The main building stood two stories tall. The old meeting hall had lost the seriousness of its intricate architecture as children played nearby in the fenced yard while a myriad of pinwheels, flags, and other such crafts all messy, colorful, and beautiful decorated the lawn. The entire walkway had been coated in chalk drawings. Several girls worked on adding more to the mosaic, and Lydie gave them a smile as she moved towards the large entryway. A wailing, bolting toddler halted her as the upset child abruptly clung himself to the other side of her skirt. The woman rushing after him rapidly closed the distance.

"I'm so sorry, miss. Julik, you must come here now. Your mother will be here to pick you up after your nap." she tenderly tried to soothe the boy, kneeling down and offering out her arms.

"No!" Julik gave his rebuttal.

"Come now, dear. You mustn't disturb our visitor."

"No!" Julik shrieked louder. His shout of denial bourgeoned into a high-pitch screaming cry sure to be heard as far as the end of the street. The girls with chalk covered their ears to shuffle off further down the way. Julik clutched so tightly to Lydie that his tiny nails reached her skin. Light pin-prick tingles of pain scattered up and down her calf. The woman went to pull him off, but it only made the noise worse and the grip twice as intense.

"Your name is Julik?" Lydie questioned over the chaos, and somehow the boy heard her. His fit lessened to a powerful sob. His eyes of crystal gray shone with tears, and more drenched his cheeks as he nodded. She knelt down too, "My name is Lydie. It's nice to meet you. Can I ask you a question?"

Another miserable nod.

"Why don't you want to take a nap?"

"B-because then she...she won't come back!"

"Who won't come back?"

"She won't!" Julik whined exasperatedly.

"Julik, honey, who won't come back if you take a nap?" Lydie prompted once more, gently stroking his caramel colored hair.

"My mama."

"Of course she'll come back. You don't need to worry. It will be no more than an hour." the worker reassured.

Julik groaned miserably, clutched tighter yet to Lydie's skirt, and glared at the ground.

"No, she won't." he mumbled.

"Why do you think that? Has she said something or done something?" Lydie continued to press.

"No..."

"Then why?"

"Because...because...papa didn't come back either..."

"Your papa didn't come back? Where did he go?"

"He went to fight. He left when I was sleeping. Mama said he'd be back when I start school, but now she says he won't be back ever," Julik sniffled, absentmindedly wiping his nose on her clothes as he pitifully explained the situation, "Mama hasn't been here when they said she should a lot now."

"His mother had to get a higher paying job farther away in the city. She has trouble getting here at the same time as she did before." the woman whispered in her ear.

"I see," Lydie answered both, "So you're worried if you go to sleep that your mama will go away forever too. Julik, I'm sorry your papa won't be coming back. It's terrible to have to say goodbye. Your mama has to love you so much though."

"She does!" the child affirmed instantly with vigor.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes! A whole lot!"

"And do you love her?"

"Uh-huh!" Julik nodded rapidly.

"Has she been happy recently?"

A moment of silence passed. Those wide gray eyes clouded as the child's mind went deep in thought before a wet pout quivered his lips.

"No," he answered softly, "She cries a lot when she thinks I don't see."

"It has to have been tough for her right now with all that's going on. I hear she has a new job and it takes her a while to walk from here to there. What I know without a doubt though is that she does everything she can to come back to you. No matter how tired she is, no matter how much her feet hurt, she comes as fast as she is able. Even though she puts forth all that effort, sometimes traveling just takes time. If I may, I think it would help to make her happier if she knew you were well and rested when she returns. Because, Julik, she will return. Be patient with her. Give her some understanding. If she's not here right when you wake up, don't worry. She loves you. She will come. I promise."

Lydie continued to stroke his hair as the child took in her words. There were many logical arguments one could make for how her reassurance had no weight, but she banked her faith on a young one of only a few years not being able to come up with any. The boy didn't need true logic in any case. Julik needed love, kindness, and hope in a world slowly sapping all three away. A silent, deep exhale escaped her lungs when he wiped more tears and snot from his face onto her dress before flashing up a smile.

"Okay," he agreed to her plan, "Maybe you can come stay until mama comes though?"

"Our guest must have business of her own. We have to let her be," the worker denied, taking Julik's hand when he went to grab Lydie's to lead her on, "I'll help her out. Why don't you head on back to the room, and I'll be there shortly?"

"Okay..." Julik spoke in disappointment this time. However, he left Lydie's legs with an embrace before skittering off towards a smaller, auxiliary building at the back of the yard.

"Thank you so much, miss. I've never been the best at knowing how to calm them down from their tantrums. Julik in particular can be troublesome. The boy's got quite a shout on him." the worker spoke, chuckling lightly.

"I heard," Lydie smiled as well, "It's no worry though. It sounds as if he's had a rough time lately."

"Yes. His father only had a year left to serve, but the commanders pushed through a dangerous mission to break Mescaria's main ranks. I fear almost every wife of those soldiers became a widow. Honestly, I have no idea who approved such a tactic. Darshal's lucky enough Mescaria is still only staying defensive in their tactics."

"It is terrible." Lydie said dismally.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here I am going off on distracting matters. You said your name was Lydie, miss?"

"Yes, Lydie Dvanda."

"How may I help you, Miss Dvanda? Did you wish to enroll your son here?"

