It took Alex 15 minutes of sobbing to finally calm down enough to work.
His eyes were devoid of spirit. He had a myriad conflicting emotions already in his mind, and this last news sent him over the edge of what he could endure.
The only thing he could muster to think was to go to Marc's room and tell him the news, and plan for what was to come.
Leaving the room and walking to his friend's, he opened the door slowly and saw Marc already sitting on a chair by the window, cooling himself with the morning breeze.
He had 2 big black circles under his eyes, a clear statement that he did, in fact, not have a good night's sleep.
Alex, seeing that and knowing what he was about to tell him, made his soul ache even more, but it had to be done.
"Marc." Said Alex with a soft voice, finding a trickle of comfort in the fact that his dreams were already set in stone, or so he thought.
"Did you have just as bad a night as I did?" Asked Marc in return, turning his head slightly to look at Alex.
"Yeah." He lied. He did sleep all night, but couldn't tell him that. Nobody knew about his nightmares, since he didn't want others to think he was crazy or something. After all, back then, he had hope that somebody, someday, would have adopted him.
Coupled with his almost permanent dark circles, his eyes had from the years of sleeping poorly, it gave his words credibility.
He looked straight at Marc and thought briefly how to smooth the punch, but did not find a way to do so. He could only tell him their new reality.
That new reality was hard and will strike Marc just as, or even stronger than it did him.
"Marc, listen." Alex began to explain what Mary said to him moments ago.
As expected, Marc also crumbled down, and he was left to pick up the pieces of his best friend.
After a while of calming Marc down and sharing some time in mutual company, they were called to breakfast.
Today's breakfast tasted bitter and emotional, but not an hour after finishing, they were called by management.
As previously told by Mary, they were kicked out after a multitude of excuses Alex didn't even pay attention to.
Both the boys returned to their rooms and started packing. Their bags didn't get even half full since there wasn't a lot to pack to begin with, Alex just made sure to pack his pocket watch safely and not much more.
Not long after, both the boys were side to side on the door that separated them from their new life, looking back, the only person seeing them out was, of course, Mary.
They were not particularly close with any tutor here, with the exception of Mary, who always tried to be there for everyone, but since there were so many kids, and most of them barely started walking, teenagers like them were placed on second plane. Only called when the orphanage needed something or to eat, which made the time they spent with her become less and less over time.
"Take care, boys, and try not to get in trouble." Mary said while wiping her tears.
"You two are very kind-hearted, but do not listen if any shady person asks something of you." She continued, trying to preach everything she was supposed to teach them in a year in a few sentences.
"Also, I hearded that there is this place hosted by the church, 3 streets to the right of the market, and one to the left after that lets travelers sleep the night." She kept going.
"I know I said it a few times, but I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I wish you two the best in life." Mary finished speaking. Tears were flowing down her face again.
"Don't worry, Mary, and likewise." Replied Alex first.
"Yeah, you have already done much for us, take care as well." Marc said a moment after Alex.
After their farewell, the boys parted towards the village and towards their new reality.
1 Hour later...
The duo reached the place Mary told them about, and looking at the people gathering there, this was obviously a place where the homeless stayed.
"So Mary was smoothing the place out when she suggested it, this is a place for the homeless!" Said Marc with a bit of betrayal in his voice.
"Well, technically, we ARE homeless." Alex replied, putting emphasis on are.
"Shit, that's true…" Marc seemed to get a grasp on their situation.
"Why don't we use the money Mary gave us to stay at an inn?" Inquired Marc.
"Shhh." Alex made a shushing sound, telling Marc to turn his voice down.
"We can't, this money is for food until we manage to start making our own money." He said to Marc in a whisper.
"Then we have to figure out making money first." Marc understood immediately that food > Bed.
"First, we'll settle, but we will need to carry our stuff all the time. There's bound to be thieves in this place." Marc surprisingly made a valid point.
"You're right, okay, let's go." Alex agreed.
They both walked to the front reception, and an old nun asked them warmly.
"Hello, children, need something?" She said with a gentle smile on her face.
"Yes, we need a place to sleep for the night, please." Replied Alex, respectfully.
"You boys are homeless, too? How sad." Said the nun with a trace of sadness in her voice.
"Too? You mean other kids came before us?" Marc asked the nun.
"Yes, with all the war, the kid homelessness spiked." The nun replied.
"Okay, I'll set you in the same room with the other kids."
After following the nun for a while, they reached a spacious room with half a dozen beds separated by a white curtain providing some privacy, even if just a little.
"You'll sleep here with the other 3 boys." Said the nun.
"The bathroom is that way." She added, signaling to a door at the end of the corridor.
"Thanks." Said both the boys.
"May the grace of god guide your way, children." Said the nun before she left slowly.
The boys went to their beds that were next to each other, and "settled" by putting their bags at the side of the bed.
"I'm gonna lie down a bit and rest, it's been a rough day." Said Alex to Marc.
"Okay, then I'm gonna go around and see the ambience for a while, keep my bag for me, pretty please." Marc said to Alex.
"Sure, take your time. When you get back, we'll start planning what to do going forward." Replied Alex.
After Marc placed the bag next to his, he left, and Alex finally got a moment to process everything he went through today.