My name is Kazuki Nobuyuki. I was born on December 26, 1997. I had never really known about my own birth or, for that matter, who my real parents were.
Something happened in a point of my life that took away their lives, leaving me to be cared for in an orphanage. It was a rather large building, yet there were so few kids there, about only 5 from what I can remember. I had stayed there for about 4 years, until at the age of 5, someone came to visit. The caretaker called all the kids, including myself, to gather at the main hall. All the other kids ran as fast as they could, but I was the only one who wasn’t that excited.
I assume it was because I never really played with all the other kids around me, or for that matter, even talk to them, because I couldn’t speak English at the time. The caretaker gave me a few English lessons during my stay, but I had mostly spoke Japanese, causing confusion amongst the kids around me.
But that wasn’t the only reason. Even if I tried to play with them, they would always kick me out, telling me that I was a total killjoy. I suppose they had a point. I never really smiled that much, nor have I really had any happy thoughts. All I could ever think about was who my real parents were, what happened to them, and why.
I would always ask the caretaker about what happened to them, but she would always say the same thing to me: “It’s complicated”, or “You’re too young to understand.” It would always drive me crazy that she wouldn’t give me a straight answer.
I was still thinking about it right there, walking slowly towards the main hall. But I had to stop thinking about those sort of things, and at least be formal to our company. As I finally made my way there, I noticed all the kids were getting riled up and excited, possibly for the chance of being adopted.
The caretaker tried her best to calm them down, and as they finally did, she introduced us to who came to visit. I tried my best to take a look at who it was, as the other kids were blocking my view. After a few attempts of jumping up and down like a spring, trying to get a glimpse, I finally saw who came.
It seemed as if though several people have come to adopt us, some were a single parent, the others were a couple. The caretaker told us that we should all play outside while she talks with these people about who they would like to adopt. All the kids soon ran to the back door, straight toward the playground. I was on my way there, but then I stopped short.
I had noticed that one of the adults had dropped their phone and didn’t realize, so I picked it up and walked toward the person who dropped it. When I caught up with her, I tugged on her skirt to capture her attention. She turned around, wondering who was playing with her skirt, and looked down. She bent down, and began to talk to me.
“Oh, hi there. Is there something you needed, son? ” I couldn’t speak back. She was looking at me dead on with her eyes, which were blue as the ocean or the sky. All I could do was raise my arm, her phone enclosed in my hand. I handed the phone to her. “Did I drop this?”, asked the woman, with a puzzled look on her face.
My only response was a gentle nod, and placed the phone on her hands. “Thank you very much. Such a polite young boy!” I couldn’t fully understand what she said, but judging from her face, which looked kind and innocent, I knew that she was grateful.
She soon hurried on to where the other parents were heading, leaving me alone once again. I decided to head on outside to the playground, just to pass the time. All I ever really did there was sit on one of the swings, watching all the other kids play.
I began thinking that if I were adopted today, would my life be more happy than it is now, or would it just be worse? If I couldn’t make friends with any of the kids here, how could I possibly get along with an entire family? The mere thought of it filled me with anxiety and depression.
But those thoughts suddenly stopped when the caretaker called us back in to see who would be adopted. We all ran back inside as fast as we could, hoping to finally have a family. As we went inside, the caretaker had told us that we could talk with any of the parents around the room to see who would adopt who.
All the kids began talking with the parents, but all I did was sit on one of the chairs in the far corner, because truth be told, I was scared. I didn’t know what I could say to them, even if I could speak English fluently. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be accepted by any of these people, and I felt it was best to just sit and do nothing.
As I was sitting there, as the minutes passed away, the caretaker suddenly came up to me. “Kazuki, come with me to my office please.” She put up a gesture with her hand, signaling me to come with her. I was quite confused at first, but I eventually got off the chair and went along with her.
After going down the hallway and up the stairs, after what seemed like forever, we made it to the caretaker’s office and went inside. Inside, I saw someone very familiar: It was the woman who I had gave her phone back earlier. “Kazuki, come take a seat right there”, said the caretaker, pointing to the chair next to the woman.
As I sat next to her, the woman turned to me and gave me a warm smile, possibly as another thank you for giving back her phone. I gave a smile back, though not as welcoming as hers. The caretaker then began to talk to the woman. “So you say that you would like to adopt this child, Ms…?”
The woman gave a reply. “Yes I would. And my name is Liliana. Liliana Morrison.” I couldn’t believe what I just heard. This woman, who I’ve only known for a few seconds, wanted to adopt me. Why was that? Was it because I helped her, or was it for a different reason altogether?
The caretaker began to question her as to her reasons for adopting me. The woman, who was named Liliana, answered in a very polite manner. “While you were discussing with all of us about the orphanage and the children, I noticed outside the window that this young boy was sitting all alone out there, no one around to be with him. I’ve met him before when he helped me with something, and just seeing him there all alone made me worry about him. So I feel that all he needs is a family to care for him. Especially after what you told me about him.”
The caretaker took off her glasses and began to rub them, thinking over about her decision. “Ms. Morrison, Kazuki is a rather quiet young boy. He doesn’t speak that much English, and even after I gave a few lessons to him, he still doesn’t talk that much.
Ms. Morrison spoke up, interrupting her. “I’ll give him lessons every day. Please, I would like to take him in. I don’t want him to be alone here.” The caretaker put her glasses back on, and was quiet for a while. After what seemed like an eternity, the caretaker began to speak.
“Alright, Ms. Morrison. If you would like to adopt Kazuki, then I will accept. Is this alright with you, Kazuki?” I couldn’t speak. All I could do was comprehend what was happening. I was going to have a family. A real family to talk to and be together with. But would it be a good choice or a bad choice? I thought it over for a while, and all I could give was a slight nod.

“Alright, then. Ms. Morrison, I hope you will take good care of him.” Ms. Morrison gave a big smile, and a recurring nod. “Don’t worry. I’m sure that he will be happy with me and my family.” After going over the adoption papers, Ms. Morrison took me down the stairs, down the hallway, and outside the orphanage. We walked towards her car, parked under the shade on several oak trees, and went inside.
I sat in the backseat, trying to get used to being inside a car. Ms. Morrison then turned to face me, giving off a slight feeling of concern. “Kazuki… I know you might not understand me right now. But I want you to know that you’re not alone anymore. Starting today, you have a real family now. I don’t know how you feel right now, but I want to reassure you that you are now part of our family. We will take care of you with all our heart, and hopefully, you will grow up to be a smart, bright person.”
Even though I really couldn’t understand what she was saying, just from the way she was smiling, and the polite softness in her voice, I could tell that she was telling the truth about what she was saying. I gave her a big smile, the biggest I ever gave, and she smiled right back to me. We drove off to her house, waiting for to see my new family. It was going to be a beautiful day.