Quoted By:
Standing in front of the graves, the man glances sideways. Around, the brown leaves on the trees drop drops that shine like gold. The air is cold. Helen is wearing the Directors huge winter jacket.
Helen had to learn how to read in a hurry. She wishes she didn’t, right now. Because in the corners of her mind there’s still room to believe that this is just another lie. Instead of giving a witty remark, the man respects the sacred silence and simply limits herself to be there, because there is no man without a code. Yet he sighs; the worst is yet to come. A tiny hand pulls down his sleeve; the director crouches.
Helen: Is mom in heaven?
Director: I don’t know. I’m an atheist.
Helen: Wanna know a secret?
Director: Ok.
Helen: Dad isn’t down there. He is a dragon, and he’s in my hair.
The man turns to look at Helen with no less than utter pity. The girl isn’t even shaking, not even from the cold. Bitting his lip, the man nods only to himself.
Director: Helena, look at me. I am not good at this
She looks.
Director: If in the future you are angry at me for telling you this like this right now, then come whenever, I will be waiting. I don’t know any better. Your father was part of a human trafficking circle and your name was found on a list. He had promised you to a customer from overseas, for a huge sum. I am sorry. I have all the evidence to support this, should you ever want to see it when you grow up.
Helen looks back at the grave. But where there should be tears there’s nothing but confusion. Lately, she can’t cry.
Helen: Then who’s the dragon in my hair?
Director: Well, how to put this…
He looks up to the sky, and closes his eyes. Despite it all, he does understand kids.
Director: It’s the dragon that saved you from them. That’s why you survived. And now it's looking after you. Come, let’s have a burger.
Helen follows the old man, the tombstone growing smaller with distance. It made sense. The president had people, her family had children, the orphanage had orphans, the Phantom of the Bathroom had followers- and they all got something out of them. That was the game. She had been playing it from the start. What the game is about is getting other people to do what you want. That’s how you win. If her dad had sold her out, he would have won the game.
This is why Helen Troyes believes there is a dragon in her hair. Because the director of the orphanage, the man who already owns her, would win nothing by lying to her.
(cont in a while!)