Lydie hesitated before answering. The way the woman spoke, she saw growing in her eyes the same rejection she'd been seeing all morning. Lydie wished then to be a young child again. What she wouldn't give to scream her frustrations into the air as Julik had.

"I'd been hoping to discuss it. I'd also been hoping to discuss first the possibility of me finding employment here." she tried anyway.

"I would walk you into Mrs. Truvan's office to recommend you for employment if I could given how experienced you appear to be. Unfortunately, I can only tell you what I've had to tell the eleven other women I've spoken to today. We've more than our fair share of workers, and just this morning an official from the administration came to give Mrs. Truvan an earful about how she'd accepted too many children. The buildings here are barely enough to contain them, which conflicts with the capacity requirements put into place for safety reasons, or so I overheard. They're not forcing her to kick anyone out, but we have to let the numbers dwindle as they will and can only accept again once we go below the maximum number."

"Many women come here after realizing no one will hire them if they have a child with them, don't they?" Lydie replied knowingly.

"I feel as if I turn my head and there's another one. Not that you're a bother. Not at all," the worker assured hurriedly, "It hurts me deeply to send everyone off. The desperation and despair in their eyes makes me hate this war evermore. I helped Mrs. Truvan start this center because we wanted to help, but now each and every day we have to crush the last flicker of hope these women have."

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine," she somewhat lied, "This was simply the easiest solution to my problem."

"I take it you, too, have lost your husband?"

"I...I don't actually know..."

The woman, naturally, furrowed her eyes in confusion. Once again, Lydie explained the situation she'd found herself in. Much of the emphasis she placed in the tale was the fact that the answers could come at any moment to fix all her worries. The woman had clearly worked around children for far too long though. The constant fibs of young ones allowed her to see through Lydie's deceptions, which left Lydie following Adina, as the she finally introduced herself, when the story completed. Their footsteps shadowed Julik's into the auxiliary building where they passed the rooms of sleeping or quietly playing children to reach an empty office of five desks and scatterings of colorful scribble drawings littered on the walls and in picture frames.

"I brought these to donate to the center as my Zerin has outgrown them, but we have plenty spare clothes here. Kenth has more need than us." Adina handed her a bag of boys clothes larger than what Kenth could currently wear. She continued when Lydie protested, "Children grow impossibly fast. You'll thank me immensely if your family isn't found. And, if you do discover your place, you can simply bring them back or donate them elsewhere. You can even sell them if you want. They're yours as they're a present for helping me out."

"I...thank you..." Lydie mumbled. Hatred of being pitied and utter gratitude warred for the causation of her embarrassment.

"It's the least I can do. You know, I suppose I could also watch Kenth just for this afternoon if you absolutely need it. Several children are sick at home at the moment, so we technically have space. It'll be free of charge."

"Thank you again, but we'll be alright. It's been a long day walking all over the place. I'm not sure I have the energy to come all the way back."

"Of course, of course. Feel free to stop back whenever you have the opportunity. The chance is low, but we could have spots opening up soon. Most children stop coming here once they reach school age. We can find some way to work a payment plan out if you don't have much money."

"I'll keep it in mind for certain." Lydie accepted gratefully. However, the hopeful attitude she meant to leave Adina in didn't come to fruition. The words of parting on her lips vanished as the other woman's expression abruptly stiffened. Both Lydie and Kenth came under immense scrutiny, and guilt dragged down her companion's expression.

"Miss Dvanda, if I may..." Adina began slowly and sadly.

"Yes?"

The switch in tone alarmed her more than Lydie wished to admit.

"I want to leave you with one more option. It's something I've explained to other women with children not yet old enough to remember them. To ones whose situations are particularly dismal. I fear it is a path you will grow upset at me for suggesting, but in my time working here I've seen horrible things. Mothers, children, even fathers in deplorable conditions. People who are little more than skeletons. Those who eat garbage and live with rats. I wouldn't wish such a life on anyone, and much less so on mothers just trying to do what's right for their children and children who have no choice in the matter. My whole heart wishes for you to find answers. Yet...if nothing ever comes...if you find yourself heading to poverty and starvation...then, for the both of your sakes, I believe it better to let Kenth go."

"Let him go? What do you mean?" Lydie questioned with trepidation.

"Do you know of the Population Maintenance law?"

"Y-Yes. It is how I believe Kenth came to be mine to begin with."

"It is also the other option you can take. Some women like to choose the risk of trying to have a child with their husband. They might have to go through the pain of pregnancy and childbirth, but there is the chance of not conceiving at all. Some women would rather simply take on the task of caring for another child than suffer through the long months of pain and then deal with a newborn on their own. Infant boys Kenth's age are swept up like prizes."

"You want me to put Kenth up for adoption?"

Her whole body froze in horror at the idea.

"He would be picked up by a loving family within the week. You could find a job without issue. Compared to you both living in a despicable squalor on the streets, no matter how painful the thought of it is, can you really say it is not the right decision to make?"

"It's not even a decision at all. It's not happening. Excuse me."

Lydie thrust the bag of clothes onto her shoulder, spun so rapidly on her heel the floor squeaked, and hurried towards the door. Adina stood behind with a sad smile and offering no protest.

"Have a good day, Miss Dvanda." she spoke a soft farewell.