Chapter Text
"Right, look." The woman before him sighed, giving him a sad look. "It's not that we don't like you, Karna." She actually combed her fingers through his windswept white hair. "We did not exactly believe we would have a child of our own…" Her free hand went to touch her womb. She sighed again, kissing his forehead. She pulled the thin, almost pale teen into a hug. "If our financial status allowed it, we would be keeping you with us." Karna just grunted. His teal eyes looked up at the woman, locking gazes with her. He tried to convey his sincere understanding and congratulations through his eyes alone.
The adults he had been staying with for the last six months had been kind to him, trying not to make him feel left out. Most of the others were not as considerate but Karna was used to that.
The woman who had been caring for him up to now let him go. She handed him his bags, there were three duffel bags in total. "Let me fix you up a bit before you go." She said before straightening the cuffs of his sleeves as well as the drawstring of his red hoodie. She then proceeded to brush off some imaginary dust from his black jeans. "There now." She said, giving him another watery smile.
"I hope you can still find your happiness, even with another family." With those words, she helped him get into the white sedan parked right outside her moderately sized home. She and Karna bid each other farewell for the last time. He wouldn't be in contact with her or her family again. That was how things went for him and his previous foster families anyhow.
"Don't be too disheartened, Karna." The man in the driver's seat was familiar. He was a slightly muscular man with an average height, sporting rich brown skin and deep brown shoulder length locks which he usually kept in either a ponytail or a bun. The man wore a white polo shirt with streaks of red. His name was Adhiratha Arya and he has been frequently assigned to assist Karna whenever the teen had to change foster families for roughly two years now.
"I know for a fact that the next family you'll stay with will not give you up for anything." The man's honey colored eyes looked at Karna through the rearview mirror. He was slightly disheartened when all he got in response was a quiet grunt. The teen's gaze did not even leave the scenery rolling by outside the window. Really though, Adhiratha couldn't blame him. After all, Karna has been through fifteen foster families since his father was declared comatose after an accident five years ago…
Karna blinked when the sedan pulled up into an empty garage. This was odd. Usually, when a garage was present, so too was a vehicle of some sort. Adhiratha leaned comfortably against the backrest of his seat, stretching his back after being stuck in traffic for about two hours. "Right, let's get down." He spoke gently after a minute or two.
Karna frowned in confusion. Would his new foster family not be angry with Adhiratha for parking in their garage? The door beside him was opened and he looked up to meet the man's gaze. "Is it wise to park here?" He asked. Adhiratha just gave him a soft smile. "It's more than fine. Don't you worry about it." The man replied before offering to carry two of Karna's bags.
Karna thanked him for the offer but insisted that it was fine. He eventually relented though. With Adhiratha actually pulling the bags from his reach, it was difficult to deny the man any more than Karna had. So, Karna just carried the last bag. He silently followed after Adhiratha, observing the place he would be calling home until he was thrown aside again.
The garage was big enough to fit a maximum of two sedans. Half of it was occupied by Adhiratha's car and the other half was filled with tools for maintaining and even repairing vehicles as well as houses. They did not walk out of the garage. Instead, they went through a door connecting the garage to a small pantry.
A woman was standing there, seemingly waiting for them. Her black hair was braided and the braid itself reached her waist. She had soft blue eyes and nearly the same skin tone as Adhiratha. She was wearing a deep red saree. "It's nice to finally meet you, Karna." She greeted him kindly. "Priyatamā speaks fondly of you. His stories have made me excited to finally see you in person." Her voice sounded like a bell, chiming softly despite the teasing tone she had spoken with.
Karna was at a loss. He didn't know whom she spoke of. The only one he could think of, who would have spoken of him fondly, was… Well… His father was still in the hospital, showing no signs of waking any time soon. Karna exercised great effort to redirect his thoughts. He would allow himself to truly dive into despair each and every time he went to visit his slumbering father but around other people? Karna would much rather pretend he was fine.
"I take it you haven't told him yet, Adhi?" The woman teased the man standing behind Karna. Looking over his shoulder a bit, Karna saw Adhiratha leaning on the doorframe, looking rather sheepish. "He needed some time to collect himself…" The man tried to justify his mistake, though his argument sounded unconvincing even to himself.
Adhiratha placed his hands on Karna's shoulders, giving them a light yet seemingly comforting squeeze. "You see, Karna… well… She's Radha and she has been wishing to have a child for the longest of time…"
"If only someone was not having fertility problems… Tee-hee."
Evidently, there was an inside joke there. After an awkward silence that spanned five minutes, Karna had been shown to his room. It was big enough to fit a queen sized bed, a study table, a quaintly sized closet and a nightstand. "You don't have to worry about paying anything, Karna. This is your home too. All we ask is that you keep your room tidy." Radha had informed him before leaving him to unpack.
He did not have much with him in the first place. A few clothes, mostly casual shirts, hoodies and jeans, went into the closet. He placed his underwear in the drawers of the said closet. His clothing didn't even fill half of the closet, actually. Then, he took out a white horse plushie with black beads for eyes. It was the last present he got from his father before the accident five years ago and so, it held a special place in his heart.
He took out the two pairs of shoes he had packed. One was a pair of leather shoes for formal events and school. The other was a pair of sneakers for physical education and his daily jogging routine. The tablet he had gotten for his birthday last week was also pulled out. He opened up the device and proceeded to watch a video on martial arts. Half an hour later, Karna was exploring the house.
Adhiratha crossed paths with him on the staircase, smiling indulgently even when Karna was sure that he had been caught taking two steps at a time on his way down. "How do you like your room?" The man asked, deliberately not pointing out how risky it was to fly down the stairs two steps at a time. Karna was young but he was also mature enough to know that taking one step at a time was safer when climbing or going down a staircase.
Karna blinked. "I appreciate the ability to move around." He replied after thinking about it for a moment. The rooms he had before were usually just big enough for him to have a bed and a closet. Having anything more than those usually made his rooms feel cramped. "Where is Miss Radha?" He was curious. He wished to thank her as soon as possible. It must be strange to suddenly have a teen around the house. He wished to let her know that he was grateful of the fact that she seemed rather considerate of his situation.
"Ah. Priyatamā is in the kitchen, preparing lunch. I should warn you, Karna, she is quite terrifying when she cooks or bakes." The man replied, seemingly shuddering due to whatever he was currently imagining. Oh, but wait. Karna was nothing if not perceptive. He knew the term of endearment used just now. It was the same term Radha had used earlier. The teen blinked twice before staring at Adhiratha with his lips slightly forming an "o" shape. "You will be my current guardians…?"
Adhiratha smiled at him. "Yes. And we won't ever ask you to leave, Karna. We'll take care of you until your father wakes or you reach legal age. Then, well, how our relationship progresses afterwards will be up to you."
Karna didn't think he would have this opportunity. His chest suddenly felt tight. Was he about to cry? Over something like this? Well, he was not going to lie. He felt very relieved, knowing that he was welcome here, with these two adults, for as long as he needed or wanted to be. Of course, he knew that such words may not be certain. He has already heard them so many times before. Yet for some reason, he couldn't help but feel like this was going to be different.
Perhaps he could allow himself to hope this time. He truly, wholeheartedly hoped that these two adults will not disappoint him.