids,” She said with a sigh as we made our way to seats on the bus. The smile that I might have had went away with weight of her unexpected answer my question. Tears welled in my eyes and my heart felt heavy during the remainder of that long sad half an hour ride.
At the next stop, Odessa Ukraine, we got off the bus and boarded a train that kept taking us farther away from home. Sitting there, I quietly looked out the window and watched my previous life pass behind me.  Looking across I noticed my teacher had fallen asleep. I couldn’t sleep; my thoughts kept speeding through my mind like the images of the big fields with nothing planted on them but black ground outside.
It was such a long ride.  At least it felt like it to me.  I kept wishing that this entire day was just a bad dream.  As some may say you can’t run from reality.  I would close and open my eyes many times and still be at the same place every time.  After a while I stopped trying to squeeze out the images of this day, because I knew it was not a dream anymore.
Finally, the train stopped again and it was our turn to get off of it.  I all of my things which consisted one plastic bag full, and slowly following my teacher off the train into a taxi.
A taxi driver helped us to put our meager things in the trunk and opened the door for us.  Riding in taxi I had to make myself believe that my parents care, because that way, leaving the only place I ever know as home had would not hurt so much inside. I just could not believe that they abandoned me to be true.
The truth was, my birth parents did not care and they cared about was themselves.  When they took me to the first orphanage I was just a small girl made rock hard on the outside, but inside as fragile as glass because of them.  My parents, to me, seemed to be heartless monsters who just threw me on the concrete where I broke into a million pieces. At the first orphanage the staff tried to put all the pieces together, but too many pieces already were missing.  There was a hole inside my chest that nothing could heal it.  That is when I first realized the pain of being abandon.
   Finally we stopped at a set of big green gates with red outlined stars.
“Here we are.” said my teacher.
“Is this where I will be for a while?” I asked her trying to contain the sad echo in my voice.
“I think you will be here for long time.” She answered with low voice.  Silently we walked toward the gates. Upon entering one gentleman met us inside.  Not knowing what to do I followed him.  It was a big orphanage with lots of space for little kids to play.
The building we were going into was not far from the gates.  Going inside the building first we walked by big cafeteria, and on past several classrooms as we started to walk up the stairs.  At the top of the stairs we came upon a long hallway.  Walking down that hallway we came to the doors, which was at the end of the hallway. We walked closer to the doors as we were met by another tall gentleman.  The man we were met by was a principle in the orphanage.  He was, handsome looking tall with dark hair looked like he was about in his late 30’s.
“Good afternoon. My name is Viktor,” He said to my teacher as he shook her hand.
“Is this the child we are expecting?” He asked as he glanced down at me.
“Yes, this is the girl.” She answered him.
Viktor dismissed gentlemen, who met us at the gate by asking him to escort my teacher back to the gate.  After our goodbyes I felt numb with fear as I watched my teacher exit out the door leaving me behind.  Watching her leave I wanted to run after her but I was too scared to even move.  So, I just stood there in silence as she disappeared in distance.