As the sun beat down on his back, sweat drenched his yellow t-shirt as Minho dribbled the ball, just like he always did. He didn’t notice a small group of orphans approaching him from the back door.  He paid them no heed even as they stood directly in front of him; he just went around them.

                The three boys that stood there were of varying stature. One was fairly tall, taller that Minho, and he had a deep scar running down the length of his left cheek. He was about seventeen, so his muscles were just finishing developing. He had an air of eminence about him, so he was considered the leader over the other two. The boy to his right was of an average height and was rather plump. His cheeks were red and shiny, and his nose was always stuffed so he had to breathe loudly through his mouth. The one standing to the leader’s left was a tiny boy who looked no older than seven, his large eyes now free from any innocence that had originally inhabited them.

                “Yah, retard!” the leader barked at Minho. Minho showed no response.  The young man growled and walked to stand in front of the dribbling boy once more; this time catching the ball with his foot.

                Minho made a noise of desperation as he reached for the ball, only to have it snatched up by the leader and held high above his head.

                “Well would you look at that! The stupid retard lost his little soccer ball!” the leader sneered, passing the ball to the plump boy.

                He fumbled for the ball and snorted, “He’s so pathetic. I bet you he isn’t even crazy at all! He’s just acting like it for attention!” he tossed the ball to the youngest boy.

                The tiny boy cackled, spinning the ball on his finger. Minho had been trying to recover it the entire time, but they always dodged out of the way, “I say we get rid of his precious ball,” the youngest shouted to the others.

                “Great idea, let me do the honors,” the leader took the ball and chucked it high over the brick wall that ran the perimeter of the yard. Minho shrieked as he watched the blur of blue descend and disappear into the neighboring yard.

                The three boys high fived and ran inside, leaving Minho scrambling in the grass. He fell to his knees and started to rock back and forth, chanting his favorite phrase. Suddenly he shot to his feet and headed straight towards the brick wall. He studied it for a while before figuring out that the best way over would be to climb the thick vines of ivy that grew covering the wall almost entirely.

                “Come on, Blue needs me,” Minho whispered to himself, referring to the soccer ball.

                He took a deep breath and grabbed onto the closest vine. It was tough, grueling work, but the boy managed to hoist himself over the top of the wall. The wall wasn’t taller than about seven feet, so it didn’t take him very long.

                Minho lowered himself backwards, feet first down the wall, and he quickly got his footing before turning around to see where he was. He had stepped into the lushest garden he had ever seen. There were low hedges all around, arranged in a maze-like pattern with various Greek-looking statues scattered throughout. The boy stared in awe at a small basket of hanging flowers above him, its tiny pink flowers tickling the air with their sweet scent. Minho gingerly touched a white rose that grew on a nearby rosebush and relished in the velvety softness of its petals.

                Minho had almost forgotten what his mission was until he caught sight of a little boy sitting in the middle of a gazebo that sat in the center of the garden. Minho searched around where he was, and then decided to ask the boy about his ball.

                “Hey there, um, my ball came over the wall. Have you seen it?” Minho called out to the boy, taking tentative steps forward. The boy gave no response, just kept his eyes trained down on whatever he was doing. Minho cocked his head to the side and blinked, That’s weird. Maybe he didn’t hear me, he thought.

                The orphan stepped closer, parting the leaves of the bushes and called out louder, “My ball. It’s blue. Have you seen a blue soccer ball around here?”

                Again, the boy continued to ignore the other. Minho narrowed his eyes and marched up right in front of the boy, tapping his foot. Only then did the boy look up, surprised, at Minho.

                The young boy was small for his age, about twelve years old, and his arms and legs were proportionate to his body. They held a slight grace and fluidity about them, as if the boy could manipulate them to do anything he wanted them to. His fine blonde hair was on the long side, and it shone in the light like the ocean at sunset. He had high cheek bones and a wide set mouth, complete with a pair of soft, heart-shaped lips. He had an adorable button nose that turned down ever so slightly. His eyes were the perfect almond shape, and always looked like they were smiling. Their shade of brown was just the right hue to capture you in their gaze.

                Everything about the boy was taken in by Minho in a split second before he said, “Yah, didn’t you hear me? I’m looking for my ball,” he held out his hands.

                The boy stared at Minho’s lips with a concentrated look, his curved brows knitted together. He did not answer, merely looked at the orphan expectantly.

                Minho was losing his patience, “What, can you not talk? I’m looking for my ball,”

                The boy’s eyes filled with sadness and he smiled softly before pointing to his ears and shaking his head.

                Minho blinked, not understanding, “What’s that supposed to mean,”

                Again, the boy repeated the same gesture. All at once, it dawned on the orphan. The boy’s deaf, he thought, NOW how am I supposed to get my ball back?

Dun dun duunnnnnnnnnnnnnn

hehehe, i bet that caught you off guard, huh? /maniacal laugh/

anyways, what will minho do? and who is this strange, faery like boy?

lol you guys can already guess who it is xD

until next time

~OTB out~