Zen’s Life
“The Start”
This story start out in a small town. A small wolf child is left on the door step of a local orphanage. This little wolf appeared to be 5 years old. His fur is pure white. His left eye was covered by an eye patch. His right eye was a bright blue that almost seemed to glow. The only things he carried were the cloths he was wearing and a note that read. “He’s your problem now.” When asked what his name was the only answer the boy gave was “Zen”. The orphanage quickly took Zen in and tried to get information about his parents. Zen however could not remember much of anything about his family.
Introducing herself with a smile a fox woman approached Zen. The fox said, hello Zen my name is Veronica and I will be your guardian for a while until we can get you situated. Zen merely looked the woman in the eyes and nodded. Veronica then reached toward the eye patch on Zen’s face. She tilted her head. What’s wrong with your eye? Zen quickly jumped back holding his hand over the patch. Veronica looked at the boy with concern. What’s wrong, I’m not going to hurt you.
Zen shook his head. I’m wearing the eye patch because my eyes were two different colors. Veronica simply smiled. There is no reason to wear such a thing if there was nothing wrong with your eye. Zen simply nodded and closed his eyes taking the eye patch off. When he opened them and looked at Veronica she got a cold chill down her spine. While his right eye is a bright blue color, his left eye is bright red and it too seemed to have a glow about it.
Veronica’s reaction was much similar to what Zen had seen in others that saw his left eye. Zen sighed. I always see people get uneasy when they see my eye and that the patch seemed to be the best solution. Veronica however after the initial shock of it all seemed to relax. Don’t be ridiculous Zen your eyes are beautiful there is no reason to cover them.
With that said Zen for the first time in since arriving at the orphanage had a slight smile on his face. His mood however seemed to stay at a distance as Veronica explained the many things that would be going on while living in the orphanage.
By the time everything was set up for Zen to stay at the orphanage it was getting late. Veronica looked at the time and then at Zen. Bath time Zen let’s get you ready. With those words said Zen froze. Veronica didn’t seem to notice and simply went into the bathroom and started filling the tube. Zen stood half hidden by the door frame watching as Veronica prepared his bath.
Satisfied with the water temp and level Veronica turned to the door and saw that Zen was still in his clothes and half hiding outside the door. Veronica laughed. Come on silly no need to be shy, let’s get you washed up and fed before bed. Zen shook his head. I would like to take my bath by myself. Veronica simply tilted her head. Okay but if you need any help I will be right outside. Zen gave her a stern look. No peaking. This made Veronica chuckle. Okay I’ll leave you to it then.
Zen waited till Veronica was outside the bathroom and had the door closed before he began to undress. He didn’t want anyone knowing he had a secret. While he certainly looked like a normal boy he was actually a Herm. He knew for sure if others knew about his secret that he would be teased so he never let anyone see him naked. He wasn’t sure why he felt this way. Most of his memories were hazy. The only he could go on was the feelings he was getting.
After washing and drying himself Zen spotted the cloths Veronica left for him. To his dismay it was a par of underwear and what looked like a night gown. With a sigh Zen put the clothes on and walk out of the bathroom. After opening the door he caught the smell of something good. It wasn’t until he smelled the food that Zen realized how hungry he was. Looking around he noticed that Veronica was nowhere in sight. Shrugging Zen decided to follow his nose to the source of the delicious smell.
After walking a down a hall with what looked like bedrooms on both side Zen reached a good sized dining hall. From the door to the dining hall Zen could see 6 cubs of varying ages. They were all chatting amongst themselves while waiting for their food. The hall had one long table. It looked like it could seat at least 12 people. All the children were wearing the same type of bed time cloths regardless of gender. Zen hesitated for a moment then walked to the table and sat in the seat furthest from the group of cubs.
After sitting at the table Zen could see that the group had 3 boys and 3 girls. The oldest of the 3 girls looked over at Zen. Hey guys we got a new kid. Everyone looked over to Zen witch made his ears flatten. Not a moment later Veronica came walking out of the kitchen with a tray of food. Veronica walked up to the table and smiled. Perfect timing why don’t you guys introduce yourselves.
The first to jump up was the youngest of the boys. He was a husky with gray and black fur. His eyes were a light blue. He looked to be about 6 years old. He seemed to be have more energy than he knew what to do with. He gave a big goofy grin. Hi my names James nice to meet ya.
After James sat down the person to his right stood. This was a young brown bear. His eyes were a dark brown. He looked to be about 8 years old. The bear seemed much more on the timid side. He gave a friendly smile. Hello my name is Adam.
Next up was the oldest of the boys. As he stood he crossed his arms. His fur was a sandy blond. His eyes were hazel. He looked to be about 11 years old. He didn’t seem all that unhappy just board. He looked at Zen. The names Tim nice to meet you.
Next up was the girls. They all sat on the other side of the table from the boys. Starting with the youngest. This was a young mouse. Her fur was mostly gray but there were hints of white on her hands and feet. Her eyes were a bright green. She looked to be about the same age as Adam putting here around 8 years old. Her personality seemed to be on the shy side. She turned to Zen with a shy smile. She talked softly. Hello my name is Elizabeth but you can call me Beth.
Beth sat down and the girl next to her stood. She was a Cat with yellow and orange fur. Her eyes were a hazel with a mix of orange in the middle. She looked to be about 10 years old. She seemed to be rather outgoing and had a bit of a sass to her. Turning to Zen. The names Abigale but everyone calls me Abby. Nice to meet you.
Last came the oldest girl. Also the oldest in the group. This was a ferret with dark brown fur. Her hands and feet had a sandy blond color to them. Her eyes were a bluish green. She looked to be about 12 year old. Her mood seemed dark compared to the others. She looked at Zen. My names Emily.
Finally Zen stood and looked right at the other children. For the most part he had been glancing down throughout the introductions. Now that he was looking at everyone they all gasped seeing his eyes. Abby immediately blurted out, that’s awesome are you wearing contacts? Zen just shook his head. No I was born like this. He still felt a little shy. My name is Zen… it’s nice to meet you all.
With that everyone was handed their food. It was a simple grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of chicken noodle soup. The children talked as they ate asking Zen all kinds of questions. Most of them Zen had no answer to for they were about his family and where he had been before. All he could tell them was that he was brought to the orphanage by a man that had been taking care of him.
Most of Zen’s memories were hazy at best. After eating Zen was shown to his room. The door even had his name on it already. After saying goodnight and closing the door Zen walked to the bed and plopped down on it. It was softer than he had expected and he quickly got under the covers and fell asleep.
