7 You’re So Gentle
1183 Words
Anna swiftly dodged it and the glass smashed behind her. She had never seen a kid as unruly as this one. Anna frowned angrily but then her anger dissipated when she saw the boy’s face.
The kid sat behind a wall made up of pillows and bedding. He looked adorable. However, at the moment, he looked very upset.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” Anna took a couple of steps and squatted down, asking, “Did anyone bully you?”
Matthew looked at her with a hint of puzzlement flashing in his eyes. And then, he pushed her hand away, acting like he didn’t want to interact with Anna.
Seeing that, Anna avoided touching him. She just sat quietly on the floor with him. Soon, someone knocked on the door and said, “Ms. Gabriel, the pancakes and soup are ready. Do you need us to send them in?”
“No, thanks,” Anna said, “Just leave them outside.”
At the same time, the fragrance of the pancakes drifted into the room. Matthew did not speak but occasionally looked at Anna. He also swallowed his saliva several times.
You must be hungry after throwing tantrums and trashing the room for quite a while, little boy. Thinking of that, Anna waited for a while and then said, “I’m hungry. Can I eat something here?”
Still, Matthew frowned and looked away. And he didn’t say a word in response. Anna took it as a yes. After that, Anna went out and took the tray of pancakes and chicken soup into the room. Before eating the pancake, she started to pour the maple syrup onto the pancakes and exclaimed, “Wow! They smell so good!”
“Growl…” Matthew’s stomach growled audibly.
Anna looked up and saw Matthew looking eagerly at her pancakes. She then asked, “ You know, pancakes are my favorite food. Do you want a bite of it? My daughter is about your age. She also likes eating pancakes.”
Still sitting on the floor, Matthew hesitated for a few seconds before nodding.
“Okay then,” Anna sat beside him and fed him a piece of pancake, saying, “Does it taste good?”
Matthew’s eyes lit up and he nodded. Anna continued to feed him. While eating, Matthew looked carefully at Anna. He thought to himself, You’re so good to me! Unlike the people who fear me and hate me, you’re very kind and gentle.
Soon, he finished the pancakes and started to drink the chicken soup. Anna handed him a napkin and said, “Now that you’re full, you'll have enough strength to throw a tantrum again, right?”
Feeling upset and embarrassed, Matthew looked away. It seemed that he did not like being lectured by anyone like that.
Anna chuckled and was about to take out the empty plates when she felt that someone was holding onto her. She looked down and found that it was Matthew. He looked rather sad and reluctant for her to leave.
Anna thought of Tammy when she looked into his eyes. She also had no time for Tammy when she was busy at work, which saddened her very much. To her relief, Tammy was doing great in kindergarten and made lots of friends there.
“I’m not leaving. I’m just taking out the dishes.” Anna assured him in a gentle voice.
Yet, Matthew still did not let her go.
With a wry smile, Anna placed the dishes down, squatted, and asked Matthew, “You want me to stay with you, right?”
In reply, Matthew nodded shyly.
“Okay, I’ll stay.” Anna smiled and Matthew’s eyes immediately lit up.
“But we can’t sit on the floor. It's cold. How about sitting on the sofa?” Anna said to Matthew. And Matthew quickly nodded.
Seems like you’re not as hot-tempered as others described, kid. Thinking of that, Anna smiled in satisfaction and took him to the sofa. Then Anna started to tell him some jokes and Matthew laughed happily, but he still would not speak.
Having made sure Matthew was in a better mood, Anna asked, “Can you tell me why you’re unhappy? Is it because no one played with you and you feel lonely?”
At this point, Matthew began to gesture and point as if he was signaling to Anna for a pen and paper. Getting the hint, Anna looked around and saw a notebook and pen on the table. There were some scribbling on the paper, and it seemed that someone had prepared them for Matthew in advance. She then handed them to Matthew.
Taking the paper and the pen, Matthew scribbled, “Daddy’s bad. He promised to play with me but did not.”
Anna was surprised that such a little kid could write so many words. She then realized that his parents must have taught him how to write. And it looked like the kid could not speak.
“So you are trying to tell me you are upset because your father didn’t play with you?”
Hearing Anna’s words, Matthew firmly nodded and frowned angrily.
Anna sighed and patted his head. She uttered, “Perhaps your daddy is very busy. Daddy wants to give you a better life and that’s why he doesn’t have time to play with you.”
Matthew did not accept this. He huffed and puffed angrily and wrote, “I did not see daddy for days. I hate him.”
Anna frowned and was shocked that his father left him in the hotel for days.
“I’ll speak to your father when he gets back.” Anna held Matthew’s hand and fumed, “How could he leave a kid alone at the hotel? Isn’t he afraid that something might happen to you?”
Matthew nodded in agreement.
“Were you alone in this room all these days?” Anna asked.
Matthew nodded again.
With a frown, Anna thought, All kids love to play. The VIP suite is huge, but even an adult could not stand being cooped up for days, not to mention a kid. A brief moment later, Anna asked Matthew, “How about I take you out for a walk and get some fresh air? What do you think?”
With his big eyes glistening, Matthew nodded happily.
“Oh, what’s your name by the way?” Anna asked as they were leaving. Suddenly, she remembered that the boy could not speak. She then rushed back to the bedroom to retrieve the notebook and pen, leaving him alone in the sitting room.
Suddenly, there was a “clunk” and someone yelled, “The chandelier!”
Anna just came out of the bedroom with the paper and pen in her hand when she saw the chandelier above Matthew began to swing violently and was about to fall off.
“Ah!!!” Other employees screamed when the chandelier fell off the ceiling.
Without a second of hesitation, Anna rushed to Matthew and covered him with her body, trying to keep him safe from harm.
- Writer
